page 348

The Chiefs.

Wiremu Te Wheoro Te Morehu Maipapa comes from a distinguished line of ancestors. From a woman of celebrity, named Hourua, after whom the tribe was called, and whose worthy chief was that famous man Wiremu Te Awatora, of Raglan. Then from the renowned ancestor Tapoue, Te Wheoro becomes a near relative of Tawhiao, the present Maori King, which circumstance accounts for the fact of his taking possession of the Tiwai canoe, which conveyed the late Maori King, Potatau Te Wherowhero, from Manukau to Ngaruawahia.

The father and mother of Te Wheoro resided in the earlier times at their settlement, Kaniwhaniwha, on the Waipa River, but, as was the custom, they would remove to other places, being interested in other lands, thus verifying the old Maori proverb, "Ka mete kainga tahi; ka ora kaingarua" (he that has but one home will be subject to failure; he that has two homes will prosper). The name of Te Wheoro's father was Te Kaingamata, and his mother's name was Ngapaoa of the Ngatihinetu tribe of Rangiaowhia, Te Wheoro's grandfather was Te Whakaete, who was acknowledged to have been of great power among the Waikatos. Te Whakaete was killed at Maungatautari by the Ngatipukenga, a war party on its way to Te Wairoa, east coast, and headed by the chief Naunau. Te Wheoro's own settlement was at Te Kohekohe, Lower Waikato, and he was always a faithful adherent of the Europeans. His valuable services were brought into requisition by General Cameron when war was declared against the Waikatos. The calamities which befell his people arising out of the war must have greatly afflicted him, for he tried very hard to divert war during the Civil Commissionership of Mr. Gorst, M.P., in the Waikato, when Sir George Grey's Runanga system was introduced, and when the two Maori newspapers—the Government organ, Te Pihoihoi, and the Maori King organ, Te Hokioi—were waging a hostile war, which unhappily culminated in a breach of the peace, Manga Maniapoto having instructed his partisans to seize the press and type, which was duly carried out. Te Wheoro is called by the Maoris "he tangate rangatira" (a man of noble extraction), and although he is a Ngatihourua of Whaingaroa, a Ngatimahuta of Waikato-nui, and a Ngatihinetu of Rangiaowhia, his particular tribe is the Ngatinaho, the members of page 349which acknowledge his chieftainship and mana, and these people acted under him during the Waikato war. Of his fidelity, friendship, and singular loyalty to Europeans before the war, during the war, and subsequently up to the present time, abundant evidence may be adduced both by Maoris and Europeans, while Government despatches and military records simply corroborate facts well known to reliable settlers. Te Wheoro is in great favour with the King party, and besides being decorated with the New Zealand war-medal, and holding a commission as Major in the Colonial forces, he is a member of the House of Representatives for the Southern Maori Electoral district of the North Island.

Wahanui, the most influential chief of the Ngatimaniapoto tribe, is a man of giant proportions, considerably over six feet in height. His name in the Maori language signifies "broad," and was given to him in reference to his enormous stature. He was educated at the "Three Kings," and was originally intended for the Church, but returning to the King Country, he took up his home at Te Kopua in the centre of his tribe, where he has remained, watching over the interests of his race. For many years he was the king's principal minister and staunchest supporter. With a singularly dignified and courteous manner, he displays a remarkable intelligence, which is heightened in no small degree by a wonderful power of oratory which he usually employs with remarkable effect at the councils of the native tribes. He is one of the largest native land-owners, the territory of his tribe extending over the most fertile portion of the King Country.

Manga Rewi, a chief of the Maniapoto tribe, descended from a long line of ancestors, is a man of great intelligence, and, although now aged, is one of the most influential and respected representatives of his race. He has been throughout a strong supporter of the King Movement, and during the war was one of the most valorous and daring of Maori leaders.

Patara te Tuhi belongs to the same tribe as Tawhiao, namely, the Ngatimahuta, and is, besides, his brother-in-law. He is a clever man, and being ready with his pen, he was selected by the Kingites to edit the Hokioi, the newspaper which they established to advocate the Kingite cause. This paper was printed by types and a press obtained by the Maoris who went to Europe with Dr. Hochstetter, and which was given to them by the Archduke Maximilian, who afterwards had such an unfortunate career in Mexico. This powerful organ came to an untimely end, the printing-office having page 350been smashed up by an armed party under Rewi, and the plant thrown into the Waipa river.

Whitiora Wirimu te Komete, a chief of the Waikato tribe, is renowned for his bold defence of the Rangiriri pa against the imperial troops. He narrates his capture with ninety of his men as follows:—

"A white flag was hoisted on board the steamer, at the Waikato river, in consequence of which he ordered the flag of truce to be hoisted in the Rangiriri pa, which act he supposed would have led to a parley; but, to his great astonishment, General Cameron and fifty of his men came into the pa, and commanded the Maoris to deliver up their arms. We could easily have shot the fifty soldiers, including the General, if we had known that their coming into the pa was to deal treacherously with us. We could have maintained our post in the pa, and we had made up our minds to fight to the death. After admitting the soldiers into the fortress we discovered for the first time we were prisoners."

Paora Tu Haere is a chief of the Ngatiwhatua tribe.

Hati Wira Takahi, chief of the Ngapuhi tribe.

Paratene Te Manu, chief of the Ngatiwai tribe.

Tukukino, head chief of the Ngatitematera, was one of the principal Hauhau leaders during the war, and one of the most active obstructionists to European Settlement. He is at present one of the most aged natives in New Zealand.

Te Raia Ngakutu Te Tumuhuia, chief of the Ngatitematera tribe, was the last of the New Zealand cannibals. He attacked a pa at Katikati, in 1842, belonging to the Ngatiterangi, defeated the powerful chief Te Whanake, and feasted his own followers upon the slain.

Te Kooti is well known as the great Hauhau leader during the war. He is a man of singular intelligence, and still exercises a widespread influence over the tribes. He was sent as a prisoner of war, with other natives, to the Chatham Islands, and his escape from that inhospitable region with his followers, together with his massacre of the settlers at Poverty Bay, form one of the most remarkable and stirring events connected with the campaign.