Māori history

The wider Mahurangi area has been settled since at least the 13th century.^[8] Local traditions describe Toi-te-huatahi being the founding ancestor for Mahurangi peoples, and Toi is the namesake for many features in the area, including Little Barrier Island / Te Hauturu-o-Toi and the Hauraki Gulf (Te Moananui-ā-Toi).^[9] One of the first known iwi to have settled in the area is Ngāi Tāhuhu.^[10][9] Named for Tāhuhunui-o-te-rangi, captain of the Moekākara waka, the iwi also settled at Ōtāhuhu in Auckland, Whangārei and the Bay of Islands.^[11] Te Arawa and Tainui migratory waka are known to have visited the area, and descendants of captain Manaia of the Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi waka are known to have intermarried with Ngāi Tāhuhu.^[9]

Mahurangi peoples primarily focused settlement along the shores of the Hauraki Gulf,^[12][13] moving between different kāinga based on available seasonal resources.^[14] Snells Beach and adjacent Algies Bay (Horahorawai)^[15] were protected by headland pā to the north and south, which looked out towards Kawau Island and Moanauriuri (Kawau Bay), an important shark fishery.^[16][13] Archaeological middens and terraces have been discovered in the areas adjacent to the north and south headlands of Snells Beach.^[16]

In the mid-17th century, the warrior Maki migrated from the Kāwhia Harbour to his ancestral home in the Auckland Region. Maki conquered and unified many of the Tāmaki Māori tribes, including those of the West Auckland, the North Shore and Mahurangi, and unified these peoples under the name Te Kawerau.^[17][18] In Mahurangi, this was done by conquering Ngāi Tāhuhu, and by forming peacemaking marriages with the Te Roroa and Ngāti Manaia/Ngātiwai tribes who were migrating from the north.^[9][18] After Maki's death, his sons settled different areas of his lands, creating new hapū, including the Mahurangi hapū of Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō, Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Maraeariki, Ngāti Poataniwha and Ngāti Kahu.^{[19][9][9][10]} As these hapū developed, Ngātiwai developed strong ties to Kawerau hapū through successive generations of intermarriage, especially Ngāti Rehua, Ngāti Manuhiri, and Ngāti Kahu.^[9]

By the mid-1700s, Marutūāhu tribes from the Hauraki Gulf, especially Ngāti Pāoa, sought to control the shark fishery located on the Mahurangi coast, between Kawau Island and the Whangaparāoa Peninsula.^[9] War broke out between Ngāti Pāoa and the Kawerau hapū. By the early 19th century, Kawerau-descended hapū held exclusive land rights to the Mahurangi, while fishing rights were shared between these hapū and the Marutūāhu tribes.^[9] By the early 19th Century, the Mahurangi Harbour was primarily settled by Ngāti Rongo and their related hapū Ngāti Kā and Ngāti Raupō, all of whom kept close ties to Ngāti Manuhiri,^[12][14] while Marutūahu tribes frequented the coast during the summertime.^[12]

In the early 1820s during the Musket Wars, Ngāpuhi and related northern tribes attacked the Mahurangi area settlements in retaliation for past losses, leading to the Mahurangi area being depopulated.^[9] Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Mahuhiri sought refuge with different tribes in Northland.^[10][9] Ngāti Rongo returned to the Mahurangi area in 1836, under the leadership of Te Hēmara Tauhia, focusing settlement at Te Muri.^[14][10] Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Mahuhiri returned to the area by the late 1830s or early 1840s.^[9] By this period, many of the Kawerau hapū had developed associations with Ngāti Whātua, and the Mahurangi area was contested between Kawerau, Ngāti Whātua and Marutūāhu tribes.^[9]

European settlement

Aerial view of Snells Beach in 1957

Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the Crown made the first purchases of the Mahurangi and Omaha blocks on 13 April 1841, which included the Mahurangi Harbour. While some iwi and hapū with customary interests had been engaged, such as Ngāti Paoa, Ngāti Rongo, Ngāti Raupō and Ngāti Manuhiri were not a part of this transaction, and it took the Crown until the 1850s to finalise a deal these tribes.^{[20][21][12][10]} Te Hemara Tauhia and his people continued to occupy their lands at Te Muri during this time.^[10]

The area was originally known as Long Beach to early European settlers. It was bought in 1854 by Cornish miner James Snell, who had initially settled at Kawau Island after first working at mines in South Australia. Snell settled at the beach, where his family farmed for generations. Scottish immigrant Alexander Algie and wife Mina, née Deerness, bought the land to the south at Martins Bay, where his brother Samuel settled in 1867. The Algie family established a boarding house on the beach in the late 1890s, which operated until 1941.^[15]

In 1904, J. Clayden and J. Parkinson discovered a large amount of kauri gum at Snells Beach, extracting seven tons during low tide. Further digs took place in 1907, predominantly by recent Dalmatian immigrants to the area.^[15] By the early 20th century, Snells Beach was becoming a popular spot for holidaymakers, and in the 1930s, the area became better connected to the Auckland roading network, when a metal road was constructed along the Mahurangi Peninsula.^[15]

The first block of shops in Snells Beach was constructed in 1982.^[22] The commercial and light industrial area of Snells Beach led to the community becoming the service centre for the wider Mahurangi Peninsula, and the second largest commercial centre in the Warkworth/Matakana areas.^[23] During the 2010s, the area transitioned away from being primarily a holiday town to a permanently settled satellite town of Warkworth.^[24] In 2012, the Snells Beach library was marked for closure, leaving many residents bewildered and angry.^[25] In 2013, water from Snells Beach was needed for Warkworth's water supply.^[26]