Ngā Ruahine prophet, military leader, master tactician, peacemaker and Parihaka supporter, Tītokowaru was one of New Zealand's most important nineteenth-century figures.
Riwha Titokowaru
Personal details
Biography
Events In History
5 November 1881
About 1600 troops invaded the western Taranaki settlement of Parihaka, which had come to symbolise peaceful resistance to the confiscation of Māori land.
7 September 1868
Gustavus von Tempsky was killed during an assault on Tītokowaru's south Taranaki pā. His exploits during the New Zealand Wars had made the Prussian soldier of fortune a folk hero for many European settlers.
9 June 1868
Ngā Ruahine fighters led by Riwha Tītokowaru killed three Pākehā settlers near Ketemarae, north of Hāwera, signalling the resumption of fighting in south Taranaki.
Articles
New Zealand's 19th-century wars
War changed the face of New Zealand in the 19th century. Many thousands of Māori died in the intertribal Musket Wars between the 1810s and the 1830s. There were more deaths during the New Zealand Wars of the 1840s to 1870s between some Māori and the Crown, which for many tribes had dire consequences. Read the full article
Page 4 - Prophets and colonists
From 1864, a new round of fighting in the New Zealand Wars was sparked by Māori religious
Page 5 - End of the New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars ended in 1872. European settlers prevailed through weight of numbers and economic power. By 1900, New Zealand was a settler society, with Māori pushed out to
Treaty timeline
See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi. Read the full article
Page 2 - Treaty events 1850-99
See the key events between 1850 and 1899 relating to the Treaty of
Tītokowaru's war
In the 1980s James Belich argued that Tītokowaru’s war had become a ‘dark secret’ of New Zealand history, ‘forgotten by the Pākehā as a child forgets a nightmare’. For Belich, Tītokowaru was ‘arguably the best general New Zealand has ever produced’. Read the full article
Page 1 - Tītokowaru's war
In the 1980s James Belich argued that Tītokowaru’s war had become a ‘dark secret’ of New Zealand history, ‘forgotten by the Pākehā as a child forgets a nightmare’. For Belich,
Page 2 - Early years
Tītokowaru’s commitment to missionary Christianity was showing signs of strain by the 1850s as a Māori nationalist movement
Page 3 - The year of the lamb
Tītokowaru proclaimed 1867 as ‘the year of the daughters … the year of the lamb’. His efforts for ‘reconciliation and peace’ were remarkable, given the events of the previous two
Page 4 - The war begins
In March 1868 Tītokowaru authorised a muru (punitive plunder) against Pākehā involved in the confiscation of land at Ketemarae
Page 5 - Turuturumōkai to Moturoa
Before dawn on Sunday 12 July 1868, 60 of Tītokowaru’s men led by Haowhenua bypassed the large colonial force in Waihī Redoubt and attacked nearby Turuturumōkai, which was
Page 6 - Crisis of confidence
News of Te Kooti’s assault on Matawhero in Poverty Bay a few days after the defeat at Moturoa raised serious questions about the Armed Constabulary’s ability to protect settlers
Page 7 - Taurangaika
Taurangaika measured 140 m across at its widest point and was without doubt Tītokowaru’s ‘most formidable
Page 8 - A return to peace
In late 1869 Tītokowaru had his third conversion to peace, after which his relationship with Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi of Parihaka
Page 9 - Further information
Links to further information and books about
Related Biographies
Native Minister who was in charge when 1600 troops invaded the settlement of Parihaka in November 1881
Main image: Moturoa battle plan
A plan of the battlefield of Moturoa (1868) drawn by James Cowan in 1921.
