This pūriri peg was planted in the original survey of the Bell Block in 1852 which followed the deeply divisive sale of 1500 acres of land by the Puketapu hapū in 1848. Rawiri Waiaua, chief of the Hua portion was happy to sell while Te Waitere Katatore, leading another tribal grouping committed to holding the land. The dispute was the flashpoint which ignited the period of inter-hapu conflict known by settlers as the Puketapu feud. It was not until 1853 until settlers started moving onto the land.