Kawerau was an ancestor of the Ngati Tuwharetoa tribe of this area, a grandson of the great Toi-Kai Rakau, a famous chief who lived in the Bay of Plenty before the 1350AD Maori fleet arrived. Toi gave his grandson the name Kawerau, meaning "carrier of leaves". He chose this name because, in those days, the people used to live on berries, fern roots and tawhara. Tawhara is the fruit of the keikei plant, which grows on many of our large native trees - it looks like a small light - green flax bush. Nowadays, tawhara is often called "bush banana" and, unfortunately for us, the opossums get this fruit, so that most of us don't have the chance to see or taste it.
At a certain time of the year, the people used to gather this fruit, together with the leaves surrounding it and let it ripen in their storehouses, so Kawerau got his name from the gathering and carrying of leaves at harvest time.
Sometimes you will read of "te Tini o Kawerau". This means "the many tribes of Kawerau".
Today "Kawerau" means the District surrounding the town.