The name of this bay may be a recognition of the Ngāi Tahu rangatira or chief, Kaikoura Whakatau, who was influential in the area during the 1830s.
There is evidence on the headland, Kaikoura Point, of early Māori occupation in the form of pits.1
1. James R. Eyles, Place Names of Port Underwood- a post European History (Picton: October Enterprises, 2002) 48.
