Pātara Pouroto signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 4 March 1840 at Karaka Bay, Tāmaki (Auckland).
In 1860 Pātara represented Ngāti Pāoa at the Kohimarama conference of chiefs organised by Governor Thomas Gore Browne. He told the assembly that the governor was at fault in the dispute between British troops and Māori at Waitara. It would have made more sense for the governor to send tribal messengers to discuss the difficulties with Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke. He also objected to the restrictions on Māori purchases of guns and gunpowder.