Wiremu Kingi letter to the Governor

In April 1859 Governor Gore Browne wrote to both Te Teira and Wiremu Kīngi the men at the centre of the disputed purchase of land at Waitara. Te Teira assured the governor that ‘no other person’s rights were infringed’ by the offer. The governor had decided that Kīngi had no customary rights to Waitara because when the first settlers arrived in Taranaki he was living on the Kapiti coast. Kīngi did not challenge Te Teira’s title directly, but argued that as Māori and Pākehā were living in peace it would be wise to let matters lie. He stressed that the land would not be given up - 'not till death'.