Wiremu Te Wheoro

Wiremu Te Wheoro (?–1895) was a chief of Ngāti Naho, a Waikato hapū (sub-tribe) closely associated with Ngāti Mahuta. At a great hui (gathering) in 1857 which proposed that Te Wherowhero become the Māori King, Te Wheoro spoke in favour of the Governor.

In 1862 he was made an assessor - a local Māori magistrate who worked with the European magistrate in resolving disputes among Māori. In 1853 he attempted to build a courthouse for John Gorst, the local European Resident Magistrate, and clashed with the King's supporters. He could not prevent many of his younger tribesmen from joining the King when war broke out in 1863, but still helped deliver food and other supplies to British forces during the Waikato campaign. Later he acted as a go-between for the government and the Kīngitanga (the King Movement) leaders, and tried hard to achieve peace. But the land confiscations placed an insurmountable barrier between the parties, and he was unsuccessful. His efforts to achieve redress for his own people, whose land had also been confiscated, also failed.

In 1865 Te Wheoro became an assessor of the Native Land Court. He later resigned from this position. He was disgusted by what he saw as the corruption of the Court, which in his view awarded land titles to Māori who were more disposed to sell the land. In 1879 he was elected to Parliament, representing Western Māori. He continued to attack the Native Land Court, and remained a stern critic of government policies toward Māori. In an 1882 debate on the Native Lands Rating Bill he accused the government of racial hypocrisy and blatant land-grabbing.

Te Wheoro accompanied King Tāwhiao to England in 1884, where they tried to appeal directly to Queen Victoria for the redress of grievances, including the Waikato land confiscations. They were received not by the Queen, but by Lord Derby, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Te Wheoro told Lord Derby that the government had not returned confiscated land, nor paid compensation. He described his disillusionment with the New Zealand Government, and Māori political powerlessness. The complaints were referred back to the New Zealand Government, which dismissed them.

While he was in London Te Wheoro lost his seat in Parliament, and his claims at Maungatautari were ignored by the Native Land Court. Te Wheoro continued to oppose government Māori policy until his death in 1895.

Adapted from DNZB biography by Gary Scott

• Read the full biography in Te Ara Biographies

Wiremu Te Wheoro

He rangatira a Wiremu Te Wheoro (?-1895) o Ngāti Naho, hapū o Waikato. He pānga tō Ngāti Naho ki a Ngāti Mahuta. I tētahi hui nui i te tau 1857 i karangahia hei tohu i a Te Wherowhero hei Kīngi Māori, ka tū a Te Wheoro ki te tautoko i te Kāwana. I te tau 1862 ka tohungia ia hei āteha, arā, he kaiwhakawā Māori ka noho me tētahi kaiwhakawā Pākehā ki te whakatau i ngā tautohetohe i waenganui i ētahi Māori. I te tau 1853 ka tīmata tana hanga i tētahi whare kōti mō Te Koohi (John Gorst), te kaiwhakawā ā-rohe; ka rīriri rātou ko ngā tāngata o te Kīngitanga. Ka pakaru ngā riri i te tau 1863. Tē taea e Te Wheoro te ārai i ana toa kia kuhu ki ngā ope taua a te Kīngi. Heoi, ka harihari kai tonu ia mā ngā hōia Pākehā i ngā pakanga ki Waikato. Nō muri i ngā pakanga, ka noho ia hei takawaenga i waenganui i te kāwanatanga me ngā rangatira o te Kīngitanga; heoi, nā te raupatunga o ngā whenua, hauwarea atu ngā mahi whakamārire a Te Wheoro. Ka tahuri ia ki te rapu paremata mō ngā whenua o tōna hapū i raupatutia; kāore i arongia ēnei tono āna.

I te tau 1865 ka tohungia a Te Wheoro hei āteha mā te Kōti Whenua Māori. Taihoa, ka whakawātea ia i tēnei tūranga, nā tana mōrikarika ki ngā mahi kino a te Kōti. Ko tana whakapae, kei te whakawhiwhia e te Kōti ngā taitara whenua ki ngā Māori kei te hiahia ki te hoko i te whenua. I te tau 1879 ka pōtitia a Te Wheoro ki te Pāremata hei Mema Māori mō Te Hau-ā-uru. Ka arohaehae tonu ia i te Kōti Whenua Māori me ngā kaupapa here a te kāwanatanga e pā ana ki te Māori. I tētahi tautohetohe i te Whare Pāremata i te tau 1882 mō te Pire Reiti Whenua Māori, ka whiua e ia tana whakapae mō te kāwanatanga, he arero rua, he apu whenua.

I te tau 1884, ka haere a Te Wheoro ki Ingarangi i te taha o Kīngi Tāwhiao, ka tono tika ki a Kuini Wikitōria kia ea ngā nawe o te Māori, tae atu ki ngā whenua o Waikato i raupatutia. Kāore rātou i tūtaki ki te Kuini, ka tūtaki kē rātou ki a Rōre Tāpiri (Lord Derby), te Hēkeretari mō ngā Koroni. Ka whakatakoto e Te Wheoro i ngā nawe ki mua i a Rōre Tāpiri mō ngā whenua raupatu kāore anō kia whakahokia, mō te paremata kāore anō kia utua. Ka whakaatu ia kua kore ia e whakapono ki te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, kāore hoki he mana tōrangapū o te Māori. Ka tukua e Peretānia ēnei nawe ki te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa hei whakaarotanga ake mā rātou; kāore i paku arongia.

I a ia i Rānana, ka riro tōna tūru i te Pāremata, i tua atu, kāore i arongia e te Kōti Whenua Māori ana kerēme mō Maungatautari. Ka whakahē tonu a Te Wheoro i ngā kaupapa here a te Kāwanatanga mō te iwi Māori tae rawa ki tōna matenga i te tau 1895.