tokoroa was the name of a chief of the ngāti kahupungapunga, who was slain by raukawa during the siege of pōhaturoa, a volcanic plug adjacent to atiamuri, 27 km south of tokoroa. this battle took place around 1600 as the ngāti raukawa moved into the southern waikato. the name "tokoroa" first appeared on the early maps of the 1860s, although this was for an area 50 km north east of today's tokoroa.