According to one Māori legend, a long time ago, a rangatira (chief) named Tūrakautahi fell in love with a beautiful woman called Tuao Wharepapa. He was already married so had to leave his pā. As he journeyed to Kawatiri where he settled, he passed the mountain and named it for his lost love Te Ao Wharepapa. The Māori name is also said to refer to a flat whare or house "which this well known landmark slightly resembles" but this is disputed. What is not disputed, is the significance which the maunga (mountain) and the Range have for Māori ... read more

It is difficult to establish if there was ever Māori occupation in the Baton Valley, it is unlikely, however undoubtedly tāngata whenua would have visited.
The Baton once had two hotels, a shop, post office and a racecourse! It is thought the river and valley were named after a runaway sailor, Batteyn Norton who was helping make a track in the Motueka Valley, when they found traces of gold in about 1855.Gold digging was in full swing by 1859, with about 100 diggers settled in the valley.
Small amounts of hops were grown by settlers in the area and tobacco was also introduced and, by the 1920s, dairying came into its own with improved access and the introduction of trucks which collected cream from country farms.

Most of the land in the valley is still in the same families that have farmed here for three or four generations, and now it is mainly sheep and cattle.

The Baton House, on the adjacent property and visible as you drive toward the head of the valley, was built in 2010 as a replica of the original Baton Hotel which operated on this site in the 1860s gold mining era. The homestead, owned by a charitable trust, is used for hosting groups and educational events. See www.thebatonhouse.nz