Three hundred years on, as settler numbers grew, Tainui tribes in the Waikato decided to select a king to protect Māori autonomy and resist further land loss.
In 1857, rangatira held a number of hui - including one, fatefully, at Ihumātao. Waikato chief Potatau Te Wherowhero was asked to be Māori King and was formally appointed the following year.
A government agent arrived at Ihumātao on July 10, 1863 with a proclamation from Governor George Grey, demanding all Māori pledge allegiance to Queen Victoria and give up their arms, or leave for the Waikato.
The eviction of Māori from their villages in the Māngere area was felt deeply in the local community and beyond. Grey claimed the evictions were needed, as "it was impossible to leave a strong disaffected population, well-armed … in the rear of the [colonial] troops".
The people were evicted and the land was passed into private hands for farming.
In 2012, the Auckland Council tried to make the land an open, public space, but the move was challenged in the Environment Court which directed the land be rezoned for business or residential purposes.
In July 2014, the government and council designated 32 hectares adjacent to the Otuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve as a Special Housing Area (SHA).
Pania Newton and the Save Our Unique Landscape group raised concerns in 2015, saying they would oppose the zoning of the land. In 2016, it was sold to Fletcher Residential - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fletcher Building.
With the $30 million deal between Kīngitanga, the Crown and Auckland Council this week, those who cherish Ihumātao can now hope to look up from a sorry past.
After more 150 years of dispossession, proud noses - ihu - can once more inhale the breeze from the Manukau.
