Signing
| Signature | Sheet | Signed as | Probable name | Tribe | Hapū | Signing Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Sheet 3 — The Waikato-Manukau Sheet | Te Pakaru | Te Pakaru | Ngāti Maniapoto | Waikato Heads Late March or early April 1840 |
Te Pakaru signed the Waikato-Manukau sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi in late March or early April 1840 at Waikato Heads. He was a rangatira (chief) of Ngāti Maniapoto from Kāwhia.
Te Pakaru was considered a conqueror by Ngāti Awa, because he was part of a Waikato war party who invaded Taranaki. When the lands of Taranaki were surveyed and considered for purchase, there was uncertainty around who should sign for the sale. Te Pakaru received a share of the payment and the land was distributed to European settlers. When Taranaki Māori returned from Waikato they claimed the land as their own until Te Pakaru and other Waikato rangatira threatened another invasion.
In 1846 Te Pakaru was one of five chiefs who wrote to Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rangihaeata and his allies, encouraging him to make peace with Pākehā and stop trying to avenge the capture of Te Rauparaha, Te Rangihaeata’s uncle.
It is likely that Te Pakaru was baptised in the 1860s after meeting the Wesleyan missionary John Whiteley, who asked Te Pakaru and other Waikato rangatira not to return to fight in Taranaki. Two or three hundred people at this meeting were baptised.
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