NZHistory, New Zealand history online - ngati toa

Maraenuku pā

Brees, Samuel Charles, 1810-1865 : Makaenuku Pa; natives preparing to leave the Hutt. (1845)

Maraenuku pā was in the vicinity of the electricity substation on Connolly Street, Lower Hutt. No trace of it remains. It was built in 1842 by Taringa Kuri (Te Kāeaea) to assert the Ngāti Tama iwi’s claim to the land. For its part, the New Zealand Company claimed to have purchased the land from Te Ātiawa. The pā was destroyed by British troops on 27 February 1846 on the instructions of Governor Grey, who had just ordered the occupation of the disputed land.

Ngāti Tama and their Ngāti Toa allies retaliated with non-violent but destructive raids on Hutt Valley farms. Several hundred destitute settlers took refuge in Wellington. In the next few weeks an advanced party of troops was fired on, and a settler and his young son were killed while working contested land east of the Hutt River. (Their graves are in Bolton Street Cemetery.)

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-179-013
Painter: Samuel Charles Brees

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of these images.

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

Map filter:

NZ Wars

tags:

new zealand wars

wellington wars

painting

ngati tama

ngati toa

Rangi Kuini Wikitoria Topeora

Portrait of Rangi Kuini Wikitoria Topeora taken by an unknown photographer, circa 1840.

Read more about Rangi Kuini Wikitoria Topeora

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-058452-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

ngati toa

ngati raukawa

rangi topeora

Wiremu Te Kakakura Parata

Portrait of Wiremu Te Kakakura Parata seated out side a raupo whare, probably at Karaka Bay, Seatoun, Wellington. Taken circa 1890s.

Read more about Wiremu Parata

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/1-020616-G
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

Maui Pomare

Portrait of Sir Maui Wiremu Piti Naera Pomare (1876-1930) of Ngati Mutunga and Ngati Toa; health reformer, politician, and first Maori doctor. Photographed in 1923 by Stanley Polkinghorne Andrew of Wellington.

Read more about Maui Pomare

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/1-0-19098-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

maui pomare

ngati toa

ngati mutunga

Portrait of Te Rangihaeata

Portrait of the Ngāti Toa leader and warrior, Te Rangihaeata.

Te Rangihaeata and his uncle, Te Rauparaha, led their tribe during the Wairau incident of 1843. Te Rangihaeata’s wife, Te Rongo, was killed during the fighting and he took utu (revenge) by killing the Europeans taken prisoner at Wairau.

Read more about the Wairau incident
Read more about Te Rangihaeata (DNZB website)

Credit:

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-114-046
Artist: R. Hall
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon

tags:

wairau

ngati toa

te rangihaeata

The fallout from Wairau

Robert FitzRoy

The news from Wairau shocked settlers throughout the colony. The killing of men who had surrendered was viewed as cold-blooded murder. There were fears that these events signalled the beginning of a widespread Maori insurrection.

Dealing with the fallout from this incident was one of the first tasks facing the new Governor, Robert FitzRoy, when he arrived in the colony in December 1843. The government resisted the calls to bring those responsible to justice. The official verdict was that Ngati Toa had been provoked by the reckless actions of the New Zealand Company in continuing the land survey. In effect the Company had brought the tragedy upon itself and there was no evidence that the Nelson settlers had any legitimate claims to land beyond Tasman Bay.

Wairau today

This response was approved by the Colonial Office. London was unwilling to incur the costs involved in any military action against Ngati Toa. But the New Zealand Company and its settlers could barely conceal their anger. The government’s lack of action confirmed in their minds the long-held view that the government put the needs of Maori above those of the settlers.

FitzRoy upset the New Zealand Company further when he issued Crown grants for land in Wellington and Nelson on a much smaller scale than demanded by the Company. Furthermore, they were only issued on the payment of more money. While angry New Zealand Company officials called for the Governor to be replaced, FitzRoy’s actions were in their best long-term interests. By being awarded a more secure title, albeit for less land, the Company settlers had greater security. The likely war that would have resulted had he attempted to force the issue with Ngati Toa would have made the situation far worse for those struggling to establish themselves in a new land. All of this was lost on the Company. Settlers in Nelson burnt FitzRoy in effigy when news of his recall to Britain was received in late 1845.

Wairau memorial

The sequel to Wairau was played out in further fighting that occurred in the Hutt Valley and Porirua in 1846 and in Wanganui in 1847. In each case the causes and participants were largely the same as those involved in 1843.

A memorial to the Europeans killed was unveiled at Tuamarina Cemetery in 1869 on what was for many years known as 'Massacre Hill'. This was put up on the initiative of Edward Jerningham Wakefield, whose uncle Arthur had died in the incident.

Violence erupts - Wairau incident

Land Commissioner William Spain

The fertile plains of the Wairau Valley, south-east of Nelson, were seen as the answer to the Nelson settlement’s lack of flat land suitable for agriculture. New Zealand Company surveyors sent to the area in early 1843 met with immediate opposition from Ngati Toa. Te Rauparaha was adamant that these lands were not part of the Company’s 1839 ‘purchases’. Accompanied by his nephew Te Rangihaeata and Hiko, Te Rauparaha went to Nelson to discuss the matter with Arthur Wakefield. Ngati Toa wanted the matter to be looked into as part of William Spain’s investigation into land purchases made prior to Britain’s annexation of New Zealand.

Ngati Toa ordered a halt to the survey. William Wakefield instructed his brother Arthur to continue and a fresh survey party arrived in the Wairau valley in April 1843. The Company planned to put its faith in the notion that ‘possession is 9/10ths of the law’. It hoped that with settlers occupying the land the Crown would have little choice but to retrospectively recognise their claims.

Te Rangihaeata

By early June 1843 Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata had evicted the Company surveyors and burnt their temporary shelters. As these had been built from materials growing on Ngati Toa land Te Rauparaha maintained that he was within his rights to take this action.

The New Zealand Company disagreed. This was clearly an act of arson and there was a general feeling amongst the settler population that Te Rauparaha needed to be put in his place. Some pointed to the fact that Ngati Toa had acquired this land through conquest so it was not theirs to sell. This argument was a thin one. How Te Rauparaha had acquired the land did not alter the fact that he had not included it in the sale to the Company. The decision was made to arrest Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata on arson charges.

Wairau incident map

An armed posse of Europeans, including Nelson Chief Constable Henry Thompson and Arthur Wakefield, arrived near the Tuamarina Stream on 17 June 1843. Te Rauparaha, Te Rangihaeata and approximately 90 other Maori had also gathered. There were perhaps 40 women and children present.

Thompson attempted to handcuff Te Rauparaha. Te Rangihaeata spoke up, insisting that he was on his own land. He pointed out that Maori did not go to England to take ‘Pakeha’ land. At this point it seems that one of the Europeans accidentally fired a gun. Fighting broke out, and about eleven settlers and two Maori were killed, including Te Rongo, Te Rangihaeata’s wife. After an initial retreat the surviving Europeans were surrounded and forced to surrender.

Te Rauparaha appeared willing to spare the lives of those who had surrendered, but Te Rangihaeata demanded utu for the death of his wife. Te Rauparaha ceded to his nephew's demand. Eleven European prisoners, including Arthur Wakefield and Henry Thompson were killed on the spot. Most were slain personally by Te Rangihaeata.

Ngati Toa and the New Zealand Company

Te Rauparaha

The Wairau incident had its origins in the migration of Ngati Toa and their allies from Kawhia to the Kapiti region of the southern North Island. Led by Te Rauparaha and armed with muskets, Ngati Toa had defeated traditionally armed local tribes Rangitane, Ngati Apa and Muaupoko. After the decisive battle for Kapiti Island in 1824 Ngati Toa extended its sphere of influence into the South Island. Combining brute force with diplomacy, Te Rauparaha developed and fostered alliances with other tribes to maintain control of the lands throughout the Cook Strait region. Kapiti became the centre of a lucrative maritime trading empire. Trade with Pakeha was nurtured and whalers and traders were encouraged to live among Ngati Toa.

It was with these conquering tribes that the New Zealand Company had to negotiate when it arrived in 1839. The Company, through the operations of its chief negotiator Colonel William Wakefield, eventually claimed to have purchased 1.2 million hectares on both sides of Cook Strait. On the basis of three dubious (and soon discredited) purchases, the Company set about establishing its main settlement at Port Nicholson (Wellington), where the first settlers arrived in January 1840.

Port Nicholson struggled to establish itself. Flooding in the Hutt Valley forced the settlers to abandon their original site. When they moved across the harbour to Te Aro and (present-day) Thorndon they ran into more problems. The Maori occupants of these sites denied the Company’s claims to the area. Reliance on Maori for their well-being did not sit well with many Company settlers. They viewed Maori as meddlesome and a hindrance to European settlement.

The second of the Company’s planned settlements was Nelson. The Company claimed to have purchased land at Port Whakatu (Nelson) from Ngati Toa in 1839. Captain Arthur Wakefield, William’s brother, negotiated with the resident Te Tau Ihu chiefs who rejected Ngati Toa’s claims to the area.

By the end of February 1842 there were 500 settlers in Nelson with a further 1500 on the way. Nelson Maori initially benefited from supplying the new settlers with food but relations began to sour when both the Company and Crown reneged on certain terms of their purchases. When the Company decided to push ahead with plans to survey the Wairau plains things took a serious turn for the worse.

The Wairau incident

Scene of the Wairau incident

On 17 June 1843, 22 Europeans and four Māori were killed when an armed party of New Zealand Company settlers and Ngāti Toa clashed over the purchase of land in the Wairau valley at Tuamarina, 10 km north of today’s town of Blenheim. This was the most significant clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the years immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Most of the European victims were executed after surrendering. Outraged settlers demanded action against Ngāti Toa. They were ultimately disappointed when the new Governor, Robert FitzRoy, maintained that the Māori had been provoked by the unreasonable actions of the Europeans. FitzRoy was widely condemned by settlers, but the alternative – open warfare with Ngāti Toa – would probably have made the situation far worse for those struggling to establish themselves in a new land.

Maui Pomare

Māui Pōmare, of Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Toa, was born in 1875 or 1876. His mother, Mere Hautonga Nicoll, was the daughter of Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi, one of the few women to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. His parents were followers of the pacifist prophets Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, and sometimes resided at their Parihaka settlement. Pomare was present at Parihaka when it was invaded and destroyed by the Armed Constabulary in 1881.

He was educated at Te Aute College, where he was taught about modern theories of hygiene, promoted by James Pope, the Inspector of Native Schools. He came to believe that many aspects of Māori culture conflicted with health and hygiene. This view did not appeal to traditional Māori leaders.

In 1893 Pōmare left to study in the United States. He attended the American Medical Missionary College in Chicago, and graduated MD in 1899, returning to New Zealand the following year.

In 1900 there were fears of a bubonic plague, and the government addressed the problem of substandard hygiene and housing in the main centres and rural Māori settlements. Pōmare became Māori Medical Officer in 1901. District Māori Councils were also set up to prepare regulations on sanitation and hygiene. Pōmare travelled widely, inspecting water supplies and sanitary arrangements, and advising the Māori Councils. He became a skilled speaker when visiting Māori communities, which helped him break through the conservative attitudes of many older tribal leaders. He actively sought to remove the influence of tohunga (traditional healers), and supported the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907. He believed assimilation into Pākehā society presented the best hope for the Māori people.

After 1907 the government lost interest in health reform and cut back funding for the Māori Councils. As a result the Councils stopped much of their work, and Pōmare was transferred to the Native Department.

In 1911 he was elected to Parliament representing Western Māori. When Massey's Reform government came to power in 1912 he was made a member of the Executive Council representing Māori. He was unable to win major health reforms, although he tried hard to settle Taranaki land claims. He was knighted in 1922.

In 1923 he became Minister of Health. As Minister he introduced maternity hospitals and new medical techniques. This significantly reduced infant and maternal mortality among both Māori and Europeans.

Working with Āpirana Ngata and others he was instrumental in setting up the Sim Commission, which inquired into land confiscations (raupatu) in 1927. The Commission, although working with limited terms of reference, upheld many longstanding grievances arising from the raupatu. Pōmare died in 1930.

Māui Wiremu Piti Naera Pōmare

Ka whānau mai a Māui Pōmare i te tau 1875, 1876 rānei. Ko ōna iwi ko Ngāti Mutunga me Ngāti Toa. Hei tamāhine tōna whāea a Mere Hautonga Nicoll nā Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi, tētahi o ngā wāhine tokoiti ka haina i te Tiriti o Waitangi. He pononga ōna mātua nā Te Whiti o Rongomai me Tohu Kākahi, ngā matakite mautohe mārire. I ētahi wā ka noho ōna mātua ki tō rātou kāinga kei Parihaka. I reira a Pōmare i te tau 1881 i te wā ka whakaekengia a Parihaka e ngā Pirihimana Mau Pū.

I kuraina a Pōmare ki te kāreti o Te Aute. I reira ka ākona ia ki ngā ariā hou mō te noho i runga i te mā, e whakahauhia rā e Te Pōpi (James Pope), te Kaititiro o ngā Kura Māori. Ka toko te whakaaro ki roto i a Pōmare kei te taupatupatu ngā tikanga a te Māori ki te hauora me te horoi. Kāore ētahi o ngā tohunga Māori i rata ki ana kōrero.

I te tau 1893 ka wehe a Pōmare ki te whai i te mātauranga ki Amerika. Ka kuhu a ia ki te Kāreti o Amerika mō ngā Tākuta Mihinare (American Medical Missionary College) i Chicago, ā, nō te tau 1899 ka puta ia i ana whakamātautau MD; nō te tau o muri ka hoki ia ki Aotearoa.

I te tau 1900 i te noho mataku a Aotearoa kei whakaekea e te mate piwa urutā. Ka tahuri te kāwanatanga ki te whakatika i te paru o te noho a te iwi Māori, tae noa ki te kino o te āhua o ngā whare i ngā tāone nui me ngā kāinga Māori. Ka eke a Pōmare hei Āpiha mō te Hauora Māori i te tau 1901. Ka whakatūria ngā kaunihera ā-rohe hei whakatakoto ritenga mō te noho paru kore. Ka takahi a Pōmare i te roa, i te whānui o te whenua ki te arotake i ngā wai mō ngā hapori, i ngā whakaritenga paru kore, ki te āwhina hoki i ngā Kaunihera ā-rohe. Ka tau ia ki te kōrero ki ngā huinga Māori; he āwhina nui tēnei mōna, mai kore ka ngāwari ngā kaumātua ki a ia me ana kaupapa. Ka whakapau kaha a ia kia tāmia te awe o ngā tohunga. Ka tautoko ia i te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga o te tau 1907. I tino whakapono a Pōmare, ka ora te iwi Māori mā te whai i ngā tikanga a tauiwi.

Whai muri i te tau 1907, ka mutu te aro nui a te kāwanatanga ki ngā āhuatanga hauora, ā, ka tapahia ngā tahua ki ngā Kaunihera Māori ā-rohe. Nāwai ā, ka mutu te nuinga o ngā mahi a ngā Kaunihera, ka tonoa a Pōmare ki te Tari mō ngā Take Māori mahi ai.

I te tau 1911 ka uru a Pōmare ki te Pāremata hei Mema Māori mō Te Tai Hau-ā-uru. Nō te tau 1912 ka kuhu ko te rōpū Riwhōma hei kāwanatanga, ka whakatūria a Pōmare ki te Rōpū Whiriwhiri hei kanohi mō te iwi Māori. Kāore i tutuki ana tūmanako kia whakarerekēngia te pūnaha hauora. Hāunga, i whakapau kaha ia ki te whakatau i ngā kerēme whenua i Taranaki.

I te tau 1923 ka tohungia ko ia hei Minita mō te Hauora. I tēnei wā, ka whakatūria ngā whare hōhipera whakawhānau pēpi, ka whakaurua mai ngā tikanga hou ki te whānuitanga o ngā kaupapa hauora. Kātahi ka iti ake te matemate o ngā kōhungahunga me ngā whaea, Māori mai, Pākehā mai.

Ka mahi tahi rāua ko Āpirana Ngata kia tū te Kōmihana a Sim i te tau 1927 ki te rangahau i ngā raupatunga whenua. Ahakoa te whāiti o tana titiro, ka whakaae te Kōmihana ki te rahi o ngā kerēme ka pupū i ngā mahi raupatu i te whenua. Ka mate a Pōmare i te tau 1930.

Reddit Twitter Facebook Google StumbleUpon