Kaiapoi takes its name from the M?ori p? (fortified village) which was built just north of the site of the current town around the year 1700 by the Ng?i Tahu chief Turakautahi. Eventually to become the largest fortified village in the South Island it lay on the site of a stronghold of an earlier tribe, Waitaha whose history and traditions Ng?i Tahu eventually adopted. T?r?kautahi was the second son of T??huriri, consequently Ng?i T??huriri is the name of the hapu (subtribe) of this area. In selecting the p? site, T?r?kautahi determined that kai (food/resources) would need to be poi (swung in) from other places hence the name Kaiapoi which it is said can be translated as a metaphor for "economics". All manner of resources were transported along the waterways of the Rakahuri and Taerutu on their way to or from Kaiapoi, Pounamu from the Arahura river, Titi (muttonbird) from the islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura or T?hua (obsidian) from Mayor Island / Tuhua and other resources all indicative of a sophisticated trading network between North and South Island tribes
