Signing
| Signature | Sheet | Signed as | Probable name | Tribe | Hapū | Signing Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Sheet 8 — The Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet | Porutu | Te Rira Porutu | Te Āti Awa | Te Matehou? | Port Nicholson 29 April 1840 |
Te Rira Porutu was a Te Matehou rangatira of Te Āti Awa who lived at the Pipitea pa. He signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Treaty of Waitangi sheet on April 29 at Port Nicholson. He was married to Te Awa, who was a close relative of Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, a Taranaki prophet. He had two sons, Ihaia Porutu and Mr. Henry Pitt, Ihaia died in 1886 aged 69.
Te Rira attended the Kohimarama conferences in July 1860. He said that he witnessed the sale of the New Zealand Company goods, and said ‘I have seen the evil of the Maori sale’. [1]
On July 14, Te Rira, Wiremu Tamihana Te Neke, Te Manihera Matanoiruhau and Hemi Parai sent a letter to Governor Gore-Browne with twelve points of concern. Among these, they noted that English law has not been applied to disputes between Māori and on Māori land in the same way as it has been to Pākehā, the vilification of those who wish not to sell their land, and the fact that it was not Pākehā from New Zealand that fought against Waikato, but reinforcements from Port Jackson.
[1] Tuesday, July 24, 1860, p.8, Proceedings of of the Kohimarama Conference, Comprising Nos. 13 to 18 of the 'Maori Messenger.' (NZETC)
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