PÃÂkàBay, formerly called Halletts Bay is a bay on the eastern shore of Lake Taupà Â, New Zealand, about 27km south-east of Taupà  township. It was known as Hamaria, in the nineteenth century. and before that Paka. The early MÃÂori explorer Tia built a tà «ÃÂhu (ceremonial altar) to signify he occupied the land and named the cliffs Taupà Â-nui-a-Tia (the great cloak of Tia). This name was later given to the lake by the occupying tribes that followed.
NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi is a principal ancestor of NgÃÂti Tà «wharetoa. He was the priest navigator of the Te Arawa waka, and upon his arrival in Aotearoa he journeyed inland, seeking land for his people. Eventually, he arrived in the Taupà  area. He climbed Tauhara mountain and then travelled eastwards around the lake. He arrived at PÃÂkàBay and found a tà «ÃÂhu (altar) already constructed by Tia (an important tupuna for Tà «wharetoa) that included green leaves, indicating it was of recent construction. NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi used old, scorched materials to build his own tà «ÃÂhu, which he used to conduct certain sacred rites and to establish his claim to the lands. He showed Tia his tà «ÃÂhu and, seeing the older materials, Tia agreed that NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi had a prior claim to the land. Accepting NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi's claim, Tia left for Titiraupenga on the western shores of Lake Taupà Â. PÃÂkàis a Te Reo MÃÂori word meaning "to be burnt" or "scorched", and is a reference to NgÃÂtoro-i-rangi scorching branches of leaves.
Missionaries renamed PÃÂkà'Hamaria' in the mid-1800s (a transliteration of Samaria). Later, it was renamed again 'Halletts Bay', before being restored to "PÃÂkàBay". Following the passage of the NgÃÂti Tà «wharetoa Claims Settlement Act 2018, the name of the bay was officially altered to PÃÂkàBay in March 2019.
PÃÂkÃÂ Bay encompasses the following point/s;