Paora Kūkūtai signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi on 16 May 1840 at Waikanae. The Te Āti Awa rangatira (chief) should not be confused with Paora Kūkūtai of Ngāti Tīpā, Waikato.
Kūkūtai was involved in the fighting between Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Raukawa in 1839. A missionary in Waikanae, Minarapa, tried to make peace with Ngāti Raukawa and free prisoners, but did not succeed.
In 1852, Kūkūtai wrote to the governor and land purchase officer Donald McLean about the appointment of an assessor.
Kūkūtai was killed in battle at Waireka in March 1860, during the First Taranaki War. He was buried at Poutoko.