 Ngāi Tai are said to have originated as a distinct iwi identity on the eastern coastline of Auckland shortly after the Tainui canoe/waka called there in about the mid-14th century.According to Ngāi Tai tradition, Te Puke o Tara and Otara are named after the ariki (paramount chief) of Ngāi Tai known as Tara Te Irirangi, who lived from the late 18th century until 1852.An earlier name applied to the area was "Ngā Kopi o Toi" ('The Karaka Berries of Toi'), named for a karaka grove said by tradition to have been brought to Tamaki from the Chatham Islands and planted in the vicinity of Greenmount by Toi-te-huatahi.