Turi (also known as Rāniera) Te Pātete signed Te Tiriti at Rangitoto (D’Urville Island) on 11 May 1840.
He was among the Ngāti Koata people who migrated from Kāwhia to Kāpiti with Ngāti Toa in 1822. Following the 1824 battle of Waiorua on Kāpiti Island, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia, who had fought on opposing sides, came to an arrangement. Ngāti Koata would settle among Ngāti Kuia at Te Hoiere (Pelorus Sound) in return for providing protection. The agreement was cemented by arranged marriages between senior rangatira on both sides. As part of this arrangement, Te Pātete married Ōriwia Meihana of Ngāti Kuia.