Before any Maoris came to the Urewera country there was no Lake Waikaremoana.

Once there lived an old man and his daughter, Haumapuia, beside a river at Hopuruahine, near Ruatahuna.

One night this old man told his daughter to go and fetch some water from the river because he was thirsty. After a while Haumapuia, the old man's daughter, came back and gave the water to the old man after which he drank it.

The next night the old man told his daughter again to go and get some more water but Haumapuia refused to go. After awhile the old man told his daughter that he would die of thirst, so his daughter went with a torch from the fire to the river. While she was walking along a gust of wind came and blew the torch out, so Haumapuia had to go back to the whare to get another torch. When she reached the whare the old man was very angry and after she had left the old man followed Haumapuia.

While Haumapuia was getting more water the old man crept up from behind and pushed her into the river and she was drowned. When the old man was standing there looking into the river he saw a Taniwha rushing along to where the lake is now. The Taniwha was Haumapuia, the old man's daughter, and in anger she rushed round and round looking for a way to reach the sea. It was this rushing around amongst the hills that made lake Waikaremoana. We can still see Haumapuia, now a bunch of weeds, if we look at the lake.