When Hone Ngapua was born in 1838, in Kaikohe, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand, his father, Wikiriwhi Tuhirangi, was 32 and his mother, Wao Miriama Waiopare, was 28. He married Pane Niurangi Puriri on 13 March 1869. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 26 October 1932, in his hometown, at the age of 94, and was buried in Kaikohe, Auckland, North Island, New Zealand.