Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao

Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, about 1880.

Tāwhiao, of the Tainui hapū (sub-tribe) Ngāti Mahuta, was born at the end of the Musket Wars between Tainui and Ngāpuhi. He was a Christian, was well versed in the ancient rites of the Tainui tribe, and had the status of a prophet. His father Pōtatau was the first Māori King, and on his death in 1860 Tāwhiao inherited the kingship and the spiritual leadership of his people. He was king for the next 34 years. The earlier years were the most turbulent period in New Zealand’s race relations history.

Invasion, military defeat and the confiscation of about 1.2 million acres (almost half a million hectares) of Waikato land in 1864 reduced Tāwhiao and his people to refugees in Ngāti Maniapoto territory, which became known as the King Country. They remained there for many years.

Despite a number of meetings with government ministers and officials, there was no reconciliation. Tāwhiao was adamant that they would only accept a return of the confiscated land. This was rejected by the government. It was not until 1881 that the king and his followers finally laid down their weapons and returned to Waikato. But they did not give up their efforts to obtain compensation and to give expression to the King movement.

In 1884 Tāwhiao led a deputation to England to petition Queen Victoria. He sought an independent Māori parliament, and an independent commission of inquiry into the land confiscations. He stressed that the Kīngitanga was not separatist and did not reject the Queen’s authority. It was rather an attempt to unify Māori so that they might more effectively claim the Queen’s protection. In his view the Māori King and British Queen could peacefully coexist, with God over both. Tāwhiao’s petition was referred back to the New Zealand government, which dismissed it.

Tāwhiao continued to help Māori address their concerns and petition the government. Notably, he established a Māori parliament, Te Kauhanganui. He died in 1894.