King Korokī

Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (1908/9?–1966) was the eldest son of Te Rata, the fourth Maori King.

When his father died in 1933 he did not want to become King. He felt he was not fit for the task, and because his people were so poor he doubted whether they could support a king. At Te Rata's tangihanga (funeral), however, all the visiting chiefs agreed that the kingship should continue, and that Korokī should be king.

Throughout his reign he struggled to maintain the dignity of the Kīngitanga and obtain recognition. Many of the younger Maori leaders, including Āpirana Ngāta, thought his claim to kingship was pretentious. They rejected anything that did not support the sovereignty of Parliament. King Korokī's status was sometimes acknowledged by the government, and sometimes not.

In 1939, the government refused to exempt him from registering under the social security regulations. The Waikato tribes saw this as disrespect, and refused to attend the Treaty centennial celebrations in 1940.

Attempts to settle the Waikato confiscation claims formed another theme of Korokī's kingship. However, when it was achieved the settlement did not include a statutory recognition of King Korokī's position. From the late 1950s his health deteriorated, and he left public life. He died at Ngaruawahia in 1966.

Adapted from the DNZB biography by Angela Ballara

• Read the full biography in Te Ara Biographies

Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero

Nō te tau 1868, 1869 rānei ka whānau mai a Rua Kēnana. Ko Ngāi Tūhoe tōna iwi. I te matenga o Te Kooti i te tau 1893 ka waiho tana kupu e mea ana ka haere ake he Tangata ki te whakatutuki i ana mahi kia hoki mai ngā whenua. Ki a Rua, ko ia tonu taua tangata.

I tēnei kōrero āna ka tōtara wāhi rua te Hāhi Ringatū nā Te Kooti i hanga. Nui te iwi o Ngāi Tūhoe ka whakapono ki a Rua me tana kī ka hoki mai ngā whenua ki raro i te mana o te iwi. I te tau 1907 ka hangaia e Rua tōna hapori ki te take o Maungapōhatu, te maunga tapu o te iwi.

I te tau 1910 ka hokona e Rua te 40,000 eka (16,000 heketea) o ngā whenua o Tūhoe mō te 31,000 pāuna, hei whakatipu i tōna pokapū i Maungapōhatu. Ko tana tūmanako, ka tae te rori me te rerewē ki reira. Hauwarea tērā tūmanako. Ka matemate ana pononga i te takurua, i te kore kai tika, i te kino o te āhua o ngā whare. Tatū ki te tau 1913 kua heke te rahi i Maungapōhatu mai i te 500-600 ki ngā whānau e 30 pea.

Kāore te kāwanatanga i pai ki a Rua. I te tau 1907 ka whakamanatia te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga, e hāngai tika ana ki a ia. I te tīmatanga o te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, i whiua te whakapae he whana i te mana o te kāwanatanga tana mahi i tana kore i whakaae ki te tuku i ana tāngata ki te pakanga. Kāore i mutu te tutetute a te kāwanatanga i a ia. Ka whakapae te kāwanatanga kei te hoko waipiro a Rua i Maungapōhatu kāore nei ōna raihana hoko i taua kai. Kāore ia i tae ki te kōti i te wā i karangahia ai, ko te wā o te mahi kai hoki. Ka tonoa ētahi pirihimana ki te mau i a ia; engari kāore ia i haere.

I te Āperira o te tau 1916 ka whakaekea a Maungapōhatu e te ope nui o ngā pirihimana mau pū, i whakahaua kia haere ki te mauhere i a Rua. Ka pakū te pū o wai rā ka rere tēnā ki tāna pū, tēnā ki tāna pū. E rua ngā Māori i mate, ko tētahi ko te tama a Rua. E ai ki te tumu kōrero a Judith Binney, ka rāwekeweke ngā pirihimana i ngā taunakitanga, ka whakapae rātou nā ngā Māori te pakū tuatahi i tuku. Whakahē ana a Rua me ana pononga i tēnei. E ai ki a Binney, kei te tohu te rahi rawa atu o ngā taunakitanga ki te tika o te taha Māori. I tua atu, hei ko tāna, te āhua nei i āta whakamatea tētahi o ngā Māori. Nō muri ka nui ngā pātai mō te tika me te mana ā-ture o ngā whakaaetanga mō te whakaeke i a Maungapōhatu.

Ko te whakawākanga o Rua i te Kōti Matua tētahi o ngā whakawākanga roa rawa atu ki Aotearoa. Kāore i eke ngā whakapae mōna he whana i te mana o te kāwanatanga, heoi, ka whakaaetia te whakapae mō tana kore haere me ngā pirihimana i tō rātou haerenga atu ki te mau atu i a ia ki te whare herehere. Ka utaina te kotahi tau e mahi ana i ngā mahi taumaha, mutu ana tērā ko te 18 marama ki te whare herehere. E ai ki te kaiwhakawā o te kōti a Hapimana (Judge Chapman), me ako ngā Māori ki te horapa o te ture. Nō muri ka whakahēhia e te tokowaru o te hunga whakawā te whakataunga a Hapimana.

I te tau 1918 ka hoki a Rua ki Maungapōhatu. Tae ana ki te tau 1922 ka whakawhitia e Ngāi Tūhoe ōna whenua e 40,000 eka (16,00 heketea) i runga i te kī taurangi a te kāwanatanga ka whakatakotoria tētahi rori atu i Maungapōhatu ki ngā rohe o Te Moana a Toi me Rotorua. Kāore he rori, engari ka utua he paremata i te tekau tau atu i 1950. Ka heke haere, ka heke haere te ora o te kāinga o Rua i Maungapōhatu; tae ana ki te tau 1930 kua haere kē te nuinga o ngā tāngata. Nō te tau 1937 ka mate a Rua.