Wellington and its environs have been occupied by various Māori groups from the 12th century. The legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, a chief from Hawaiki (the homeland of Polynesian explorers, of unconfirmed geographical location, not to be confused with Hawaii), was said to have stayed in the harbour from . A later Māori explorer, Whatonga, named the harbour ''Te Whanganui-a-Tara'' after his son Tara. Before the 1820s, most of the inhabitants of the Wellington region were Whatonga's descendants.