The tiny settlement of Te Hāroto, on the Napier-Taupō road, was once a major village of the Ngāti Hineuru tribe, followers of the Pai Mārire faith, which supported Māori self-determination. In 1866 a Pai Mārire group planning to attack Napier were defeated by settler militia, and those who survived the battle were shipped to the Chatham Islands. The government later built a military blockhouse at Te Hāroto.