Te Ohu signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi on 4 June 1840 at Motungārara, a small island off the southern tip of Kāpiti Island. Henry Williams recorded that he was a principal rangatira (chief). He may have been from Te Āti Awa or Ngāti Toa.
In 1839, Te Ohu stopped Tapui of Te Āti Awa from throwing the Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rauparaha into the water.
It is possible that this was Wi Pata Te Ohu, who signed the deed for the sale of Mana Island, off Porirua, in 1865.