Te Ahiwaru signed the Bay of Plenty (Fedarb) sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi at Te Kaha on 14 June 1840. He was a rangatira (chief) of the Te Whānau-a-Te Ehutu hapū (subtribe) of Te Whānau-a-Apanui.
In 1866, Te Ahiwaru led a taua (war party) to Taranaki, with the remainder of Waikato. He was thought to be a nephew of the aged Te Waru. [1]
The claim of Te Ahiwaru and others for the Te Kopua Block was allowed in the Native Lands Court in Kaipara on 21 February 1873. [2]
[1] The Waikatos at Taranaki, Daily Southern Cross, 31 December 1866, p. 5
[2] Native Lands Court [Before Judge Monroe], Daily Southern Cross, 24 February 1873, p. 3