History
Kaiapoi takes its name from the Māori pā (fortified village) which was built just north of the site of the current town around the year 1700 by the Ngāi Tahu chief Turakautahi. Eventually to become the largest fortified village in the South Island it lay on the site of a stronghold of an earlier tribe, Waitaha whose history and traditions Ngāi Tahu eventually adopted. Tūrākautahi was the second son of Tūāhuriri, consequently Ngāi Tūāhuriri is the name of the hapu (subtribe) of this area. In selecting the pā site, Tūrākautahi determined that kai (food/resources) would need to be poi (swung in) from other places hence the name Kaiapoi which it is said can be translated as a metaphor for "economics". All manner of resources were transported along the waterways of the Rakahuri and Taerutu on their way to or from Kaiapoi, Pounamu from the Arahura river, Titi (muttonbird) from the islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura or Tūhua (obsidian) from Mayor Island / Tuhua and other resources all indicative of a sophisticated trading network between North and South Island tribes.
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