Hoturoa’s father who was a high chief (ariki) and was built and opened in 1962. The eldest and most prestigious meeting house that was first built on Maketu Marae is Te Ruruhi (the Old Lady) which was used as the dining hall until 1986. It was replaced by a two-storey dining hall, Te Tini O Tainui, to cater for the large numbers that visit for occasions such as annual poukai, tangi and hui. The marae is affiliated with the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Apakura and Hikairo, and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi. Six other marae are also based at or near Kawhia Harbour: Mōkai Kainga Marae and Ko Te Mōkai meeting house is a meeting place for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Apakura and Hikairo, and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Apakura. Mokoroa Marae and Ngā Roimata meeting house is a meeting place for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Ngati Kiriwai. Ōkapu or Oakapu Marae and Te Kotahitanga o Ngāti Te Weehi meeting house is a meeting place for the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi. Te Māhoe Marae is a meeting ground for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Peehi, Te Kanawa, Te Urupare and Uekaha. Waipapa Marae and Ngā Tai Whakarongorua and Takuhiahia meeting houses are a meeting place for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Hikairo, and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Hikairo and Ngāti Puhiawe. Rākaunui Marae and Moana Kahakore meeting house is a meeting place for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Ngāti Ngutu, Ngāti Te Kiriwai, Ngāti Paretekawa and the Waikato Tainui hapū Ngāti Apakura. In October 2020, the Government committed $196,684 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Ōkapu Marae, creating 16 jobs. European history The Kawhia Harbour area was important to the kauri gum trade of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, as it was the southernmost area where the gum could be found. The Kawhia Settler and Raglan Advertiser was established in May 1901 by William Murray Thompson and Thomas Elliott Wilson, who also ran the Bruce Herald, Waimate Times, Egmont Settler (later briefly part of Taranaki Central Press at Stratford) and the Mangaweka Settler. From 1909 Edward Henry Schnackenberg, whose father was a missionary here from 1858 to 1864, owned the paper, until it closed in April 1936. In January 2018, the health board issued a statement that there was no additional risk