Te Whanganui ā Orotū proudly identify as descendants of the first people of this area, bound deeply to the whenua and the waters that sustain us. From Toi, our whakapapa flows to Mahu — the origin of our people — who gave life to Orotū. Orotū lived for a time at Te Whanganui ā Orotū, and his son Whatumamoa was born here, becoming one of the first owners of this land. The line continues to Turauwha, the principal chief of Ōtātara, at the time when Taraia, son of Rakaihikuroa and direct descendant of Kahungunu, arrived in Heretaunga — 15 generations before 1850. Our whakapapa also descends from Tangaroa, carried through Pania and her child Moremore.

From the very beginning, Te Whanganui a Orotū has been treasured for its rich food resources, flowing river systems, and abundant forests. Mahinga kai affirmed the ancestral rights of Ngāti Tu, Ngāti Matepū, and Ngāi Te Ruruku ki Tangoio at the northern end of Te Whanganui ā Orotū. Along the western shoreline lived Ngāti Hinepare, Ngāti Maahu, and Ngāi Tawhao, while Ngāti Pārau held ancestral rights to the southern reaches of Te Whanganui ā Orotū.