Paekākāriki was named by the tohunga, Haupipi-a-Nanaia (Hau).  He was the great grandson of Kupe, and was married to Wairaka from Poverty Bay. She was the daughter of Toroa, Captain of the Mataatua waka.  The story is told that Hau’s wife had been lured away from his whare by another and they fled down the coast.  As Hau followed them, he named various places because of incidents that occurred. At one place, he was impressed by the abundance of the green birds he came across and so named the area Paekākāriki – the perching place of the green Kakariki.