Nga Tohu

In 1840 more than 500 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. Ngā Tohu, when complete, will contain a biographical sketch of each signatory.

Signing

SignatureSheetSigned asProbable nameTribeHapūSigning Occasion
197Sheet 1 — The Waitangi SheetMatiu TauharaMatiu TauharaTe Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu, Te RoroaKaitāia 28 April 1840

Matiu Tauhara signed the Treaty of Waitangi on 28 April 1840 at Kaitāia.

He spoke at the signing, ‘Will a man be taken up if he walk in the night? … That is all I am afraid of. If a man steal it is right to punish him. This is all I have to say: Let all the Governors and Pakehas be like the Missionaries, that we be good. We have not been hurt by them.’ [1]

In 1876 Matiu Tauhara was one of a number of chiefs presented to the governor, Lord Normanby.

[1] T. Lindsay Buick, The Treaty of Waitangi: or, how New Zealand became a British colony, Mackay, Wellington, 1914, p. 149

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How to cite this page

'Matiu Tauhara', URL: /politics/treaty/signatory/1-197, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 14-Jun-2016

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