Te Rangiwhakarurua, sometimes recorded as Te Rangiwhakaruru, signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi on 23 May 1840 at Whanganui. He was a rangatira (chief) of Ngāti Hau from the Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi iwi (tribe).
In 1829, Ngāti Hau captured Te Puke and Te Ao of Ngāti Raukawa, who were travelling to Kāpiti. Te Rauparaha asked Te Rangiwhakarurua to allow the prisoners to travel to Kāpiti, and he agreed.
In 1866 Te Rangiwhakarurua was a signatory to the sale of the Rangitīkei-Manawatū Block.