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V- 


Judge  Wilson. 


THE    STORY    OF 


WAHAROA 


A  Chapter  in  Early  New  Zealand  History 


TOGETHER   WITH 


SKETCHES  OF  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 
AND  HISTORY 


BY 


JOHN    ALEXANDEB    WILSON 

Lately  a  Judge  of  the  Native  Land  Court  of  New  Zealand. 


CHBISTCHURCH,  WELLINGTON  AND  DUNEDIN,  N.z. 
MELBOURNE  AND  LONDON: 

WHITCOMBE  AND   TOMBS   LIMITED 


Te  Waharoa's  waiata  of  defiance  to  Ngapuhi — a  message 
sung  to  Mr.  Wilson  (father  of  the  author)  on  the 
29th  March,  1837,  at  Te  Papa  Tauranga. 

Ko  au  anaJce  ra  te  waihou  net,  i  te  ngatu  raiaha — Ka  tu, 
raiaha — Ka  haere,  raiaha — Ka  pana,  raiaha — 
Mahia,  aha — Onoia-onoia  raiaha — Ka  kote  aha — 
Korero  mai  roto,  Korero  mai  roto. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  ORIGINAL  EDITION. 


THE  following  pages  furnish  a  truthful  narrative  of  some  past 
events,  which  occurred  in  New  Zealand,  during  the  life  time  of  the 
father  of  the  present  Chief,  William  Thompson — and  form,  if  the 
paradox  may  be  allowed,  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  Auckland, 
South  of  Auckland,  before  Auckland  was  Auckland. 

In  Part  I.,  an  effort  has  been  made  to  clear  the  early  incidents 
related  from  the  dimness  and  uncertainty  with  which  time,  and 
lack  of  written  record,  has  involved  them ;  while  the  views, 
submitted  in  Part  II.,  have  been  formed  by  a  disinterested,  and 
not  unobservant,  spectator.  And,  in  reference  to  Part  III.,  I  feel 
assured  that  the  historical  statements  contained  will  be  found  to  be 
of  a  very  reliable  nature. 

I  would  add  that  the  only  evidence  accepted  in  this  "  STOEY  OF 
TE  WAHARO A ' '  is  such  as  has  been  directly  received  from 
Missionaries,  Pakeha-Maoris,  and  Maoris,  who  were  .contempor- 
aneous with,  and  personally  well  acquainted  with,  that  remarkable 
Chief ;  and  though  a  knowledge  of  Waharoa  and  his  times,  was  not 
acquired  by  me  yesterday,  still,  I  beg  to  thank  those  friends  with 
whom  I  have  lately  conversed,  for  their  kind  efforts  to  recall 
circumstances  that  were  well  nigh  forgotten  and  lost. 

I  will  conclude  by  observing  that  I  have  not  sought  to  multiply 
horrors, — if  much  has  been  said,  much  also  remains  unsaid,  for 
there  was  no  lack  of  materials.  Very  repelling  scenes  have  been 
omitted  ;  and  the  reader  is  not  to  suppose  that  this  slight  sketch 
contains  all  the  dreadful  things  that  were  done  in  Waharoa's  time. 

J.  A.  WILSON. 
Remuera,  Auckland,  1866. 


PEEFACE. 


It  is  forty  years  since  the  Story  was 
published,  during  which  time  not  a  single 
statement  of  fact  therein  regarding  Maori 
history  has  been  questioned,  much  less  refuted. 
So  far  as  I  am  aware,  only  one  fact  has  been 
questioned,  and  that  is  outside  the  range  of 
Maori  history,  namely,  whether  the  disap- 
pointed immigrants  who  arrived  at  Sydney 
from  New  Zealand,  went  pearl  fishing.  A 
gentleman  attempted  to  verify  the  statement  by 
searching  the  records  in  Sydney.  He  found 
that  the  disappointed  immigrants  had  arrived 
from  New  Zealand ;  their  port  of  departure,  as 
stated  in  the  Story,  being  Hokianga;  but  he 
failed  to  trace  them  to  the  pearl  fisheries,  which 
is  not  surprising,  as  other  vessels  suitable  to 
pearl  fishing  would  be  used  by  the  immigrants, 
and  not  the  deep  sea  ship  in  which  they  had 
come  from  New  Zealand. 

I  was  asked  for  my  authority  and  gave  it, 
namely  the  late  Mr.  Fairburn,  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  formerly  a  resident  of 
Sydney,  who  told  the  story  of  the  immigrants 
and  their  wanderings  to  my  father  in  1833,  when 
weather-bound  together  at  the  same  sand-spit 
island,  while  voyaging  in  an  open  boat  from  the 
Thames  to  the  Bay  of  Islands. 


VI.  PREFACE 

The  information  contained  in  this  Story  was 
gathered  by  me  from  many  sources,  my  prin- 
cipal informant  being  my  father,  the  late  Eev. 
J.  A.  Wilson,  of  the  C.M.S.,  also  the  late  Eev. 
T.  Chapman,  C.M.S.,  the  Eev.  J.  Hamlin, 
C.M.S.,  Mr.  H.  Tapsal,  and  many  other  persons 
both  European  and  Maori,  also  from  personal 
observation. 

Here  I  would  note  that  the  Story  of  Te 
Waharoa  served  a  useful  public  purpose  in 
rectifying  an  error  that  the  Native  Land  Court, 
then  new  to  its  office,  had  fallen  into,  when 
laying  down  the  dictum  called  its  1840  Eule 
(vide  Oakura  judgment  delivered  by  three 
judges,  including  the  Chief  Judge,  while  sitting 
in  the  Compensation  Court).  Apart  from  its 
circumlocution,  this  decision  meant  that  the 
Maoris  had  killed  and  eaten  each  other  and 
taken  each  other's  land  without  rhyme  or 
reason,  and  the  N.L.  Court,  after  two  years' 
search,  had  failed  to  find  any.  Whereas  the 
Story  of  Te  Waharoa  shewed  that  native  move- 
ments, political,  in  war,  or  otherwise,  were 
subject  to  cause  and  effect,  not  to  blind  chance. 
It  also  showed  that  the  natives  were  accustomed 
to  defend  their  lands  with  their  lives.  At  Eoto- 
rua,  in  1836,  the  chief  cried :  ' '  Let  me  die  upon 
my  land."  The  tribe  rallied  and  repulsed  the 
invaders.  At  Maketu,  another  chief  used  the 
same  words,  his  tribe  stood  firm,  and  they  died 
almost  to  a  man  in  defence  of  their  land.  Thus 
we  find  that  the  following  passage  in  the 
decision  does  not  hold  good: — "Land  with  its 


PEEFACE  Vll. 

places  of  strength,  concealment,  and  security 
seems  to  have  been  regarded  more  as  a  means 
of  maintaining  and  securing  the  men  who 
occupied,  than  the  men  who  occupied  it  as  a 
means  of  defending  and  maintaining  possession 
of  the  land."  Many  other  examples  might  be 
added,  not  contained  in  the  Story,  in  which  the 
natives  state  that  they  fought  for  their  land  to 
the  death. 

Again,  in  vesting  ownership  the  decision 
drew  an  arbitrary  line  across  the  threads  of 
native  tradition  and  custom,  a  course  that 
necessarily  failed  when  a  better  way  was  found ; 
this  was  aptly  pointed  out  by  the  late  Judge 
Heal,  of  the  Native  Land  Court,  who  remarked 
to  me  some  time  afterwards,  saying,  "  Since 
your  little  book  appeared  we  heard  nothing 
more  of  the  1840  Eule."  This  was  a  useful 
public  purpose  served. 

I  have  now  to  amend,  on  my  own  initiative, 
certain  details  that  led  to  the  Te  Haramiti 
expedition.  Instead  of  two  girls  quarrelling 
in  the  water  while  bathing  at  Kororareka  beach, 
there  were  four  girls,  or  rather  two  pairs  of 
sisters.  The  first  pair  had  lately  been  the 
favourites  of  one  Pereri  (Freddy),  a 
Pakeha-Maori  of  Kororareka.  They  belonged 
to  a  hapu  on  the  north  side  of  the  Bay.  The 
second  pair  were  their  successful  rivals,  and 
belonged  to  the  tribe  at  Kororareka.  The  first 
pair  seeing  their  enemies  bathing  entered  the 
water  and  assaulted  them  so  violently  that  their 
mother  waded  in  to  their  rescue,  and  submerged 


Till.  PREFACE 

the  assailants  until  their  insensible  bodies  were 
drawn  out  of  the  water  by  their  friends.  The 
mother  seeing  this  exclaimed,  "What  does  it 
matter,  they  will  make  a  nice  relish  for  our  new 
potatoes."  This  allusion  to  the  girls  as  food 
was  a  curse,  greatly  offensive  to  their  hapu, 
who  requested  Hongi  Hika,  chief  of  their  side  of 
the  Bay,  to  avenge  the  insult.  Hongi  prudently 
declined  to  bring  about  a  civil  war,  but  other 
chiefs  were  less  circumspect,  and,  raising  a 
war  party,  attacked  Kororareka  and  were 
repulsed  with  loss  that  led  to  the  disastrous 
Te  Haramiti  expedition  described  in  the  Story. 
The  Sketches  of  Ancient  Maori  Life  and 
History  may  receive  some  slight  additions, 
which  I  will  briefly  state.  The  Tawhitirahi  pa 
mentioned  as  overlooking  Kukumoa  stream,  at 
Opotiki,  lately  became  the  property  of  a  gentle- 
man who  proceeded  to  level  the  ramparts ;  along 
the  line  post  holes  were  found,  time  had 
removed  the  wood,  but  in  each  hole  there  was 
a  human  skeleton;  the  workmen  disliking  the 
look  of  the  thing  abandoned  the  job.  Tawhiti- 
rahi was  no  doubt  a  pa  of  great  antiquity,  and 
the  men  that  built  its  battlements  are  a  mystery. 
Their  manners  and  customs,  judging  by  this 
glimpse,  appear  to  have  resembled  Fijian 
horrors  described  by  the  early  European 
visitors  to  that  country.  They  could  not  have 
been  of  the  Hawaiki-Maori  race,  whose  tradi- 
tions, generally  precise,  would  have  furnished 
a  clue.  The  same  may  be  almost  as  certainly 
said  of  earlier  Maui-Maori  people.  Other  pas 


PREFACE  IX. 

have  been  levelled  in  many  places,  but  no  such 
ghastly  remains,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  have 
been  discovered. 

It  is  known  however,  that  a  people  other  than 
the  Mam-Maori  nation  inhabited  New  Zealand 
before  the  advent  of  the  Hawaiki-Maori.  These 
were  the  Urukehu,  or  white  New  Zealanders, 
with  red  hair.  This  tribe,  possibly  a 
remnant  of  a  larger  people,  lived  as  lately  as 
nine  generations  ago  at  Heruiwi  and  country 
westward  and  southward  from  there,  along  the 
margin  of  the  forest  towards  Mohaka  Eiver. 
The  Urukehu  were  not  a  martial  people.  They 
were  unable  to  resist  the  Hawaiki-Maoris,  who 
attacked  them  under  the  chiefs  Wharepakau 
and  Patuheuheu,  his  nephew,  who  drove  them 
from  Heruiwi  and  other  possessions,  until  they 
took  shelter  in  a  large  and  strongly-fortified 
pa.  This  pa  was  carried,  and  thereafter  the 
Urukehu  ceased  to  be  a  tribe. 

Wharepakau  and  Patuheuheu  had  landed  at 
Te  Awa  o  te  Atua,  thence  they  secured  them- 
selves and  their  followers  in  a  pa  on  the  moun- 
tain of  Whakapoukorero,  from  which  point  they 
made  war  on  the  Urukehu.  I  incline  to  the 
opinion  that  these  adventurers  were  of 
Ngatiawa  lineage,  thrust  out  from  the  Bay  of 
Islands. 

Traces  of  the  Urukehu  red  hair  were 
frequently  visible  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty  fifty 
years  ago. 

I  now  come  to  my  last  topic,  namely,  the 
occupation  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  and  Hokianga 


X.  PREFACE 

by  Ngatiawa,  and  their  expulsion  therefrom  by 
Ngapuhi.  When  Ngatiawa,  of  Mataatua 
canoe,  under  Muriwai,  their  chieftainess, 
arrived  at  Whakatane,  they  seemed  to  have 
deliberately  wiped  six  generations  of  sojourn  at 
the  Bay  of  Islands  off  their  traditional  slate, 
and  landed  at  Whakatane  as  though  they  had 
come  straight  from  Hawaiki.  This  may  have 
been  devised  by  their  leaders  in  order  to  appear 
with  prestige,  and  to  avoid  the  danger  in  their 
new  location  of  appearing  as  a  beaten  people. 
This  revised  tradition  is  still  firmly  held  at 
Whakatane,  the  head-quarters  of  Ngatiawa, 
and  has  been  set  forth  by  me  in  the  *  *  Sketches. ' ' 
The  true  story  of  Ngatiawa  is  that  Mataatua, 
after  the  meeting  at  Ahuahu  described  in  the 
"Sketches,"  went  north  like  Tainui  and  Te 
Arawa  canoes,  but,  unlike  them,  did  not  turn 
back  south.  She  landed  at  Tako,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  first  bay,  immediately  north  of  the  Bay 
of  Islands.  Here  her  immigrants  settled  and 
spread;  thence  to  Rangihu,  on  Te  Puna 
peninsula,  where  they  had  a  strong  pa,  and, 
where,  known  as  Te  Whanau  o  te  Hikutu — a 
thoroughly  Ngatiawa  tribal  appellation — they 
ascended  Waitangi  and  Kerikeri  Rivers,  and, 
crossing  their  watersheds,  descended  into 
Hokianga  country  by  the  Waihou  River.  They 
had  strong  earthwork  fortifications,  some  of 
great  size  and  ruas — underground  food  stores— 
at  Puketonu,  and  near  Waimate  East.  At 
Hokianga  they  held  much  of  the  land  extending 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  from  above 
Utakura  to  Motu  River. 


PEEFACE  XI. 

Another  Ngatiawa  canoe  from  Hawaiki 
landed  at  or  near  Doubtful  Bay.  Her  people 
extended  their  settlement  through  Kaitaia  to 
the  south  side  of  Hokianga  Heads,  where  they 
had  a  pa  near  Oponini.  Communication 
subsisted  between  these  and  the  Ngatiawa 
opposite  Kohukohu.  Such  was  the  state  of 
Ngatiawa  settlement  in  the  north  150  to  180 
years  after  the  landing  at  Tako,  when  war 
arose.  Bahere,  a  half-caste  Ngatiawa-Ngapuhi 
chief  became  offended  with  his  Ngatiawa 
relations,  and  attacked  and  destroyed  the  pa 
near  Hokianga  Heads.  The  war  became 
general,  Ngapuhi  joined  Eahere,  and  Ngatiawa, 
with  few  exceptions — including  Te  Whanau  o  te 
Hikutu,  were  driven  out  of  the  Bay  of  Islands 
and  Hokianga  districts  by  the  all-conquering 
Ngapuhi. 

It  was  then  that  Mataatua,  under  Muriwai, 
went  to  Whakatane,  or  it  was  probably  another 
canoe  named  after  her — 150  to  180  years  being 
possibly  too  long  a  time  for  a  canoe  to  remain 
in  a  seaworthy  condition.  It  was  probably  a 
result  of  this  war  that  the  chiefs  Wharepakau 
and  Patuheuheu,  who  seem  to  have  been  of 
Ngatiawa  connection,  landed  at  Te  Awa  o  te 
Atua. 

From  the  landing  of  Mataatua  at  Tako,  the 
number  of  the  generations  of  the  descendants 
of  her  mixed  people  at  Hokianga  tallies  exactly 
with  the  number  of  generations  for  Tainui  and 
Te  Arawa. 

A  singular  feature  of  this  war  is  that  the 
descendants  of  the  belligerents  on  both  sides, 


Xll.  PREFACE 

apart  from  a  few  at  Hokianga,  know  little  or 
nothing  of  its  history.  My  late  father  in  the 
thirties  saw  the  earthworks  at  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  and  sought  to  learn  their  origin,  but 
he  was  only  told  that  they  had  been  built  by 
Ngatiawa,  nothing  more  could  the  natives  tell. 
The  late  Dr.  William  Williams,  Bishop  of 
Waiapu,  who  had  lived  many  years  at  the  Bay 
of  Islands  in  the  twenties  and  thirties,  said 
exactly  the  same  thing  to  me  thirty  years  ago, 
when  he  asked  me  if  I  had  solved  the  mystery 
which  I  had  not  then. 

The  Ngapuhi,  coming  from  Hawaiki,  landed 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Bay ;  the  Ngatiawa,  as 
we  have  seen,  landed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Bay  of  Islands;  necessarily,  therefore,  the 
boundary  between  the  tribes,  tacit  or  acknow- 
ledged, would  probably  be  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
bottom  of  the  Bay.  Accordingly  we  find 
Ngatiawa,  with  strategical  skill,  fortifying  the 
Waitangi  valley,  and  westward  of  the  same, 
where  the  river  takes  a  bend.  As  time 
advanced  and  population  increased,  each  tribe 
doubtless  became  a  menace  to  the  other ;  friction 
would  ensue,  and  the  Ngapuhi,  recognising  the 
strength  of  the  position  in  their  front,  made  an 
outside  movement  via  Kaipara  and  the  coast 
road  to  Hokianga  Heads  as  a  beginning  to  the 
war. 

In  this  preface  I  regret  I  have  not  always 
been  as  precise  as  I  could  wish  in  the  names 
of  persons  and  places  in  the  story  of  the  Uru- 
kehu — white  New  Zealanders — and  in  the 


PREFACE  Xlll. 

account  of  the  occupation  in  the  North,  the 
reason  being  that  I  am  not  permitted  to  peruse 
my  Judge's  notes  in  the  records  of  the  Native 
Land  Court  without  payment,  which  I  cannot 
consent  to,  seeing  the  information  is  required 
for  historical  purposes  only. 

J.  A.  WILSON. 

AUCKLAND, 

2nd  October,  1906. 


CONTENTS. 


STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA. 


PART  I. 

Introductory — Te  Waharoa's  Youth,  Captivity,  Liberation— The 
Ngatiwhakaue — Waharoa  Chief  of  Ngatihaua — Defeats  Te  Rau- 
paraha — Enters  into  alliance  with  Ngatiterangi — The  Ngatimaru — 
War  with  Ngatimaru — Te  Totara  taken — Mauinena  and  Makoia 
taken — Matakitaki  taken — Battle  of  Te  Ihimarangi — Fall  of  Hau- 
whenua — Maori  St.  Bartholomew — The  Wakatohea — Te  Rohu  takes 
Te  Papa  at  Opotiki — Waharoa  repulses  Tareha — Missionaries  and 
Pakeha-Maoris — Voyage  of  the  "  Herald" — Tauranga  and  Ngatite- 
rangi— Panorama  of  Bay  of  Plenty — Its  Tribes,  Soil,  and  Climate — 
Te  Rohu  takes  Te  Papa,  at  Tauranga — How  Ngaiterangi  invaded 
Tauranga — "Haws"  Tragedy — Ngarara  writhes  his  last — O 
tempora  I  O  mores  t — Tamati  Waka  bold  to  rashness — The  Girls' 
quarrel — Heke  wounded — Haramiti's  Taua — Slaughter  at  Ahuahu 
— Slaughter  at  Tuhua — Carnage  at  Motiti — Te  Waru's  wakamo- 
mori,  or  the  Captor  driven  Captive. 


PART  H. 

Pakeha-Maori  murdered — Missionaries  arrive  at  Puriri — Unsuc- 
cessful Immigrants — Ferocity  of  New  Zealanders — Their  depravity 
— Maori  Ladies — Maramarua — Maori  Religion — The  Tohungas — 
Missionary  Regime — Governors  Hobson  and  Fitzroy,  their  Policy 
— Native  Protectorate — Governor  Grey — Flour  and  Sugar  Policy — 
Unable  to  fight  the  Maoris — Campaign  against  the  early  Mission- 
aries— An  old  Missionary — First  English  Bishop  arrives — St.  John's 
College  founded — Reflections. 


CONTENTS  XV 

PART  III. 

Huka  murders  Hunga — Te  Waharoa  wages  war  with  the  Arawas 
— Fourteen  guests  murdered — Missionaries  reprove  Te  Waharoa — 
Fall  of  Maketu — Loss  of  European  Property — Te  Tumu,  its  people, 
its  fall — Tautari  repulses  Ngaiterangi — Dreadful  state  of  the 
Country — Two  of  the  Missionaries  do  not  retire — Mrs.  Haupapa — 
Tarore  killed — Ngakuku  a  Christian — Matiu  Tahu — A  coup  de  main 
— Tohi  Te  Ururangi — Ohinemutu  Campaign — Mission  Station 
burnt — Cannibal  Scene — Taharangi's  Taua — Te  Patutarakihi — 
Waitioko's  Sweet  Waters — Te  Waharoa 's  Death — Te  Arahi — 
William  Thompson. 


SKETCHES  OF  MAOEI  LIFE  AND  HISTOEY. 


PAGE 

THE  MAUI  MAORI  NATION    ...          ...  ...  ...  125 

THE  HAW AIKI  MAORI  IMMIGRATION  ...  ...  ...  159 

NGAETERANGI,  OF  TAURANGA          ...  ...  ...  186 

The  Ngatipukenga  Tribe              ...  ...  ...  210 

The  Ngatirawharo  Tribe              ...  ...  ...  214 

The  War  of  Ngatipukeko  of  Mataatua  with  Ngati- 

manawa  of  Te  Arawa            ...  ...  ...  215 

A  Maori  Duel  ...             ...             ...  ...  ...  222 

Another  Maori  Duel       ...            ...  ...  ...  223 

Maori  Communism         ...             ...  ...  ...  226 

The  Tuwhakairiora  Tribe              ...  ...  ...  233 

THE   HAWAIKI  MAORI  IMMIGRATION  (Supplementary 

Chapter)               ...             ...             ...  ...  ...  251 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTBATIONS. 


Judge  Wilson  ...  ...  ...  ...  frontispiece. 

Te  Bauparaha           ...             ...             ...             ...             ...  1> 

Rev.  Henry  Williams  (afterwards  Archdeacon  of  Waimate)  20 
Upper  part  of  Whangaroa,  showing  where  the  "Boyd" 

drifted  after  taking  fire   ...             ...             ...             ...  32 

Residence  of  Colonel  Wakefield,  principal  agent  of  the 

New  Zealand  Company,  Wellington            ...             ...  47 

Capt.  William  Hobson,  R.N.,  First  Governor  of  New 

Zealand              ...             ...             ...             ...             ...  64 

Sir  George  Grey       ...            ...            ...            ...            ...  68 

Bishop  Selwyn          ...             ...             ...             ...             ...  78 

Judge  Maning  (a  famous  "  Pakeha  Maori  ")     ...             ...  88 

Kororareka  Beach,  Bay  of  Islands,  in  1836        ...            ...  98 

Storehouse  for  Kumara           ...             ...             ...             ...  128 

Native  Stores  for  Flax             ...             ...             ...             ...  132 

The  Downy  Rata  (Metrosideros  tomentosa)        ...             ...  140 

Pohutukawa  Tree,  Kawhia  Harbour    ...             ...             ...  172 

The  people  of  Turi's  canoe,  after  a  voyage  of  great 

hardship,  at  last  sight  the  shores  of  New  Zealand     ...  184 

A  Maori  War  Expedition        ...            ...            ...            ...  208 

Kakapo      ...            ...            ...            ...            ...            ...  218 

WakaNene               ...             ...             ...             ...             ...  228 

Wood  Pigeon  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  240 


THE  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA. 


PAET  I. 


The  following  fragment  of  "Biographic  Uni- 
verselle"  contains  the  sketch  of  a  "fine  old 
Maori  gentleman,  one  of  the  olden  time,"  and 
may  perhaps  prove  interesting  to  some  readers. 

The  history  of  Te  Waharoa  shows  something 
of  the  condition  of  the  ancient  New  Zealanders, 
who  separated  into  various  tribes,  inhabited 
the  valleys  of  the  Thames  and  Waikato.  who 
occupied  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  and 
held  the  Lake  district  adjacent.  It  is  a  history 
which  enables  us  to  observe  the  actions  of  those 
tribes  in  peace  and  in  war;  to  study  their  reli- 
gion, their  habits,  and  customs;  to  trace  the 
effect  of  the  humanising  and  Christian  influ- 
ences, which  gradually  dispelled  the  dark 
clouds  that  had  rendered  those  savages  unap- 
proachable; and  it  assists  us  to  examine  the 
causes,  latent  in  the  Maori  mind,  which  facili- 
tated that  change.  In  order,  however,  to  make 
such  a  view  more  complete,  we  shall  sometimes 
introduce  incidents  and  characters  not  strictly 
connected  with  Te  Waharoa 's  story,  but  gen- 
erally contemporaneous  with  that  chief,  and 


2  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

pertaining  to  the  districts  where  his  influence 
was  felt. 

Te  Waharoa,  chief  of  the  Ngatihaua  tribe, 
and  father  of  the  present  William  Thompson 
Tarapipi,  was,  in  his  youth,  a  slave  at  Eotorua. 
The  great  influence  and  distinction  he  attained 
in  after  life  is  probably  the  reason  why  this, 
and  other  incidents  of  Waharoa 's  boyhood,  are 
rescued  from  the  obscurity  which,  notwith- 
standing he  was  a  New  Zealand  chief,  would 
otherwise  have  been  their  lot. 

It  is  said  that,  ere  Te  Waharoa 's  birth,  Tai- 
porutu,  his  father,  a  Ngatihaua  chief,  was 
killed  at  Wanganui,  in  the  waharoa — large 
gateway — of  a  pa  he  was  in  the  act  of  attack- 
ing, and  that  on  its  birth  his  infant  was  named 
Te  Waharoa  by  its  mother,  in  remembrance  of 
the  spot  where  her  husband  had  so  nobly  fallen. 

When  Waharoa  was  only  about  two  years 
old,  Maungakawa,  the  place  where  his  tribe 
lived,  was  invaded  and  devastated  by  the  Nga- 
tiwhakaue,  and  he  and  his  mother  were  carried 
captive  to  Eotorua.  In  reference  to  this  cir- 
cumstance, the  aged  Ngatiwhakaue  chief 
Pango,  as  he  reflected,  some  sixty  years  after- 
wards, on  the  slaughter  of  his  tribe  at  Ohine- 
mutu,  by  Te  Waharoa,  said,  "Ah!  had  I  but 
known  once  what  I  know  now,  he  never  should 
have  killed  us  thus.  I  saw  him,  a  little  deserted 
child,  crying  in  the  ashes  of  his  pa ;  and,  as  he 
seemed  a  nice  child,  I  spared  him,  and  putting 
him  into  a  kit,  carried  him  over  to  Botorua,  and 
now  see  how  he  requites  us.  Oh!  that  I  had 
not  saved  him."  Such  was  old  Pango 's  pious 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAROA  3 

prayer  in  1836,  but  it  came  too  late;  for  not 
only  was  Waharoa's  infancy  spared,  but  when 
he  grew  up,  out  of  respect  to  his  rank,  and  be- 
cause perhaps  his  disposition  was  but  ill  quali- 
fied to  brook  the  restraints  of  his  condition,  he 
was  suffered  to  return  to  his  father's  tribe. 
This  may  have  been  about  seventy  years  ago. 

The  Ngatiwhakaue,  who  liberated  Te  Waha- 
roa,  and  against  whom  he,  forty  years  after- 
wards, declared  war,  came  originally  from 
Hawaiki,  in  company  with  the  other  Maori 
tribes.  Their  canoe,  the  "Arawa,"  landed  at 
Maketu.  Eotorua  was  shortly  afterwards  dis- 
covered by  a  man  of  their  tribe,  named  Ihanga, 
whilst  out  hunting  with  his  dog,  and  was  occu- 
pied by  them ;  since  which  time  they  have  main- 
tained themselves  in  uninterrupted  possession 
of  their  country.  During  the  period  over  which 
our  story  extends,  the  chiefs  of  Ngatiwhakaue 
were  Korokai;  Pango,  alias  Ngawai,  alias 
Ngaihi,  a  priest;  and  Pukuatua,  of  the  Ngati- 
pehi  hapu,  at  Ohinemutu;  Kahawai,  Hikairo, 
Amohau,  and  Huka  of  the  Ngatirangiwewehi 
hapu,  at  Puhirua;  Nainai,  of  Ngatipukenga,  at 
Maketu;  Tapuika,  of  the  Tapuika  hapu,  near 
the  same  place;  also  Tipitipi  and  Haupapa, 
fighting  chiefs ;  who,  as  well  as  Kahawai,  Tapu- 
ika, and  Nainai,  were  afterwards  killed  in 
action,  fighting  Te  Waharoa.  There  was  also 
at  Botorua  a  noted  old  tohunga,  named  Unu- 
aho,  of  the  Ngatiuenukukopako  hapu. 

This  section  of  the  Maori  people  is  now  more 
commonly,  and  we  think  more  correctly,  called 
Te  Arawa,  an  appellation  but  seldom  used  in 


4  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

Waharoa's  time,  when  Ngatiwhakaue  was  the 
name  by  which  they  were  known. 

If  we  assume  Te  Waharoa  to  have  been 
twenty  years  old  when  he  joined  his  father's 
tribe,  that  event  will  be  placed  about  the  year 
1795,  as  at  his  death,  in  1839,  he  was  upwards 
of  sixty  years  of  age. 

Of  course  it  is  now  impossible  to  give  a  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  all  the  events  connected 
with  his  early  career  as  a  fighting  man  among 
the  Ngatihauas,  who  then  held  the  Maungakaua 
Kange,  and  were  but  a  small  tribe  of,  perhaps, 
about  four  hundred  fighting  men.  Suffice  it  to 
say,  that  he  witnessed  the  many  incursions  of 
the  ruthless  Ngapuhi,  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century,  and  the  desolation  they  wrought  in 
the  districts  we  have  named,  and  that  he  soon 
distinguished  himself,  and  gradually  gave  im- 
portance to  his  tribe. 

Te  Waharoa's  courage,  activity,  and  ad- 
dress, his  subtlety  and  enterprise,  joined  with 
reckless  daring  in  single  combat,  rendered  him 
in  a  few  years  the  head  of  his  own  people  and 
the  dread  of  his  neighbours.  He  allied  himself 
with  Ngatimaniapoto,  and  drove  Te  Bauparaha 
and  the  Ngatiraukawas  from  Maungatautari  to 
Cook's  Straits.  He  made  war  upon  Waikato, 
and  consigned  a  female  member  of  the  would-be 
royal  house  of  Potatau  to  his  umu  (oven).  At 
length,  having  made  peace  with  Te  Whero- 
whero  on  the  west,  and  having  planted  the 
friendly  Ngatikorokis  at  Maungatautari  on  the 
south,  he  turned  his  face  towards  the  sea,  and 
waged  a  long  and  bitter  strife  with  the 


STOEY   OF   TE    WAHAROA.  5 

powerful     Ngatimaru     tribe,     who     inhabited 
Matamata  and  the  valley  of  the  Thames. 

Thus  far  I  would  remark  the  apparent  policy 
of  this  crafty  chief.  First  he  got  rid  of  Te  Bau- 
paraha,  who  was  as  pugnacious  a  cannibal  as 
himself.  Then  he  terrified  Te  Wherowhero, 
who,  having  the  example  of  his  unfortunate 
relative  before  his  eyes,  doubtless  judged  it 
more  prudent  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the 
conqueror,  and  to  assist  him  in  his  wars,  than 
to  run  the  risk  of  being  otherwise  disposed  of. 
And  lastly  he  endeavoured  in  two  ways  to  ob- 
tain for  his  tribe  a  passage  to  the  sea,  viz.,  by 
seeking  forcibly  to  dispossess  the  natives  of 
the  Thames,  and  by  cultivating  the  good  will 
of  the  Tauranga  natives,  and  pressing  his 
friendship  on  them — a  friendship  which  has 
resulted  more  disastrously  to  Ngaiterangi  than 
even  his  hostility  proved  to  Ngatimaru. 

It  involved  the  reluctant  Ngaiterangi  in  a  six 
years'  sanguinary  war  with  Ngatiwhakaue,  by 
which  Tauranga  was  frequently  devastated, 
and  gave  the  haughty  Ngatihauas  the  entree  to 
their  district.  Nor  is  it  too  much  to  affirm  that, 
during  the  long  course  of  his  wars,  the  alliances 
formed  by  Te  Waharoa  with  the  Ngatimania- 
poto,  the  Waikato,  and  the  Tauranga  tribes, 
have  been,  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  an  important 
element  in  the  opposition  which  has  been 
offered  to  the  British  Government.  Its  conse- 
quences are  visible  in  the  expatriated  Waikato, 
now  a  byword  among  other  natives,  and  in  the 
present  miserable  remnant  of  Tauranga 


6  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

natives — despised  even  by  those  who  have 
duped  them.  What  did  a  Ngatihaua  say  lately, 
when  reminded  by  one  whom  he  could  not  gain- 
say, that  his  tribe  had  no  right  or  title  to 
Tauranga  land  at  Tepuna  or  elsewhere  ? 
"What!"  he  said,  "do  you  not  know  that 
Ngaiterangi  are  a  plebeian  race — an  iwi 
ware?  Where  are  their  chiefs?  We  helped 
them  against  Ngapuhi,  and  it  is  right  we  should 
live  at  Tauranga."  Such  is  Maori  right — the 
right  of  might — which  converts  not  merely  the 
lands,  but  the  wives  and  chattels  of  the  weaker 
party  to  the  use  of  the  stronger ;  and,  therefore, 
as  the  unfortunate  Ngaiterangi  gradually  lost 
their  strength  and  prestige  in  the  war  with 
Ngatiwhakaue,  which  the  fear  of  incurring 
Waharoa's  displeasure  compelled  them  to  join 
in,  so  the  ungrateful  Ngatihaua  slowly  and 
almost  imperceptibly  encroached  upon  their 
land,  and  at  length  they  boldly  assert  a  right 
thereto.  The  sequel  will  show  that  Te  Waharoa 
himself  never  ventured  to  make  such  a  claim. 
But  to  resume  the  thread  of  our  story. 

The  Thames  natives  against  whom  Te  Waha- 
roa now  turned  his  arms  were  a  numerous  and 
warlike  people;  they  had  held  possession  of 
their  country  almost  from  the  time  of  their 
arrival  from  Hawaiki.  Their  leading  chiefs 
were  Eauroha,  Takurua,  Urimahia,  Te  Eohu, 
Horita,  and  Herua,  with  Piaho  and  Koinake, 
fighting  chiefs.  Before  the  introduction  of  fire- 
arms, this  tribe  had  been  accustomed  freely  to 
devastate  the  northern  portions  of  the  island, 


Te  Rauparaha. 


STOEY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  7 

so  that  Te  Bohu's  father  enjoyed  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  man-eater — one  who  lived 
entirely  on  human  flesh.  Puketonu,  well  known 
in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  was  about  the  last  pa 
destroyed  by  these  cannibals.  They  were  called 
generally  after  Maru,  from  whom  they  sprang, 
who  travelled  from  Kawhia  to  Hauraki  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Taimii  canoe  from  Hawaiki; 
but  they  were  divided,  as  indeed  they  are  still, 
into  Ngatimaru  proper,  Ngaitematera,  Ngati- 
paoa,  and  Ngatiwhanaunga. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  write,  a  number  of 
Ngatimaru,  with  Takurua  their  chief,  resided 
at  Matamata,  near  to  Maungakawa — Waha- 
roa's  place.  Their  position,  therefore,  rendered 
them  particularly  exposed  to  Te  Waharoa's 
incursions;  nor  did  they  receive  any  effective 
aid  from  Ngatipaoa,  Ngatitematera,  or 
Ngatiwhanaunga,  who  lived  chiefly  upon  the 
coast  and  islands  of  Hauraki  Gulf;  for 
their  inter-tribal  jealousies,  and  their  con- 
stant dread  of  Ngapuhi — who  were  the  first 
natives  to  obtain  firearms,  and  now  diligently 
employed  themselves  in  taking  vengeance  on 
their  former  persecutors — frequently  pre- 
vented their  joining  Ngatimaru  against  the 
common  enemy  in  the  south.  Te  Waharoa  was 
well  aware  of  these  circumstances,  and  but  too 
ready  to  take  advantage  of  them.  Had  they 
been  otherwise,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
efforts  of  his  united  forces  would  have  proved 
sufficient  to  produce  any  material  result ;  as  the 
Thames  natives,  before  they  lost  the  Totara  pa, 


8  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

mustered  four  thousand  fighting  men;  and  he 
was  never  able,  by  fighting,  to  wrest  even 
Matamata  from  Ngatimaru.  Be  this,  however, 
as  it  may ;  the  following  events  probably  deter- 
mined Te  Waharoa  vigorously  to  prosecute  his 
war  with  Ngatimaru. 

In  1821  a  taua  of  Ngapuhi,  under  the  cele- 
brated Hongi,  arrived  at  the  Totara  pa, 
between  Kauaeranga  and  Kopu,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Thames.  So  numerous  did  they  find 
Ngatimaru,  and  the  Totara  so  strong  that, 
hesitating  to  attack,  they  affected  to  be  amic- 
ably disposed,  and  were  received  into  the  pa  for 
the  purposes  of  trade  and  barter.  Towards 
evening  Ngapuhi  retired,  and  it  is  very  remark- 
able— as  indicating  that  man  In  his  most 
ignorant  and  savage  state  is  not  unvisited  by 
compunctions  of  conscience — that  an  old  chief 
lingered,  and  going  out  of  the  gate  behind  his 
comrades,  dropped  the  friendly  caution,  "kia 
tupato."  That  night,  however,  the  Totara  was 
taken ;  and,  it  is  said,  one  thousand  Ngatimarus 
perished.  Bauroha  was  slain,  and  Urimahia, 
his  daughter,  was  carried  captive  to  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  where  she  remained  several  years. 
This  calamity,  while  it  weakened  Ngatimaru, 
encouraged  Te  Waharoa. 

In  1822  Hongi  again  appeared,  and  sailing 
up  the  Tamaki,  attacked  and  carried  two  pas- 
which  were  situated  together  on  part  of  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  village  of  Panmure. 
Many  of  the  inhabitants  were  slaughtered,  and 
some  escaped.  I  would  here  observe  that  these 


STORY   OF   TB    WAHABOA 

two  pas,  Mauinena  and  Makoia,  had  no  connec- 
tion with  the  immense  pa  which  evidently  at 
some  time  flourished  on  Mount  Wellington,  and 
which,  with  the  traces  of  a  very  great  number 
of  other  enormous  pas  in  the  Auckland  district, 
betokens  the  extremely  dense  Maori  population 
which  once  existed  upon  this  isthmus — a  popu- 
lation destroyed  by  the  late  owners  of  the  soil, 
and  numbered  with  the  past;  but  which  in  its 
time  was  known  by  the  significant  title  of  Nga 
Iwi— "The  Tribes." 

Leaving  naught  at  Mauinena  and  Makoia  but 
the  inhabitants '  bones,  having  flesh  and  tendons 
adhering  which  even  his  dogs  had  not  required, 
Hongi  pursued  his  course.  He  drew  his  canoes 
across  the  isthmuses  of  Otahuhu  and  Waiuku, 
and  descended  the  Awaroa.  At  a  sharp  bend  in 
the  narrow  stream,  his  largest  canoe  could  not 
be  turned,  and  he  was  compelled  to  make  a 
passage  for  her,  by  cutting  a  short  canal,  which 
may  yet  be  seen. 

At  length  he  arrived  at  Matakitaki,  a  pa 
situated  about  the  site  of  the  present  township 
of  Alexandra,  where  a  great  number  of 
Waikato  natives  had  taken  refuge.  The  pa  was 
assaulted,  and  while  Hongi  was  in  the  act  of 
carrying  it  on  one  side,  a  frightful  catastrophe 
was  securing  to  him  the  corpses  of  its  wretched 
occupants  on  the  other.  Panic-stricken  at  the 
approach  of  the  victorious  Ngapuhi,  the  multi- 
tude within,  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
rushed  madly  over  the  opposite  rampart.  The 
first  fugitives,  unable  to  scale  the  counterscarp, 


10  STOKY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

by  reason  of  its  height,  and  of  the  numbers 
which  poured  down  on  them,  succumbed  and 
fell ;  those  who  had  crushed  them  were  crushed 
in  like  manner ;  layer  upon  layer  of  suffocating 
humanity  succeeded  each  other.  In  vain  did 
the  unhappy  beings,  as  they  reached  the  para- 
pet, attempt  to  pause — death  was  in  front,  and 
death  behind — fresh  fugitives  pushed  on,  they 
had  no  option,  but  were  precipitated  into,  and 
became  part  of  the  dying  mass.  When  the  deed 
was  complete,  the  Ngapuhis  came  quickly  up 
and  shot  such  as  were  at  the  surface  and  likely 
to  escape. 

Never  had  cannibals  gloated  over  such  unex- 
pected good  fortune,  for  more  than  one 
thousand  victims  lay  dead  in  the  trench,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  feast  which  followed  may 
perhaps  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that,  after 
the  lapse  of  forty-two  years,  when  the  2nd 
Eegiment  of  Waikato  Militia  in  establishing 
their  new  settlement  cleared  the  fern  from  the 
ground,  the  vestiges  of  many  hundred  native 
ovens  were  discovered,  some  of  them  long 
enough  to  have  admitted  a  body  entire,  while 
numberless  human  bones  lay  scattered  around. 
From  several  of  the  larger  bones  pieces 
appeared  to  have  been  carefully  cut,  for  the 
purpose,  doubtless,  of  making  fish-hooks,  and 
such  other  small  articles  as  the  Maoris  were 
accustomed  to  carve  from  the  bones  of  their 
enemies. 

Let  us  turn  now  from  the  startling  glimpse 
of  New  Zealand  life  in  the  " olden  time," 


STOBY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  11 

afforded  by  the  Matakitaki  episode,  and  follow 
the  fugitives  from  Mauinena  and  Makoia  to 
Haowhenua,  a  place  belonging  to  Ngatimaru, 
situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Waikato,  in  the 
vicinity  of  where  Cambridge  is  now;  and, 
indeed,  the  ruins  of  the  old  pa  are  yet  visible  on 
the  Maungatautari  side  of  the  large  sandy 
chasm  locally  known  as  Walker's  gully. 

Te  Waharoa  viewed  with  a  jealous  eye  the 
increasing  strength  and  importance  of  the  pa 
at  Haowhenua ;  for,  in  reality,  it  had  become  a 
stronghold  of  the  Ngatimarus.  Its  position, 
too,  not  only  menaced  his  flank,  and  checked 
any  operations  he  might  meditate  against  that 
tribe,  but  it  interfered  materially  with  direct 
communications  with  his  Waikato  allies. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  stealthy  Maori  policy 
pursued  by  the  Ngatimarus  in  establishing  this 
stronghold  to  check  Te  Waharoa,  should  not  be 
unnoticed.  They  suffered  the  refugees  from 
Mauinena  and  Makoia  to  occupy  the  post,  and 
then  gradually,  by  a  sidewind,  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  situation. 

Waharoa,  however,  was  not  to  be  thus 
deceived;  and,  as  was  before  observed,  he 
determined  to  commence  very  active  hostilities 
against  them.  He  therefore  summoned  some  of 
his  Waikato  and  Ngatimaniapoto  friends  to 
meet  him  at  Maungatautari,  who,  nothing  loth, 
speedily  assembled  to  blot  out  the  obnoxious 
pa.  They  were  200  strong,  and  on  arriving  at 
Maungatautari  found  Te  Waharoa  there,  with 
700  Ngatihaua  and  Ngaiterangi  men. 


12  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

Meantime,  the  Thames  natives  spared  no 
pains  to  secure  and  garrison  their  important 
outpost.  The  tribes  of  Ngatimaru,  Ngatitema- 
tera,  and  Ngatipaoa  united  their  forces  at 
Haowhenua,  and  the  pa  became  a  very  large 
one,  and  was  densely  peopled,  not  only  with 
warriors,  but  with  women,  children,  and  slaves. 
Their  numbers  appear  to  have  inspired  them 
with  much  self-confidence;  for  when  it  became 
known  that  Te  Waharoa  had  arrived  at  Maun- 
gatautari,  with  a  taua  900  strong,  they  boldly 
determined  to  meet  him  in  the  open  field. 
Perhaps  they  wished  to  decide  the  matter 
before  that  chief  should  receive  further  rein- 
forcements; or,  perhaps  they  desired  to  avoid 
the  mortification  of  seeing  the  enemy  sit  com- 
fortably down  before  their  pa,  and  regale 
himself  on  their  cultivations.  At  any  rate,  they 
marched  forth  and  took  post  on  the  hill  Te  Tihi 
o  te  Ihimarangi — the  place  where  the  descend- 
ants of  Waharoa 's  warriors  opposed  General 
Cameron  in  1864;  and,  when  the  enemy  was 
seen  to  approach,  they  rushed  down  and  joined 
battle  with  him  at  Taumatawiwi  on  the  plain  to 
the  eastward. 

The  contest  was  a  severe  one,  but  resulted  in 
the  complete  defeat  of  the  Thames  natives. 
They  were  driven  back  over  Te  Tihi  o  te 
Ihimarangi,  and  down  its  reverse  slope,  and 
were  pursued  with  great  slaughter  over  the 
long,  narrow,  bushy  plain  that  extends  to 
Haowhenua.  At  the  end  of  a  long  and  san- 
guinary day  the  dejected  men  within  the  pa  sat 


STORY   OF   TE   WAHAROA  13 

dreading  the  morrow's  light;  their  mental 
depression  being  doubtless  in  proportion  to 
their  recent  self-elevation.  Outside  the  pa  Te 
Waharoa,  wounded  in  two  places  (shot  through 
a  hand,  and  a  tomahawk  wound  in  a  leg),  sat 
calmly  revolving  his  own  and  his  enemies' 
positions.  Perhaps  no  general  in  New  Zealand, 
either  before  or  after  his  time,  has  rivalled  this 
chief  in  the  rare  qualification  of  rightly  esti- 
mating and  balancing  the  complex  phases  and 
conditions  of  opposing  armies.  On  this 
occasion,  he  had  experienced  the  quality  of  the 
enemy,  inasmuch  as  sixty  of  his  men  were 
killed,  and  the  object  of  the  campaign — 
the  destruction  of  Haowhenua — remained  unac- 
complished. True,  the  enemy  was  in  a  state  of 
despondency  and  fear,  but  in  a  little  while  his 
courage  would  revive,  and  prompt  him  to 
defend  himself  with  the  energy  of  despair. 
Better  take  instant  advantage  of  his  fears  to 
secure  the  object  sought,  and  to  avoid,  if  pos- 
sible, farther  loss  to  the  assailants.  "  Better 
make  a  bridge  of  gold  for  a  flying  enemy" — 
such  was  the  spirit  of  Te  Waharoa's  reflections 
—for  presently,  "  through  the  soft  still  evening 
air,"  the  voice  of  a  herald  was  heard  to  pro- 
claim to  the  occupants  of  the  pa  "that  during 
the  next  four  days  any  one  might  retire  unmo- 
lested from  the  pa;  but  on  the  fifth  day 
Haowhenua,  with  all  it  contained,  would  be 
taken  and  destroyed."  No  answer  was 
returned;  but  during  the  interval  a  multitude 
of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  issued  forth  from 


14  STORY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA 

the  pa,  and  inarched  in  close  order  along  the 
road  by  Matamata  to  the  Thames.  That  night 
Te  Waharoa 's  ranks  were  recruited  by  many 
slaves,  who  deserted  under  cover  of  darkness, 
from  the  retreating  Ngatimarus. 

The  fall  of  Haowhenua,  which  occurred 
about  1831,  terminated  the  residence  of 
OSTgatimaru  on  the  Waikato;  and  was  followed 
by  operations,  from  a  Waikato  basis,  success- 
fully conducted  against  them  on  the  line  of  the 
Piako.  Already  the  Ngatimarus  had  been  com- 
pelled to  abandon  Matamata  to  Te  Waharoa, 
and  relinquish  the  wooded  and  fertile  plain  of 
Tepiri,  abounding  in  flax — the  material  from 
which  Maori  garments  were  made  in  those 
days.  They  lost  it  in  the  following  manner. 

Up  to  the  year  1825,  the  Ngatimaru  chief 
Takurua  maintained  his  ground  at  Matamata; 
but  about  that  time  he  appears,  after  much 
fighting,  to  have  judged  it  advisable  to  accept 
certain  terms  of  peace  proposed  by  Te 
Waharoa.  They  were  to  bury  the  past  in 
oblivion,  and  both  parties  were  to  live  at  Mata- 
mata, where,  it  was  said,  there  was  room  for 
all.  These  terms  were  practically  ratified  by 
Te  Waharoa  and  Takurua  living  side  by  side, 
in  the  utmost  apparent  friendship,  for  a  period 
of  about  two  years. 

We  have  now  to  relate  an  act  of  perfidy,  con- 
demned even  by  the  opaquely-minded  savages 
of  that  day,  by  which  Te  Waharoa  obtained 
sole  posession  of  Matamata,  and  so  turned  the 
balance  of  power  in  his  own  favour,  that  he 


STOKY   OF   TE   WAHABOA  15 

afterwards  drove  Ngatitumutumu,  under  Hou, 
from  Waiharakeke,  and  finally  established  Ms 
boundary  at  Te  Euapa,  a  stream  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Waihou,  between  Euakowhawhao 
and  Mangawhenga.  On  the  occasion  of  Waharoa 
undertaking  a  short  journey  to  Tauranga — a 
circumstance  rather  calculated  to  lull  suspicion 
— at  midnight  his  tribe  rose,  and  massacred  in 
cold  blood  the  too-confiding  Takurua,  and 
nearly  every  man  of  his  tribe.  Their  bodies 
were  devoured,  and  their  wives  and  property 
were  shared  by  the  ruthless  Ngatihauas. 

This  Maori  St.  Bartholomew  occurred  about 
1827,  and  further  weakened  Ngatimaru,  who 
six  years  previously  had  suffered  seriously  at 
the  taking  of  the  Totara  pa.  Thus  Te  Waharoa 
was  enabled,  after  the  fall  of  Haowhenua,  to 
push  his  conquests  to  the  foot  of  the  Aroha; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  say  where  they  would  have 
ceased,  had  not  his  attention  been  unexpectedly 
diverted  by  the  casual  murder  of  his  cousin 
Hunga,  at  Eotorua,  in  the  latter  end  of  the  year 
1835. 

The  Thames  natives  never  forgot  the  deep 
injuries  they  had  received  at  Waharoa 's  hands. 
Even  to  the  outbreak  of  the  present  war,  Ngati- 
maru always  hated  and  distrusted  Ngatihaua; 
and  here  we  would  remark  the  neglect  or 
failure,  on  our  side  to  enlist  them  actively 
against  his  son  William  Thompson.  This  was 
the  more  apparent  when  we  saw  our  faithful 
Ngatiwhakaue  allies  fighting  manfully  in  our 
cause.  They  had  not  experienced  half  the  ills 


16  STORY   OF   TE   WAHAROA 

Ngatimaru  had  endured.  Our  story  will  show 
that  in  their  wars  with  Waharoa,  Ngatiwha- 
kaue  did  not  lose  a  foot  of  soil,  and  excepting 
one  occasion  they,  according  to  Maori  custom, 
were  on  the  whole  pretty  successful  in  keeping 
their  utu  account  square  with  that  chief.  But 
that  occasion  rankled  in  their  memory;  for, 
when  beleaguered  in  their  large  pa  Ohinemutu, 
sixty  of  their  best  men  had  been  ambuscaded, 
killed,  and  eaten  before  their  eyes;  nor  had 
they  ever  been  able  to  make  good  that  balance 
until  they  slaughtered  Thompson's  allies,  the 
tribes  of  the  Eahiti  (rising  sun),  and  killed  Te 
Aporotanga  at  Te  Awa-o-te-Atua. 

As  the  Opotiki  natives  have  lately  made 
themselves  so  notorious,  we  will  digress  a 
moment  to  say  that  Te  Aporotanga,  an  old  man, 
was  chief  of  Ngatirua,  a  hapu  of  the  Waka- 
tohea  tribe,  whose  ancestor  Muriwai  came  from 
Hawaiki.  In  very  remote  times  this  tribe  lived 
amongst  the  forest-clad  mountains  of  the 
interior;  and  then,  five  generations  ago,  under 
three  brothers,  Euamoko,  Te  Ururehe,  and 
Kotikoti,  they  forced  a  passage  to  the  sea  by 
driving  away  the  Ngatiawas,  who  inhabited  the 
Opotiki  valley.  They  are  divided  into  five 
hapus,  and  now  muster  at  Opape — whither  the 
Government  lately  removed  them — only  120 
fighting  men,  whereas  twenty  years  ago  they 
were  five  times  as  numerous.  About  1823,  they 
were  attacked  by  the  Ngapuhis,  under  the  cele- 
brated Hongi.  Their  pa,  Te  Ikaatakite,  was 
taken,  and  a  blue  cloth  obtained  from  Cook  was 


STOBY  OP   TE   WAHAROA  17 

carried  away,  and  many  captives.  Two  years 
afterwards  the  Ngapuhis,  commanded  by 
another  chief,  returned  and  destroyed  Takutae, 
another  pa. 

Again,  in  1830,  Te  Rohu  led  Ngatimaru 
against  Te  Papa  pa,  on  the  Waioeka  river, 
where  nearly  all  the  Wakatoheas  had 
assembled.  This  he  took,  and  swept  the  tribe 
away,  carrying  them  by  way  of  Mount  Edge- 
combe,  Tarawera,  Eotorua,  and  Maungatautari, 
to  Haowhenua,  just  before  Waharoa  took  that 
place.  These  are  the  prisoners  that  escaped, 
many  going  over  to  Te  Waharoa,  and  many  to 
Tauranga. 

At  the  fall  of  Te  Papa,  a  noteworthy  incident 
occurred:  Takahi,  a  leading  chief,  managed  to 
escape  with  ten  followers  to  the  bush,  where- 
upon Te  Eohu  caused  him  to  be  called  by  name, 
to  which  Takahi  responded,  and  gave  himself 
up.  This  may  seem  a  strange  proceeding,  on 
both  sides;  yet  it  was  strictly  in  accordance 
with  a  Maori  custom  which  enabled  the  victors, 
even  in  the  hour  of  slaughter  to  secure  any 
chief  whom  they  might  wish  to  save  ;  and 
such  person,  upon  responding  and  coming  for- 
ward, not  only  remained  free,  but  retained  his 
rank  in  the  tribe  by  which  he  had  been  taken. 

At  the  same  time,  Kangimatanuku,  with  part 
of  the  Ngatirua  hapu,  escaped  from  his  pa  at 
Auawakino,  eastward  of  Opape,  and  fled  to 
Hick's  Bay,  where,  being  kindly  received  by 
Houkamau,  he  built  a  pa,  and  remained  until 
the  influence  of  Christianity,  a  few  years  after, 


18  STOEY   OP   TE   WAHAEOA 

effected  the  gradual  return  of  Wakatohea 
captives  to  their  own  country.  Bangimatanuku 
then  joined  them,  and  by  1840  the  bulk  of  the 
Wakatohea  tribe  had  returned  to  Opotiki. 

The  loss  of  Te  Aporotanga  was  doubtless 
much  felt,  as  he  was  the  last  old  chief  the 
Wakatoheas  possessed.  Titoko,  Takahi, 
Bangimatanuku,  Bangihaerepo,  and  Hinaki, 
have  all  died,  leaving  the  tribe  without  a  man  of 
real  influence  to  look  up  to;  and,  perhaps,  the 
loss  of  the  directing  minds  by  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  be  guided,  was  a  cause 
which  induced  them,  on  the  melancholy  occasion 
of  Mr.  Volkner's  murder,  to  accord  such  an 
unusual  welcome  to  Patara  and  Kereopa,  and 
be  led  by  such  adventurers  in  so  extraordinary 
a  manner. 

But  to  resume,  Te  Waharoa  was  not  destined 
to  remain  long  undisturbed  at  Matamata.  He 
was  attacked  by  Ngapuhi,  who,  making  each 
summer  a  shooting  season,  spread  terror 
universal  with  their  newly  acquired  weapons, 
killing  and  eating  wherever  they  went.  They 
were  particularly  incensed  against  the  great 
warrior  of  the  South,  because  he  had  auda- 
ciously assisted  the  Ngaiterangi  to  repel  their 
incursions,  and  they  were  determined  to  make 
an  example  of  him.  Accordingly  a  band,  led 
by  Tareha,  encamped  before  the  great  pa  of 
Matamata.  Te  Waharoa,  however,  was  not  to 
be  carried  away  by  any  popular  terror  ;  his 
sagacity,  too,  quickly  made  him  acquainted  with 
the  bearings  of  his  situation;  his  tribe,  also, 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  19 

had  every  confidence  in  their  leader.  He  shut 
himself  up  in  the  pa,  and  kept  so  close  that  the 
enemy,  probably  imputing  his  non-appearance 
to  fear,  became  careless;  then,  watching  his 
opportunity,  he  suddenly  made  a  sortie,  and  in 
hand-to-hand  conflict,  used  them  very  roughly. 
He  also  made  four  or  five  prisoners,  whom  he 
crucified  on  the  tall  posts  of  his  pa,  in  the 
sight  of  their  astonished  comrades.  The 
horrible  spectacle  completed  the  Ngapuhis' 
confusion,  who  forthwith  retired  from  the 
scene — not,  however,  before  Waharoa  had  sent 
this  challenge  to  Tareha  :  "I  hear  you  fight 
with  the  long-handled  tomahawk  ;  I  fight  with 
the  same  ;  meet  me."  But,  Tareha,  a  huge, 
bloated,  easy-going  cannibal,  preferred  rather 
to  enjoy  life,  feeding  on  the  tender  flesh  of 
women  and  children,  to  encountering  Waharoa 
with  his  long-handled  tomahawk. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  that  period  of  our 
history  when  Europeans  first  ventured  to  make 
transient  visits  to  the  savage  tribes  which 
acknowledged  Te  Waharoa 's  name,  or  were 
more  or  less  influenced  by  his  power. 

These  visitors  were  of  two  different  sorts, 
viz.,  missionaries  who  appeared  as  pioneers  of 
religion  and  civilization,  and  "  Pakeha- 
Maoris  '  (literally,  pakehas  maorified),  who, 
lured  by  the  prospects  of  effecting  lucrative 
trading  enterprises,  not  unfrequently  fell 
victims  to  the  perils  they  incurred  ;  while  the 
immunity  of  the  former  class  from  death  at 
the  hands  of  the  natives  is  a  matter  worthy  of 


20  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

remark,  and  suggests  to  the  reflective  mind  the 
instructive  fact  that,  for  a  special  purpose,  they 
were  often  protected,  amidst  the  dangers  that 
surrounded  them,  by  the  unseen  hand  of  the 
Great  Master  they  so  enthusiastically  served. 
In  after  years,  when  the  missionaries'  influence 
became  great,  and  Pakeha-Maoris  numerous, 
individuals  of  these  respective  classes  were 
frequently  placed  in  positions  antagonistic  to 
each  other  ;  but,  considering  the  incongruous 
nature  of  the  elements  involved,  such 
unfriendly  relations  could  be  no  subject  of 
surprise.  It  is,  however,  but  just  to  state  that 
when  Pakeha-Maoris  became  entangled  in 
serious  difficulties  with  natives,  and  were 
unable  to  extricate  themselves — difficulties 
caused  sometimes  by  their  own  delinquencies — 
that  when  they  invoked  a  missionary's  aid,  that 
influence,  though  at  other  times  contemned  by 
them,  was  ever  cheerfully  but  judiciously 
exerted  on  their  behalf ;  and,  we  may  add,  such 
efforts  were  generally  gratefully  received. 

The  first  European  that  landed  at  Kawhia, 
and  penetrated  to  Ngaruawahia,  was  a  Pakeha- 
Maori,  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Kent,  who 
arrived  at  the  latter  place  in  1831  ;  and 
probably  the  first  vessel  after  Cook,  adven- 
turous enough  to  perform  a  coasting  voyage 
in  the  Bay  of  Plenty  was  the  missionary 
schooner  '  Herald, '  in  the  year  1828. 

The  latter  enterprise  was  undertaken  by 
three  brethren  stationed  at  the  Bay  of  Islands 
— Messrs.  H.  Williams,  Hamlin  and  Davis— 


Rev.  Henry  Williams  (afterwards  Archdeacon  of  Waimate). 


STORY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA  21 

who,  urged  by  a  desire  to  discover,  if  possible, 
an  opening  for  the  establishment  of  a  mission 
among  the  barbarous  tribes  of  the  Bay  of 
Plenty,  availed  themselves  of  an  opportunity 
which  presented  itself  ;  and  set  forth  in  their 
schooner  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of 
conveying  the  Ngatiwhakaue  chief  Pango  back 
to  his  tribe. 

Tauranga  was  first  visited,  which  place  was 
found  to  be  densely  populated.  The  large  pas 
there  were  three — Otumoetai,  belonging  to 
Ngaiterangi,  proper,  whose  chiefs  were 
Hikareia,  Taharangi,  and  Tupaea  ;  Ngati- 
tapu's  pa,  Te  Papa,  where  Koraurau  was  chief; 
and  the  Maungatapu  pa,  held  by  Ngatihi, 
whose  chiefs  were  Nuka  (alias  Taipari), 
Kiharoa,  and  Te  Mutu.  Eangihau,  killed  after- 
wards in  an  attempt  to  storm  Tautari's  pa  at 
Botoehu,  and  Titipa,  his  younger  brother,  since 
killed  at  Otau  by  the  Auckland  volunteers,  were 
fighting  chiefs  of  Ngaiterangi  proper;  but  the 
whole  of  the  Tauranga  people  were  known  by 
the  general  name  of  Ngaiterangi — just  as  the 
Thames  natives  were  by  the  appellation  of 
Ngatimaru — and  mustered  in  1828  at  least 
2,500  fighting  men.  Their  canoes,  too,  were 
very  numerous — 1,000,  great  and  small,  were 
counted  on  the  beach  between  Otumoetai  and 
Te  Papa. 

After  staying  a  few  days  at  Tauranga,  our 
voyagers  proceeded  on  their  cruise,  and 
touched  at  Maketu,  to  land  Pango,  who,  with  a 
number  of  other  Ngatiwhakaue  natives,  had 


22  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

been  saved  by  the  missionaries  at  the  Bay  of 
Islands  from  death  at  the  hands  of  Kainga- 
mata,  a  Ngapuhi  chief.  Leaving  Maketu,  the 
1  Herald  '  then  ran  along  the  extensive  and 
shelly  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  lying  east 
and  west,  and  passing  the  mountains  of  Waka- 
paukorero,  arrived  off  Te  Awa-o-te-Atua,  a 
river  which  has  one  of  its  sources  in  the 
Tarawera  lake,  and  which,  after  skirting  the 
base  of  a  magnificent  extinct  volcano,  Mount 
Edgecombe,  and  threading  a  swampy  plain, 
after  a  course  of  forty  miles,  falls  into  the  sea 
over  a  bar  at  a  place  called  Otamarora, 
twenty  miles  from  Maketu.  Again  passing  on 
a  distance  of  thirteen  miles  from  Te  Awa-o-te- 
Atua,  the  'Herald'  stopped  off  Whakatane. 

The  mouth  of  the  Whakatane  river  is 
immediately  on  the  western  side  of  the  rocky 
range,  700  feet  high,  which  terminates  abruptly 
in  Kohi  Point.  The  stream  sets  fairly  against 
the  rocks,  and  keeps  the  entrance  free  from  a 
sandy  bar,  the  usual  drawback  to  harbours  in 
the  Bay  of  Plenty;  but,  as  if  to  compensate 
this  advantage,  several  dangerous  rocks  stud 
the  approach  to  the  river.  In  the  offing,  at  a 
distance  of  six  miles,  Motohora  (Whale 
Island),  which  sheltered  the  ' Endeavour '  in 
1769,  still  affords  protection  to  vessels  in  that 
neighbourhood. 

Looking  westward  from  the  Whakatane 
heights,  an  immense  plain  is  viewed  by  the 
traveller,  spread  out  before  him.  North  of  it 
lie  the  low  sand-hills  of  the  beach;  westward 


STORY    OF    TE    WAHAROA  23 

are  the  Wakapaukorero  mountains;  on  the 
south  it  is  bounded  by  the  Tarawera  hills, 
Mount  Edgecombe  and  the  Uriwera  mountains ; 
and  on  the  east  by  the  Whakatane  heights, 
which  descend  from  the  broken  country  of  the 
Uriwera,  and  form  a  spur  jutting  out  upon  the 
coast  line.  The  area  of  this  plain  is  perhaps 
not  less  than  three  hundred  square  miles.  Its 
western  sides  are  partially  swampy,  but  the  soil 
of  the  greater  portion  is  good,  and  contains 
many  thousands  of  acres  of  the  richest 
alluvial  ground.  It  is  traversed  on  one  side  by 
Te  Awa-o-te-Atua  (the  river  of  God),  which 
divides  itself  into  the  Eangitaeki  and  Tarawera 
rivers;  on  the  other  by  the  Whakatane  river, 
which,  taking  its  rise  in  the  Uriwera  mountains, 
falls  into  the  plain  at  Ruatoke,  whence, 
meandering  for  thirty  miles  through  an 
unbroken  flat  of  excellent  alluvial  soil,  it 
approaches  the  sea,  and  is  joined  within  two 
miles  of  its  mouth  by  the  Orini,  a  very 
navigable  stream,  which  branches  from  Te 
Awa-o-te-Atua. 

Turning  now  to  the  east,  our  traveller  will 
view  on  his  right  hand,  stretching  far  as  eye 
can  reach,  a  portion  of  that  extensive, 
impenetrable  mass  of  snow-capped,  forest-clad 
mountains — the  great  and  veritable  New 
Zealand  Tyrol — which,  containing  an  area,  say, 
of  from  three  to  four  thousand  square  miles, 
lies  between  the  Bay  of  Plenty  and  Hawke's 
Bay,  and  occupies  the  peninsula  of  the  East 
Cape.  Though  the  bulk  of  this  region  is 


24  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

untrodden  by  man,  yet  some  of  its  districts  are 
inhabited  by  the  Uriwera — a  race  of  moun- 
taineers, who,  through  a  long  series  of 
generations  have  become  habituated  and 
adapted  to  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  their 
secluded  and  somewhat  dismal  country. 

In  front,  below  the  spectator,  is  Ohiwa,  an 
extensive  harbour — like  Manukau  on  a  smaller 
scale — the  entrance  to  which  is  over  a  shifting 
bar,  having  a  depth  at  low  water  of  from  9  to 
11  feet.  Ohiwa  is  ten  miles  from  Whakatane; 
and  nine  miles  further  is  seen  the  Opotiki 
valley,  as  it  opens  to  the  sea — a  valley  of 
almost  inexhaustibly  fertile  soil.  Its  super- 
ficies is  about  forty  square  miles ;  it  is  watered 
by  two  rivers — the  Otara  and  Waioeka,  which 
unite  half  a  mile  from  the  sea,  and  flow  into  the 
latter  over  a  bar  that  varies  in  depth,  being 
from  8  feet  to  18  feet,  according  to  the  season 
of  the  year.  Beyond  Opotiki  the  shores  become 
mountainous,  bold  promontories  jut  into  the 
sea,  the  streams  become  rapid,  the  beaches 
short,  the  valleys  small;  but  the  scenery 
generally,  is  surpassingly  grand,  wild,  and 
beautiful.  The  whole  sweeping  far  away  to  the 
northward,  terminates  in  the  distant  Cape 
Runaway,  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the 
Bay  of  Plenty;  while  Puiwhakari  (White 
Island),  a  magnificent  burning  mountain, 
standing  thirty-five  miles  out  in  the  sea, 
completes  the  picture,  and  furnishes  a  huge 
barometer  to  a  dangerous  bay;  for,  by  its 
constant  columns  of  vapour — whether  light  or 


STOKY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA  25 

dark,  thin  or  voluminous — and  by  the  drift  of  its 
steam  cloud,  timely  and  unfailing  indications 
are  given  of  approaching  meteorological 
changes. 

Such  is  the  panorama  presented  of  a  region 
which  for  diversified  scenery,  soil  and  climate, 
is  unrivalled  in  New  Zealand ;  for  as  the  shores 
of  Cook's  Straits  are  less  stormy  than  those  of 
Tierra  del  Fuego  and  Maghellan's  Straits,  and 
as  the  climate  of  the  Auckland  Isthmus  is  less 
boisterous  than  that  of  wind-swept  Wellington, 
so  is  the  climate  of  Opotiki  compared  with  the 
Auckland  climate.  Spring  and  autumn  are 
uncertain  seasons  there.  Winter  is  mostly 
cool,  clear,  and  frosty;  the  mountains  on  the 
south  protecting  the  adjacent  shore  land  from 
the  severity  of  the  powerful  Polar  winds,  which 
at  that  season  sweep  the  other  New  Zealand 
coasts;  just  as  some  Mediterranean  shores  are 
sheltered  from  chilling  north-east  winds  by  the 
maritime  Alps,  and  the  mountains  of  Albania. 
The  summer  weather,  from  November  to 
March,  is  almost  entirely  a  succession  of 
refreshing  sea  breezes  in  the  day,  and  cool  land 
winds  at  night. 

This  fair  portion  of  New  Zealand  was,  in 
1828,  tenanted  solely  by  ferocious  cannibals, 
who  scarcely  had  seen  a  sail  since  that  of  Cook. 
Ohiwa,  being  debatable  ground,  was  unin- 
habited. Of  the  Wakatohea,  we  have  already 
given  an  account.  At  Tunapahore,  sixteen 
miles  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of 
Opotiki,  live  Ngaitai,  a  small  tribe  which 


26  STOEY  OF  TB  WAHAROA 

asserts  that  its  ancestors  were  of  the  crew  of 
Pakihi,  the  Whakatohea's  canoe;  but  it  is 
unable  to  claim  any  dignified  origin.  Leaving 
Tunapahore,  the  natives,  as  far  as  Wanga- 
paraua,  Cape  Eunaway,  are  of  the  great 
Ngatiawa  connection,  which  ramifies  through 
various  parts  of  the  island.  The  principal 
places — Maraenui  and  Te  Kaha — are  held  by 
Te  Whanau  o  Apanui,  a  hapu  very  closely 
related  to  the  Ngatiawas  at  Whakatane. 

The  natives  of  the  plain  of  Whakatane,  and 
Te  Awa-o-te-Atua  are  unable  to  occupy  or 
cultivate  a  hundredth  part  of  its  surface.  It 
cannot,  therefore,  be  said  to  be  peopled;  let  us 
say  rather  that  they  live  upon  it,  and  that  it  is 
owned  by  them.  Euatoke  belongs  to  the 
Uriwera,  and  is  that  tribe's  nearest  station  to 
the  sea,  though  twenty-five  miles  from  it.  The 
rest  of  the  plain  pertains  to  various  sections 
of  the  Ngatiawa  race.  Eangitekina  was  chief 
of  the  tribe  at  Te  Awa-o-te-Atua,  whose  chief 
pa  was  Matata.  The  chief  divisions  of  the 
Whakatane  Ngatiawas  were  Ngaitonu  and  Te 
Whanau  o  Apanui.  The  former  lived,  as  they 
still  do,  in  two  pas,  Whakatane  and  another, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  same.  The  chief  of 
Ngaitonu  was  Tautari,  a  renowned  warrior. 
They  were  connected  by  marriages  with 
Ngatipikiao,  a  hapu  of  the  Arawas  or 
Ngatiwhakaue,  and  Tautari  had  a  pa  at 
Eotoehu.  Te  Whetu,  being  son  of  Tautari 's 
eldest  son  is  now  the  hereditary  chief  of  the 
tribe;  but  Mokai,  his  uncle,  is  a  man  of  more 


STOBY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  27 

character,  and  proved  himself  a  fighting  chief 
at  Tunapahore  some  years  ago,  when  he 
assisted  Ngaitai — his  wife  was  a  Ngaitai 
woman — against  the  Maraenui  natives.  The 
chiefs  of  Te  Whanau  o  Apanui  were  Toehau, 
with  his  two  sons,  Ngarara  and  Kepa.  The 
survivor  of  these,  Kepa,  is  now  chief  of  the 
tribe;  but  Apanui,  his  cousin,  is  also  a  man  of 
importance.  Te  Uhi  is  chief  of  a  small  hapu 
near  Pupuaruhi.  Hura  is  of  Te  Awa-o-te- 
Atua,  and  is  not  a  man  of  any  great  note, 
excepting  such  fame  as — like  Te  Uhi — he  has 
acquired  by  his  evil  deeds;  of  the  two,  he  is, 
perhaps,  the  worse  man. 

But  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  Ngarara 
was  pre-eminently  the  evil  genius  of  the  place, 
and  the  'Herald'  had  hardly  arrived  near 
Whakatane,  when  he  determined  to  cut  her  off. 
His  design,  however,  was  overruled  by  Toehau, 
his  father;  so,  after  a  short  stay,  the  mission- 
aries proceeded  on  their  voyage.  They  next 
landed  on  the  Onekawa  sands  at  Ohiwa,  where, 
finding  upwards  of  twenty  dead  bodies  of 
natives  recently  killed,  and  other  signs  that  a 
battle  had  lately  taken  place  there,  they  judged 
it  prudent  to  return  to  their  vessel.  After  this 
they  were  observed  and  followed  by  two  canoes, 
apparently  from  Opotiki.  The  vessel's  head 
was  turned  towards  the  offing,  but  there  was 
little  wind,  and  the  canoes  came  alongside, 
where  they  remained  from  the  forenoon  until 
evening,  the  natives  in  them  maintaining 
silence.  In  the  meantime,  the  schooner 


28  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

gradually  drew  off  shore  to  White  Island,  and 
at  length,  to  the  relief  of  all  on  board — for  no 
one  knew  the  natives'  intentions,  and  indeed 
they  did  not  seem  to  know  them  themselves — 
the  canoes  cast  off  from  the  vessel  and  returned 
to  land.  A  north-east  gale  now  came  on,  and 
compelled  the  'Herald'  to  bear  up  and  seek 
shelter  in  Tauranga  harbour. 

When  the  missionaries  returned  to  Tauranga 
after  an  absence  of  ten  days,  they  were 
surprised  to  find  Te  Papa  destroyed,  Koraurau 
killed,  and  Ngatitapu,  comprising  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  Tauranga  people,  annihilated.  Te 
Bohu  had  been  there  with  a  strong  force  of 
Ngatimarus.  He  first  assaulted  Maungatapu; 
but,  experiencing  a  repulse,  he  made  a  night 
attack  on  the  Papa,  from  the  side  where  the 
karaka  trees  grow — that  is,  if  they  are  yet 
spared  by  our  countrymen's  rather  too  indis- 
criminating  axe.  The  pa  was  taken,  and  its 
people  slain.  Twenty-five  persons,  availing 
themselves  of  the  darkness,  slipped  away  from 
the  pa  just  before  the  attack  was  made,  and  were 
the  only  fugitives  that  escaped.  Among  them 
was  Matiu  Tahu,  a  renowned  old  priest.  From 
Tauranga  the  'Herald'  returned  to  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  and  thus  ended  the  perils  of  a  voyage 
remarkable  in  that  it  had  been  successfully 
performed  on  a  portion  of  the  New  Zealand 
coast  on  which  the  'Endeavour' — an 
armed  and  well-appointed  ship,  but  com- 
manded by  an  officer  of  acknowledged 
humanity — had  twice  been  compelled  to  fire 
on  the  natives. 


STORY    OF    TE    WAHAROA  29 

We  shall  presently  relate  the  next  visit  paid 
by  an  English  vessel  to  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  and 
its  melancholy  result;  but  before  doing  so,  it 
will  perhaps  be  opportune  to  give  a  short 
account  of  some  of  the  antecedents  of  the 
Tauranga  people. 

The  Ngaiterangi  are  of  Ngatiawa  origin; 
their  ancient  and  more  proper  name  is  Te 
Rangihohiri.  Several  generations  before  the 
time  we  write  of,  they  lived  on  the  East  Coast. 
It  is  said  they  were  driven  by  war  from  a  place 
there  called  Whangara.  Accounts  differ  as  to 
whether  or  not  they  fought  their  way  in 
advancing  northward  along  the  coast ;  suffice  to 
say,  they  arrived  in  force  at  Maketu,  where 
they  were  well  received.  Soon,  however,  in 
consequence  of  a  murder  they  committed,  war 
ensued  between  them  and  the  Tapuika,  the 
people  of  the  place,  resulting  in  the  defeat  and 
expulsion  of  the  latter.  Tapuika  being  then 
the  rangatira  hapu  of  the  Arawas,  and  though 
the  vanquished  were  subsequently  suffered  to 
return,  yet  Te  Rangihohiri  maintained  their 
hold  of  Maketu  down  to  the  year  1832. 

Being  dissatisfied,  however,  with  Maketu, 
and  desirous  of  possessing  the  coveted  district 
of  Tauranga,  this  tribe,  which  we  shall  now  call 
Ngaiterangi,  advanced.  On  the  night  of  a 
heavy  gale,  accompanied  with  much  thunder 
and  lightning,  eight  hundred  warriors,  under 
Kotorerua,  set  forth  from  Maketu  to  take  the 
great  pa  at  Maunganui,  and  to  destroy  the  bulk 
of  Ngatiranginui,  and  Waitaha,  the  ancient 


30  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

inhabitants  of  Tauranga.  The  doomed  pa  was 
situated  on  the  majestic  and  singular  hill  which 
no  one  who  has  seen  Tauranga  will  forget;  it 
forms  a  peninsula,  and  is  the  east  head  to  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour.  When  Ngaiterangi 
arrived  at  Maunganui,  they  commenced  by 
cutting,  with  stone  axes,  large  holes  in  the 
bottoms  of  all  the  canoes  on  the  strand,  the 
sound  of  their  operations  being  drowned  by  the 
roar  of  the  elements.  The  natives,  with  super- 
stitious awe,  tell  how,  at  this  critical  point  of 
time,  a  certain  celebrated  priestess  of  the  pa 
went  forth  into  the  storm,  and  cried  with  a  loud 
voice,  her  prophetic  spirit  being  moved  to  a 
knowledge  of  approaching  woe — "  Heaven  and 
earth  are  being  rent,  the  men  next."  Having 
scuttled  the  canoes,  Ngaiterangi  entered  the  pa, 
and  the  work  of  death  began.  Such  of  the 
affrighted  inhabitants  as  escaped  being 
murdered  in  their  beds,  rushed  to  the  canoes; 
but  when  they  had  launched  out  into  the  har- 
bour, there  about  two  miles  broad,  the  canoes 
became  full  of  water,  and  the  whole  were 
drowned. 

Thus,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
Ngaiterangi  obtained  possession  of  Tauranga, 
and  drove  the  remnant  of  its  former  people, 
Ngatipekekiore,  away  into  the  hills,  to  the 
sources  of  the  Wairoa  and  Te  Puna  rivers; 
where  although  now  related  to  the  conquerors, 
they  still  live.  Another  hapu  of  Tauranga 's 
ancient  people  are  Te  Whanau  o  Ngaitaiwhao, 
also  called  Te  Whitikiore.  They  hold  Tuhua — 


STOEY   OP   TE    WAHABOA  31 

Mayor  Island — and  in  1835  numbered  170 
people.  Their  chief  was  Tangiteruru;  but 
now  Tupaia,  chief  of  Ngaiterangi  proper,  is 
also  chief  of  both  those  tribes. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  their  ancestors'  too 
unceremonious  mode  of  acquiring  a  new  estate, 
it  is  but  just  to  Ngaiterangi  to  say  that, 
unlike  some  other  tribes,  their  intercourse  with 
our  countrymen  was  ever  characterized  by 
fairness  and  good  conduct.  They  were  not 
blustering  and  turbulent  like  Ngatimaru,  or 
lying  and  thievish  as  Ngatiwhakaue  were;  nor 
were  they  inclined  to  substitute  might  for  right, 
in  the  way  that  Wakatohea  sometimes  acted 
towards  Europeans.  It  was  their  boast  that 
they  had  never  harmed  a  pakeha.  They  were 
called  by  other  natives  "Ngaiterangi  kupu 
tahi,"  which  may  be  freely  rendered  "Ngaite- 
rangi the  upright,"  and  finally  their  recent 
hostilities  against  our  troops  were  conducted  in 
an  admittedly  honourable  manner.  We  will  only 
add,  in  reference  to  Tauranga,  that  its  climate 
is  a  sort  of  average  between  those  of  Auckland 
and  Opotiki;  more  frosty,  and  less  subject  to 
westerly  winds,  than  the  former ;  and  less  frosty 
and  more  windy,  than  that  of  the  latter  place. 

Before  returning  to  the  immediate  subject  of 
our  story,  we  will  narrate  the  unfortunate 
episode  of  an  English  trader's  visit  to  the  Bay 
of  Plenty,  a  year  after  the  'Herald's'  voyage. 
In  1829,  the  brig  'Haws,'  of  Sydney,  anchored 
off  Whakatane.  Having  large  quantities  of 
arms  and  ammunition  on  board,  she  soon 


32  STORY  OP  TE  WAHAROA 

obtained  a  cargo  of  pigs  and  flax,  and  then 
moved  over  to  Whale  Island,  where,  by  the 
side  of  a  spring  of  boiling  water,  conveniently 
situated  near  the  beach,  the  captain  and  some  of 
the  crew  proceeded  to  kill  the  pigs,  and  salt 
them  down  into  casks ;  while  thus  engaged,  a 
number  of  canoes  were  seen  to  board  the  vessel 
from  Whakatane,  and  the  sailors  who  had  taken 
to  the  rigging  were  shot.  Upon  this,  the  captain 
and  those  with  him  fled  in  their  boat  to  Te  Awao 
te  Atua,  and  thence  to  Tauranga.  The  natives, 
who  were  led  by  Ngarara,  then  took  everything 
out  of  the  brig,  and  burnt  her.  Among  other 
things,  they  found  a  quantity  of  flour,  the  use  of 
which  very  much  puzzled  them;  at  length  they 
contented  themselves  with  emptying  it  into  the 
sea,  and  simply  retained  the  bags. 

When  the  news  of  the  cutting  off  of  the 
1  Haws '  reached  the  Bay  of  Islands,  some  of  the 
European  residents  there  considered  it  neces- 
sary, if  possible,  to  make  an  example  of 
Ngarara.  They  therefore  sent  the  'New 
Zealander'  schooner  to  Whakatane,  and  Te 
Hana,  a  Ngapuhi  chief  acquainted  with 
Ngarara,  volunteered  to  accompany  the  expedi- 
tion. Upon  the  'New  Zealander V  arrival  off 
Whakatane,  Ngarara,  encouraged  by  the  success 
of  his  enterprise  against  the  'Haws,'  deter- 
mined to  serve  her  in  the  same  way.  But,  first, 
with  the  usually  cautious  instinct  of  a  Maori,  he 
went  on  board  in  friendly  guise ;  for  the  double 
purpose  of  informing  himself  of  the  character 
of  the  vessel,  and  of  putting  the  pakehas  off 


STORY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA  33 

their  guard.  Ngarara  spent  a  pleasant  day, 
hearing  the  korero,  (news)  and  doubtless  doing 
a  little  business, — so  much  so,  that  his  was  the 
last  canoe  alongside  the  vessel,  which  latter  it 
was  arranged  should  enter  the  river  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  Meanwhile,  our  Ngapuhi  chief 
sat  quietly,  and  apparently  unconcernedly, 
smoking  his  pipe  on  the  taffrail,  his  double- 
barrelled  gun,  as  a  matter  of  course,  lying  near 
at  hand:  yet  was  he  not  unmindful  of  his 
mission,  or  indifferent  to  what  was  passing 
before  him.  He  had  marked  his  prey,  and  only 
awaited  the  time  when  Ngarara,  the  last  to 
leave,  should  take  his  seat  in  the  canoe;  for  a 
moment,  the  canoe's  painter  was  retained  by 
the  ship,  "but  in  that  drop  of  time,"  an  age  of 
sin,  a  life  of  crime,  had  passed  away;  and 
Ngarara — the  Reptile — had  writhed  his  last  in 
the  bottom  of  his  own  canoe:  shot  by  the 
Ngapuhi  chief,  in  retribution  of  the  'Haws' 
tragedy,  in  which  he  had  been  the  prime  mover, 
and  chief  participator. 

Te  Whanau  Apanui  were  much  enraged  at 
being  thus  outwitted,  and  deprived  of  one  of 
their  most  leading  chiefs.  The  difficulty,  how- 
ever, was  to  find  a  pakeha  whom  they  might 
sacrifice  in  utu;  for  utu  they  must  have  for  the 
violent  death  of  a  tapued  chief;  or  the  atua 
would  be  down  upon  them,  and  visit  them,  or 
theirs,  with  some  fresh  calamity.  In  the  end, 
therefore,  they  were  compelled  to  fit  out  a 
flotilla,  and  went  as  far  as  Hick's  Bay;  for 
Europeans  lived  on  the  East  Coast  prior  to 


34  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHABOA 

their  settlement  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty;  where 
they,  too  successfully,  attacked  a  pa  at  Wareka- 
hika,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  into  their  hands 
two  pakehas,  who  lived  in  it.  One  poor  fellow 
was  instantly  killed,  but  the  natives  complained 
he  was  thin,  and  tough,  and  that  they  could 
scarcely  eat  him ;  and  we  may  add,  in  reference 
to  pakehas  they  have  murdered,  that  other  New 
Zealanders  have  found  the  same  fault,  and 
experienced  the  same  hardship.  The  other 
European  escaped  in  a  marvellous  manner;  he 
fled,  and  attempted  to  climb  a  tree,  but  the 
native  who  pursued  him,  a  Ngaitai  man,  cut  his 
fingers  off  with  a  tomahawk,  and  tumbled  him 
down  out  of  it.  We  suppose  the  Maori  preferred 
making  a  live  man  walk  to  the  kianga  to 
carrying  a  dead  man  there;  otherwise  another 
moment  would  have  ended  the  pakeha 's  life. 
During  the  brief  interval,  our  pakeha  turned  his 
anxious  eyes  towards  the  sea — when  lo,  an 
apparition!  Was  it  not  mocking  him?  or  could 
it  be  real?  Yes,  a  reality,  there,  "walking  the 
waters  like  a  thing  of  life, ' '  a  ship — no  phantom 
ship — approached,  as  if  sent  in  his  hour  of 
need;  she  suddenly  shot  round  Warekahika 
point,  not  more  than  a  mile  off,  and  anchored  in 
the  Bay.  "Now,"  said  the  pakeha,  "if  you 
spare  me,  my  countrymen  on  board  that  ship 
will  give  a  handsome  ransom  in  guns  and 
ammunition."  The  Maoris  at  once  saw  the 
force  of  the  observation ;  the  thing  was  plain  on 
the  face  of  it;  and,  as  they  wanted  both  guns 
and  ammunition,  they  took  him  to  the  landing 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAROA  35 

place,  a  rocky  point,  to  negotiate  the  business. 
Presently  an  armed  whaleboat  neared  the  shore 
(the  ship  was  a  whaler),  the  pakeha  advanced  a 
pace  or  two  beyond  the  group  of  Maoris,  to  the 
edge  of  the  rock,  to  speak ;  and  when  he  spoke, 
he  said  to  those  in  the  boat,  "When  I  jump  into 
the  water,  fire."  He  plunged,  and  they  fired; 
he  was  saved,  and  the  natives  fled;  excepting 
such  as  may  have  been  compelled  to  remain  on 
the  rock,  contrary  to  their  feelings  and  wishes, 
O  temporal  0  mores!  The  unfortunate  pakehas 
were  proteges  of  Makau,  alias  Rangimatanuku, 
the  Wakatohea  chief  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  fled  from  Opotiki  when  Ngatimaru  devas- 
tated that  place.  Makau  lost  several  men  in  this 
affair,  and  always  considered  himself  an 
upholder,  and  martyr,  in  the  cause  of  the 
pakeha.  It  was  lucky  this  idea  possessed  his 
mind,  as  it  probably  saved  the  crew  of  the  'John 
Dunscombe, '  a  schooner  from  Launceston,  which 
came  to  grief  at  Opotiki,  in  1832. 

Another  incident  in  connection  with  the 
*  Haws'  tragedy  cannot  be  omitted.  One  of  the 
natives  who  took  part  in  it  was  a  Ngapuhi  man, 
who  at  the  time  was  visiting  at  Whakatane,  but 
usually  lived  at  Maungatapu,  at  Tauranga, 
having  taken  a  woman  of  that  place  to  wife.  It 
so  happened  that  Nene,  of  Hokianga — now 
Tamati  Waka — was  on  the  beach  at  Maunga- 
tapu when  this  Ngapuhi  native  returned  from 
"Whakatane,  to  his  wife  and  friends.  Tamati 
Waka  advanced  to  meet  him,  and  delivered  a 
speech,  taki-ing  up  and  down  in  Maori  style, 


36  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

while  Ngatihei,  the  natives  of  the  pa,  sat  round. 
"Ugh!  you're  a  pretty  fellow  to  call  yourself 
a  Ngapuhi.  Do  they  murder  pakehas  in  that 
manner  in  Ngapuhi?  What  makes  you  steal 
away  here  to  kill  pakehas?  Has  the  pakeha 
done  you  any  harm  that  you  kill  him?  There — 
that  is  for  your  work,"  he  said,  as  he  suddenly 
stopped  short  and  shot  the  native  he  addressed 
dead  in  the  midst  of  his  connections  and  friends. 
This  act,  bold  even  to  rashness,  on  Waka  's  part,, 
stamped  his  character  for  the  future  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  New  Zealand  as  the 
friend  of  the  pakeha;  a  reputation  which  that 
veteran  chief  has  since  so  well  sustained. 

The  next  matter  we  have  to  chronicle  is  a 
curious  compound  of  superstitious  absurdity, 
and  thirst  for  human  blood.  In  the  summer  of 
1831,  two  Bay  of  Islands'  girls  of  rank  bathed 
together  in  the  sea  at  Kororareka.  Their  play 
in  the  water  gradually  became  serious,  and 
ended  in  a  quarrel  in  which  one  cursed  the 
other's  tribe.  When  this  dreadful  result  became 
publicly  known,  the  girls'  tribes  gravely  pre- 
pared for  war — one  to  avenge  the  insult,  the 
other  to  defend  itself.  In  an  engagement  which 
followed,  the  assailants  were  so  terribly 
worsted,  that  the  other  party,  remembering 
they  were  all  related  to  each  other,  became 
ashamed  and  sorry  at  the  chastisement  they  had 
inflicted ;  and  they  actually  gave  up  Kororareka 
— the  site  of  the  township  of  Russell — in  com- 
pensation for  the  tupapakus  they  had  killed. 
But  the  gift  of  a  pa,  no  matter  how  advantage- 
ously situated,  could  not  appease  the  craving  of 


STOEY    OF    TE    WAHAEOA  37 

blood  for  blood.  Accordingly,  an  expedition  of 
Ngapuhis  and  Earawas  was  sent  to  Tauranga, 
to  get  a  bloody  atonement  for  the  people  slain  in 
their  intertribal  war  in  the  North.  The  expe- 
dition was  void  of  result,  and  returned  to  the 
Bay  of  Islands,  after  having  been  beaten  off 
the  Maungatapu  pa — the  same  pa  which,  three 
years  before,  Te  Rohu  had  vainly  tried  to  take. 
The  only  incident  worth  mentioning  on  this 
occasion  is  that  the  celebrated  Heki  was  shot  in 
the  neck,  and  fell  in  the  fern  near  the  ditch  of 
the  pa,  from  which  perilous  position  he  was 
removed  in  the  night  by  his  comrades.  "Ah!" 
said  Nuka,  chief  of  Maungatapu,  in  allusion, 
some  years  afterwards,  to  this  circumstance, 
* '  if  we  had  only  known  that  he  was  there  in  the 
fern,  he  never  would  have  troubled  the 
pakeha. ' ' 

Undaunted  and  undiscouraged  by  lack  of 
luck,  Ngapuhi  again  set  forth  a  taua,  led  by  Te 
Haramiti,  a  noted  old  priest;  and  as  the  war 
party  was  a  small  one  of  only  140  men,  it  was 
arranged  that  a  reinforcement  should  follow 
it.  In  1832  Te  Haramiti 's  taua  set  out,  and 
landed  first  at  Ahuahu — Mercury  Island — 
where  about  one  hundred  Ngatimarus  were 
surprised,  killed,  and  eaten.  The  only  person 
who  escaped  this  massacre  was  a  man  with  a 
peculiarly  shaped  head,  the  result  of  a  toma- 
hawk wound  he  then  received.  He  said  that  as 
he  sat  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  in  the  bush,  a 
little  apart  from  his  companions,  something 
rustled  past  him;  he  seemed  to  receive  a  blow, 


38  STOKY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

and  became  insensible.  When  next  he  opened 
his  eyes,  he  saw  the  full  moon  sailing  in  the 
heavens;  all  was  still  as  death;  he  wondered 
what  had  happened.  Feeling  pain,  he  put  his 
hand  to  his  head,  and  finding  an  enormous 
wound,  began  to  comprehend  his  situation.  At 
length,  faint  for  want  of  food,  and  believing 
the  place  deserted,  he  cautiously  and  painfully 
crept  forth  to  find  the  bones  of  his  friends,  and 
the  ovens  in  which  they  had  been  cooked.  Food 
there  was  none ;  yet  in  that  wounded  condition, 
he  managed  to  subsist  on  roots  and  shell-fish, 
until  found  and  rescued  by  some  of  his  own 
tribe,  who  went  from  the  main  to  visit  the 
slaughtered.  How  the  wretched  man  lived 
under  such  circumstances  is  a  marvel  to  the 
writer,  who  has  not  forgotten  the  time  when — 
seventeen  years  ago — he  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  cast  away  in  a  schooner  on  the  same  inhos- 
pitable island;  and  the  difficulty  that  he  and 
three  native  companions  experienced,  during  a 
three  weeks'  succession  of  winter  gales,  in  ob- 
taining from  its  rocks  and  beaches  a  very  poor 
and  scanty  fare. 

From  Mercury  Island,  Te  Haramiti's  taua 
sailed  to  Mayor  Island,  where  they  surprised, 
killed,  and  ate  many  of  the  Whanau  o  Ngaitai- 
whao.  A  number,  however,  took  refuge  in  their 
rocky  and  almost  impregnable  pa  at  the  east 
end  of  the  island,  whence  they  contrived  to  send 
intelligence  of  Ngapuhi's  irruption  to  Ngaite- 
rangi,  at  Tauranga.  The  Ngapuhi  remained 
several  days  at  Tuhua,  irresolute  whether  to 


STOBY   OF   TB   WAHAKOA  39 

continue  the  incursion,  or  return  to  their  own 
country.  A  few  men  of  the  taua,  satisfied  at 
the  first  slaughter,  had  wished  to  return  from 
Mercury  Island;  but  now  all,  excepting  Te 
Haramiti,  desired  to  do  the  same.  They  urged 
the  success  of  the  expedition:  that,  having 
accomplished  their  purpose  further  operations 
were  unnecessary;  that  they  were  then  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  hostile  and  powerful 
Ngaiterangi — who,  should  they  hear  of  the 
recent  murders,  would  be  greatly  incensed ;  that 
their  own  numbers  were  few,  and  there  ap- 
peared but  little  hope  of  the  arrival  of  the 
promised  reinforcements;  and  that,  though  the 
tribes  of  the  South  possessed  only  a  few  guns, 
yet  they  no  longer  dreaded  firearms  as  for- 
merly, when  the  paralysing  terror  they  inspired 
so  frequently  enabled  Ngapuhi  to  perpetrate  the 
greatest  massacres  with  impunity — hence 
Pomare,  and  his  taua,  had  never  returned  from 
Waikato.  To  these  arguments  Te  Haramiti 
then  priest  and  leader,  replied:  that,  though 
they  had  done  very  well,  the  atua  was  not  quite 
satisfied,  and  they  must  therefore  try  and  do 
more.  He  assured  them  that  the  promised  suc- 
cours were  at  hand,  and  that  they  were  required 
by  the  atua  to  go  as  far  as  the  next  island, 
Motiti,  whence  they  would  be  permitted  to 
return  to  the  Bay  of  Islands.  To  Motiti,  or  Flat 
Island,  accordingly  they  went;  for  Haramiti, 
their  oracle,  was  supposed  to  communicate  the 
will  of  the  atua;  and  they,  of  course,  like  all 
New  Zealanders  of  that  day,  whether  in  war  or 


40  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

in  peace,  scrupulously  observed  the  forms  and 
rites  of  their  religion  and  superstition,  and 
obeyed  the  commandments  of  their  spiritual 
divinities,  as  revealed  by  the  tohungas,  their 
priests. 

The  Ngapuhis,  when  they  arrived  at  Motiti, 
were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  the 
ordinary  food  found  there,  such  as  potatoes  and 
other  vegetables,  with  pork,  for  the  inhabitants 
had  fled.  But  this  disappointment  was  soon 
forgotten,  when  the  next  day  at  noon  a  large 
fleet  of  canoes  was  descried  approaching  from 
Tuhua,  the  way  they  had  come.  Forthwith  the 
cry  arose,  "Here  are  Ngapuhi!  here  is  the  ful- 
filment of  Haramiti's  prophecy!"  and  off  they 
rushed  in  scattered  groups  along  the  south- 
western beach  of  Motiti,  to  wave  welcome  to 
their  supposed  friends. 

Let  us  leave  this  party  for  awhile,  to  see  how 
in  the  meantime  Ngaiterangi  had  been  occupied. 
As  soon  as  the  news  from  Tuhua  reached 
Tauranga,  the  Ngaiterangi  hastily  assembled  a 
powerful  force  to  punish  the  invaders.  Te 
Waharoa  was  at  Tauranga  on  a  visit,  and  by 
his  prestige,  energy,  and  advice,  contributed 
much  to  the  spirit  and  activity  of  the  enterprise. 
In  short,  so  vigorous  were  Ngaiterangi 's  pre- 
parations, that  in  a  few  days  a  fleet  of  war 
canoes,  bearing  one  thousand  warriors,  led  by 
Tupaea  and  Te  Waharoa,  sailed  out  of  Tau- 
ranga harbour,  and  steered  for  Tuhua.  The 
voyage  was  so  timed  that  they  arrived  at  the 
island  at  daylight  the  following  morning,  when 


STOKY    OF    TE    WAHAROA  41 

they  were  informed  by  the  Whanau  o  Ngaitai- 
whao  from  the  shore,  that  the  Ngapuhis  had 
gone  the  previous  day  to  Motiti.  Instantly  their 
course  was  turned  towards  Motiti.  The  war- 
riors, animated  with  hope,  and  thoroughly  set 
upon  revenge,  or  perish  in  the  attempt,  made 
old  Ocean  hiss  and  boil  to  the  measured  stroke 
of  their  warlike  tuki-,  while  the  long  low  war 
canoes  glided  serpent-like  over  the  undulations 
of  an  open  swell.  At  midday,  as  they  neared 
Motiti,  the  enemy's  canoes  were  seen  ranged  up 
on  the  strand,  at  the  isthmus  which  connects 
the  pa  at  its  south  end  with  the  rest  of  the 
island ;  and  now  Ngaiterangi  deliberately  lay  on 
their  oars,  and  took  refreshment  before  joining 
issue  with  their  antagonists.  The  Maungatapu 
canoes,  forming  the  right  wing  of  the  attack, 
were  then  directed  to  separate  at  the  proper 
time  and  pass  round  the  south  end  of  the  island 
to  take  the  enemy  in  rear,  and  prevent  the 
escape  of  any  by  canoes  that  might  be  on  the 
eastern  beach. 

All  arrangements  having  been  made,  Ngaite- 
rangi committed  themselves  to  that  onset  which, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  doomed  Ngapuhis  rushed 
blindly  forth  to  welcome.  The  latter,  cut  off 
from  escape,  surprised,  scattered,  and  out- 
numbered, were  destroyed  in  detail,  almost 
without  a  show  of  resistance.  Old  Haramiti, 
blind  with  age,  sat  in  the  stern  of  his  canoe 
ready  to  receive  his  friends,  but  hearing  the 
noise  of  a  conflict  he  betook  himself  to  incanta- 
tions to  ensure  the  success  of  his  people;  and 


42  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHABOA 

thus  was  he  engaged  when  the  men  of  Ngaite- 
rangi  came  up,  and  pummelled  him  to  death 
with  their  fists — a  superstitious  feeling  pre- 
venting each  from  drawing  his  sacred  blood. 
Only  two  Ngapuhis  survived — a  youth  to  whom 
quarter  was  given  and,  a  man  who,  it  is  said, 
swam  to  Wairake  on  the  main,  in  respect  of 
which  feat  we  will  only  say,  that  it  was  an 
uncommonly  long  swim. 

Such  was  the  end  of  Haramiti's  expedition; 
and  such  the  last  link  in  the  chain  of  tragical 
events,  which  Maori  ingenuity,  superstition,  and 
cruelty  contrived  to  attach  to  the  childish 
quarrel  of  the  girls  that  bathed  at  the  Bay  of 
Islands.  Coupled,  however,  with  Pomare's 
similarly  disastrous  aff air  at  Waikato,  the  good 
effect  was  attained  of  deterring  Ngapuhi  from 
all  further  acts  of  aggression  against  the  South. 

Tupaea,  who  led  Ngaiterangi  's  avenging  tauar 
and  wiped  out  the  insult  of  Ngapuhi 's  two 
recent  irruptions,  is  the  same  chief  that  was 
lately  a  prisoner  of  war  at  Auckland.  He  was 
one  of  the  few  defenders  of  the  Tumu,  that 
escaped  from  that  pa  on  the  7th  May,  1836. 
On  the  afternoon  of  that  day  he  was  seen  suf- 
fering from  a  wound  in  the  head,  of  so  singular 
a  nature  that  it  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  A 
musket  ball,  fired  somewhere  from  his  left  front, 
had  penetrated  the  skin  immediately  behind  the 
left  ear,  and  forming  a  passage  round  the  head 
between  the  scalp  and  skull,  had  made  its  exit 
at  the  right  eyebrow.  Thus  the  hardness  of  his 
cranium,  and  the  elastic  toughness  of  his  hairy 


STOEY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  43 

scalp,  had  not  merely  saved  his  life,  but  had 
absolutely  reversed  the  course  of  the  bullet; 
and,  strange  to  say,  with  apparently  compara- 
tively little  inconvenience  to  himself. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that,  as  in 
1832,  Tupaea  put  a  final  stop  to  Ngapuhi's  in- 
cursions by  the  retributive  carnage  at  Motiti,  so 
it  had  been  his  father 's  lot,  some  fourteen  years 
before  that  time,  to  avert  from  Tauranga's 
shores  the  dreadful  inroads  of  that  tribe  by  an 
act  of  extraordinary  chivalry  and  self-sacrifice, 
the  circumstances  of  which  are  the  following : — 
Soon  after  Ngapuhi  obtained  firearms,  they 
attacked  Tauranga,  and  took  Ngaiterangi 's  pa 
at  Maunganui,  driving  its  wretched  inhabitants 
into  the  sea  at  the  rocky  point,  which  forms  the 
north-western  extremity  of  that  mountain. 
Again  they  invaded  Tauranga,  and  encamped 
at  Matuaaewe — a  knoll  overhanging  the 
Wairoa,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  great  Otu- 
moetai  pa.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when, 
in  the  noontide  heat  of  a  summer's  day,  Te 
Warn,  principal  chief  of  Ngaiterangi,  taking 
advantage  of  the  hour  when  both  parties  were 
indulging  in  siestas,  went  out  alone  to  recon- 
noitre the  enemy.  Having  advanced  as  far  as 
was  prudent,  he  sat  down  among  some  ngaio 
trees  near  the  beach,  and  presently  observed  a 
man,  who  proved  to  be  Temoerangi,  the  leading 
Ngapuhi  chief,  coming  along  the  strand  from 
the  enemy's  camp.  The  man  approached,  and 
turning  up  from  the  beach,  sat  down  under  the 
trees,  without  perceiving  the  Tauranga  chief 


44  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

who  was  near  him.  Instantly  the  determination 
of  the  latter  was  taken.  He  sprang  unawares 
upon  the  Ngapuhi,  disarmed  him,  and  binding 
his  hands  with  his  girdle,  he  drove  him  towards 
Otumoetai.  When  they  were  arrived  pretty 
near  to  the  pa,  he  bade  his  prisoner  halt;  he 
unloosed  him,  restored  his  arms,  and  then, 
delivering  up  his  own  to  him,  said  to  the 
astonished  Ngapuhi,  "Now  serve  me  in  the 
same  manner."  The  relative  positions  of  the 
chiefs  were  soon  reversed,  and  the  captor  driven 
captive  entered  Ngapuhi 's  camp,  where  so  great 
was  the  excitement,  and  the  eagerness  of  each 
to  destroy  Ngaiterangi 's  chief,  that  it  was  only 
by  the  most  violent  gesticulations,  accompanied 
with  many  unmistakeable  blows  delivered  right 
and  left,  that  Temoerangi  compelled  them  for  a 
moment  to  desist.  "Hear  me,"  he  cried,  "hear 
how  I  got  him,  and  afterwards  kill  him  if  you 
like."  He  then  made  a  candid  statement  of  all 
that  had  occurred,  whereupon  the  rage  of  the 
Ngapuhis  was  turned  away,  and  a  feeling  of 
intense  admiration  succeeded.  Te  Waru  was 
unbound,  his  arms  restored ;  he  was  treated  with 
the  greatest  respect,  and  invited  to  make  peace 
— the  thing  he  most  anxiously  desired.  The 
peace  was  concluded ;  the  Ngapuhis  returned  to 
the  Bay  of  Islands ;  and,  though  in  after  years 
they  devastated  the  Thames,  Waikato,  and 
Botorua  districts,  yet  Tauranga  was  unvisited 
by  them  until  1831 — when,  as  we  have  seen,  they 
attacked  Maungatapu. 


PART  II. 


We  have  now  arrived  at  an  epoch  in  our 
story,  the  time  when  missionaries  first  ventured 
to  reside  among  the  savage  tribes  of  which  we 
write.  The  missionaries  had  paid  several  visits 
to  those  tribes,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that 
traders  had  done  the  same.  Pakeha-Maoris 
also,  in  at  least  four  instances,  had  risked  short 
residences  among  them,  but  such  residences 
were  dangerous;  and  in  one  case  alluded  to, 
that  of  a  man  named  Cabbage,  who  lived  in 
1833  at  Botorua,  had  terminated  fatally,  for  he 
was  murdered  on  the  island  of  Mokoia  by  two 
chiefs,  for  the  sake  of  the  merchandise  in  Ms 
possession.  One  of  his  murderers  still  lives  at 
Whakatane. 

The  missionaries  destined  for  this  under- 
taking waited  for  a  certain  time  at  the  Bay  of 
Islands,  hoping  some  opening  would  present 
itself  in  the  South,  to  afford  a  better  chance  of 
successfully  prosecuting  their  labours.  As, 
however,  no  such  opportunity  occurred,  they 
determined  to  delay  no  longer;  and  so  we  find 
that  in  the  early  part  of  1834  three  brethren, 
Messrs  Preece,  Wilson,  and  Fairburn,  landed 
with  their  families  at  Puriri,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Thames;  and  that  within  eighteen  months 

45 


46  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAKOA 

they  were  followed  by  Messrs  Chapman, 
Morgan,  Brown,  Hamlin,  Maunsell,  Stack,  and 
Wade ;  the  last-named  missionary,  however,  did 
not  stay  long  in  that  part  of  the  country. 

The  New  Zealand  settler  of  the  Northern 
Island,  who  at  the  present  time  reflects  indis- 
criminately,   and    in    a    general    manner    on 
missionaries — and  there  are  too  many  that  do 
so,  confounds  the  early  missionary,  to  whose 
perils  and  labours  he  is  indebted  for  his  footing 
on  this  soil,  with  some  missionaries  who  came 
to  the  country  after  those  perils  had  ceased — 
when  the  Maori  had  become  another  man — with 
men  who  by  their  actions  seemed  less  conscious 
than  even  the  settlers  of  what  the  Maoris  had 
been,  and  to  what  he  might  again  revert;  who, 
in  short,  were  experimentally  ignorant  of,  and 
undisciplined  by,  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
with  which  the  early  missionary's  path  had  been 
beset,  and   therefore  prone  to  err — like  other 
raw  recruits — in  despising  and  ignoring  danger. 
Therefore  such  New  Zealand  colonists  as  have 
lately  become  accustomed  to  scatter  animadver- 
sions broadcast  on  the  missionary  body  are,  we 
trust,    either    ignorant    or    forgetful    of    the 
dreadful  state  of  society,  which  existed  here 
before  the  missionaries  came  to  the  country; 
and  which,  prior  to  1834,  formed  the  normal 
condition     of    the     Maori     tribes     south     of 
Tamaki — a  condition,  which,   under   God,   was 
changed  only  by  those  early  missionaries;  and 
which,  until  so  changed,  entirely  defeated  all 
colonising  efforts.    This  is  no  bare  assertion  or 


A 


STOKY   OF   TE    WAHABOA  47 

speculative  opinion,  but  a  matter  established  in 
the  country's  history  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  first  New  Zealand  Company's  attempt  to 
colonise  the  Thames,  in  1826,  was  frustrated. 

In  November,  1826,  an  English  ship  full  of 
immigrants  sailed  up  the  Hauraki  Gulf.  Their 
mineralogist  having  reported  Pakihi,  the  Sand- 
spit  Island,  to  be  extremely  rich  in  iron  ore,  the 
leaders  of  the  enterprise  purchased  the  island, 
intending  immediately  to  open  an  iron  mine ;  but 
the  increasing  number  of  natives,  who  probably 
came  over  from  the  river  Thames,  and  their 
ferocious  appearance  and  conduct,  so  alarmed 
the  immigrants,  that  they  refused  to  land;  and 
their  leaders  being  similarly  dismayed,  they 
gave  up  the  scheme,  pocketed  their  loss,  and, 
having  called  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  and 
Hokianga,  sailed  to  Australia,  and  ultimately 
engaged  elsewhere  in  a  pearl  fishery.  Those 
simple  "people  were  so  alarmed  at  the  ferocious 
appearance  and  conduct  of  the  natives,  that 
they  were  afraid  to  land,"  and  with  good 
reason,  for  a  country  infested  with  lions  and 
tigers  probably  would  not  have  deterred  them 
from  carrying  out  their  schemes  of  colonising 
their  island,  and  digging  their  mine;  but  the 
numerous  bloodthirsty  occupants  they  found  in 
organised  hordes,  were  of  so  destructive  and 
remorseless  a  character,  as  utterly  to  forbid  the 
hope  of  preserving  existence  among  them — 
savages,  whose  degradation  of  cannibalism  was 
hardly  removed  from  Fijian  horrors,  and  but  a 
step  from  the  practices  of  Mr  Du  Chaillu'sFans. 


48  STOBY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

It  should  be  remembered,  in  justice  to  the 
first  missionaries,  that  there  was  a  time  when 
Maori  character  and  habits  did  not  accord  with 
the  pleasant  scenes  of  native  excellence,  which 
sanguine  imaginations  have  from  time  to  time 
delighted  to  paint — pictures  overwrought,  and 
drawn  from  a  particular  point  of  view.  Thus 
the  interesting  and  amiable  individuals  des- 
cribed might  have  been  seen  at  Tauranga, 
Eotorua,  or  Maketu,  in  the  years  1836  and  1837V 
to  leave  their  homes  as  naked  men,  and  travel 
through  the  wastes  and  forests  of  the  land ;  then 
lashing  themselves  to  frenzy,  with  the  excited 
action,  hideous  gestures,  and  horrid  yells  of  the 
war-dance,  they  would  rush  upon  their  enemy; 
if  fortune  favoured  their  side,  they  would  in- 
dulge in  a  repast  on  the  bodies  of  the  slain.  And 
now  our  ghoul-like  hero,  having  surfeited 
himself,  and  put  as  much  flesh  into  a  kit  as  can 
be  conveniently  carried,  leaves  the  half -cooked, 
half -gnawed  remains,  and  returns  home,  taking 
his  victim's  head  with  him.  This  latter  he  gives 
to  his  little  naked  children  to  play  with.  The 
girl  nurses  it  like  a  doll ;  the  boy  goes  about 
endeavouring  to  attract  attention,  and  holds  it 
up  to  view  in  much  the  same  way  that  a  more 
civilized  child  would  try  to  submit  a  new  toy  for 
inspection.  Let  not  this  be  thought  an  exag- 
gerated account  of  the  Maori's  former  ferocity. 
The  sequel  will  show  its  truth  in  each  par- 
ticular; and  it  is  verified,  to  the  letter,  by  the 
journals  of  old  missionaries. 

New  Zealand  was  a  shocking  land  then,  for 
even  her  women  stooped  to  lick  the  human  gore 


STOBY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA  49 

that  freely  dyed  her  soil.  The  callousness  of 
those  females  was  truly  wonderful.  Thus  a 
woman,  whose  husband  was  killed,  with  many 
more  of  her  tribe,  at  Rotorua — we  do  not  say 
when,  or  by  whom — was  taken  with  her  two 
children  into  slavery.  Soon  her  master,  who 
had  eaten  her  husband,  desired  to  take  her  to 
wife,  but,  as  a  preliminary  step  to  sever  old 
ties,  and  get  rid  of  encumbrances,  he  killed  and 
ate  both  her  children ;  and  yet  that  woman  who 
would  probably  have  been  impelled  by  acuter 
feelings  to  commit  murder  or  suicide,  lived  con- 
tentedly enough,  and  had  a  numerous  second 
family.  This  insensibility  is,  however,  greatly 
attributable  to  the  habits  contracted  from  girl- 
hood to  womanhood,  and  until  the  time  of 
marriage,  when  fear  compels  more  self- 
restraint.  The  natives  do  not  disapprove  of 
their  young  people's  wantonness.  They  see,  or 
rather  they  saw  no  harm  in  what  was  called 
child's  play,  and  were  quite  indifferent  to  the 
evils  resulting  from  the  promiscuous  nocturnal 
assignations  of  the  young  and  unmarried. 

This  point  in  Maori  character  has  been  much 
disregarded,  though  the  natives  themselves 
affect  no  secrecy  about  it.  Yet  its  moral,  social, 
and  physical  importance  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated; as  the  tastes  acquired  in  youth  and 
early  maturity  were  generally  retained  through 
life ;  and  hence  the  natives — even  in  their  most 
Christian  days — observed  the  seventh  com- 
mandment more  in  the  breach  than  the  perform- 
ance. We  are  not  sure  that  the  missionaries 
were  generally  aware  of  the  cankerworm,  that 


50  STORY  OF  TB  WAHAEOA 

gnawed  the  root  of  the  plant  they  sought  to 
cherish;  but  we  know  one  excellent  member  of 
that  body,  who  saw  the  evil,  and  did  his  utmost 
to  induce  the  natives  of  his  district — Kotorua 
— to  overcome  it.  He  vainly  urged  his  native 
teachers  to  set  an  example,  by  partitioning  their 
dwellings  into  rooms.  One  teacher  did  indeed 
begin  a  wall,  but  never  finished  it ;  and  so 
apathetic  and  deplorably  low  did  the  natives' 
tone  of  mind  on  the  subject  appear  to  be,  that 
the  missionary's  heart  misgave  him,  and  he 
feared,  should  their  habits  remain  unchanged, 
that  their  profession  of  Christianity  would 
prove  hollow  and  unenduring.  Time  has  justi- 
fied those  apprehensions ;  for  this  has  not  been 
the  least  among  the  causes  which  have  led  to 
the  decay  of  religion  amongst  the  Maoris,  and 
which  ever  predisposed  them  to  associate  with 
the  debased  portions  of  our  own  population. 

To  the  above  slight  sketch  of  the  ferocity  and 
depravity  of  some  New  Zealanders  in  1836  and 
1837,  we  will  merely  add  a  few  words,  descrip- 
tive of  their  personal,  always  confining  our 
remarks  to  the  softer  sex,  as  being  the  more 
refined.  They  were  clothed  from  the  waist  to 
the  knees,  generally  with  a  rough  mat,  and 
another  small  mat  was  often  thrown  over  the 
shoulders.  Most  people  are  aware  that  they 
were  never  tattooed  as  their  lords  were — a  por- 
tion on  the  lips,  a  pattern  on  the  chin,  and  a  few 
lines  and  scratches  on  the  arms  and  breasts, 
were  considered  to  be  about  the  correct  quantum 
of  tattooing  for  ladies.  But  then  they  were 


STOKY   OF   TE    WAHAKOA  51 

allowed  to  use  any  amount  of  red  paint  on  their 
limbs  and  bodies.  It  was  a  mixture  of  red  ochre 
and  rancid  shark  oil,  and  formed  a  coating,- 
which  was  suffered  to  adhere  as  long  as  it 
liked.  The  smell  of  the  paint  was  mingled  with 
that  of  an  amulet,  worn  round  the  neck,  made  of 
a  certain  kind  of  grass,  and  prepared  in  a 
peculiar  manner;  and  which  was  of  the  size, 
colour,  and  odour,  of  a  small  dead  rat;  so  we 
may  perhaps  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  the 
entree  of  a  select  circle  was  overpowering  to  the 
olfactory  nerves,  and,  in  fact,  not  at  all  agree- 
able. At  home,  the  women  worked  hard  in  the 
plantations,  rowed  the  canoes,  and  did  all  the 
carrying  work,  the  men  having  wisely  tapued 
their  backs.  The  burdens  these  poor  creatures 
were  accustomed  to  bear,  were  really  wonderful, 
and  far  exceeded  in  weight  anything  carried  in 
the  olden  time  by  the  female  bearers  in  the 
Newcastle  collieries.  Their  gait  was  often  per- 
manently affected  by  it ;  being  changed  into  an 
awkward  kind  of  waddle,  in  which  the  heels 
were  kept  apart,  and  the  toes  turned  in.  Mr 
Darwin  would  probably  tell  us  that  such  extra- 
ordinary physical  powers  were  due  to  the 
gradual  selection,  by  nature,  of  a  variety  of  the 
species.  But  what  would  that  eminent  naturalist 
say  to  the  periodical  inversion,  by  the  females 
of  that  variety,  of  the  law  that  gives  the  parasite 
its  prey?  Nothing  in  his  synthetical  work, 
nothing  in  his  chapter  on  "the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence/' exceeds  in  horror  the  dreadfully  anoma- 
lous crusades  which  those  amiable  ladies 


52  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

regularly  engaged  in, — apparently  from  selfish 
rather  than  benevolent  motives — and  in  which 
themselves,  their  children,  and  their  dogs  were 
concerned. 

Thus  have  we  endeavoured,  cursorily,  to 
sketch  the  more  prominent  characteristics  of 
the  Maori  inhabitants  of  the  districts  we  write 
of  in  Waharoa's  time.  But  to  obtain  a  correct 
view  of  the  troubled  times,  and  scenes,  which 
chequered  the  lives  of  all  who  lived  in 
Tauranga,  Eotorua,  and  Matamata  districts, 
during  the  last  years  of  that  chief,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  advert  more  particularly  to  the  new 
influence  which  then  began  to  affect  the  Maori 
mind. 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  March,  1834,  a 
small,  but  remarkable,  band  of  missionaries 
appeared  at  the  Puriri ;  but  three  at  first,  in 
less  than  two  years  their  numbers  had  been 
augmented  to  nine,  of  whom  seven  were  laymen. 
Settled  they  were  not,  for  in  obedience  to  their 
Master,  and  protected  by  Him  in  many  dangers, 
as  messengers  of  religion  and  civilisation,  they 
traversed  the  Thames,  Tauranga,  Rotorua, 
Matamata,  Maungatautari,  Upper  and  Lower 
Waikato  and  Manukau  districts.  They  found 
as  our  readers  have  by  this  time  seen,  a  nation 
of  bloodthirsty  cannibals,  turbulent,  treach- 
erous, and  revengeful;  repulsive  in  habitsr 
naked,  licentious  and  filthy.  The  change 
wrought  during  the  ensuing  six  or  seven  years 
on  this  people,  by  the  teaching  and  examples  of 
these  good  men  and  their  wives  was  marvellous. 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAKOA  53 

At  the  end  of  nine  years  the  last  traces  of  canni- 
balism had  been  erased ;  before  that  time,  even 
in  1840,  many  villages  were  entirely  Christian, 
and  the  population  of  all  their  large  pas  were 
chiefly  of  the  same  belief.  Morning  and  evening 
they  attended  their  devotions.  Their  outward 
observance  of  the  Decalogue  would  have  caused 
many,  their  superiors  otherwise,  to  blush.  They 
learned  to  read,  write,  and  cipher;  they  were 
clothed  tolerably  decently;  they  gradually 
became  more  cleanly  in  their  persons ;  and  wars 
and  murders  had  nearly  ceased;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  there  was  a  certain  desire,  not 
generally  apparent  now,  to  do  justice  by  each 
other,  and  by  the  Europeans  who  traded  with 
them. 

To  suppose  such  unparalleled  results  were 
lightly  attained  would  be  unreasonable;  no  dis- 
passionate mind,  endowed  with  common  sense, 
could  be  guilty  of  such  an  error.  It  was  only 
by  great  energy  of  mind  and  body,  fearlessly 
but  judiciously  directed,  that  those  devoted 
men  were  enabled  to  effect  their  triumphs. 
Would,  that  the  ground  they  conquered  had 
been  retained  by  those  who  followed  them! 

As  opportunities  occurred,  the  missionaries 
established  stations,  where  they  placed  their 
families ;  but  in  the  wars  which  then  raged,  two 
of  those  homes  were  destroyed.  One  was 
entered,  devastated,  and  partially  burnt,  by  a 
hostile  taua;  the  other  was  entirely  burnt  by  a 
war  party ;  and  a  third  station  was  almost  aban- 
doned. Then  every  evening,  for  weeks  together, 


54  STORY  OP  TE  WAHAROA 

ladies  once  used  to  the  comforts  and  refinements 
of  an  English  home,  were  conducted,  with  their 
children,  to  some  sandy  island,  or  other  place, 
where  they  might  be  secure  from  the  prowling 
murdering  parties,  that  nightly  sought  their 
prey.  Yet,  though  their  own  situation  was  so 
frequently  perilous,  the  missionaries  shrank  not 
from  the  duty  of  giving  timely  warning  to  such 
natives  as  they  sometimes  learned  had  been 
marked  for  slaughter. 

The  following  incident  of  this  kind  serves  to 
illustrate  the  singular  influence  the  missionaries 
acquired,  and  shows  the  promptitude  and  great- 
ness of  the  efforts  they  were  capable  of  making. 
Two  of  their  number,  Messrs.  Wilson,  and 
Fairburn,  received  intelligence  of  an  expedition 
that  was  about  to  cut  off  a  party  of  unsuspecting 
persons,  engaged  in  scraping  flax,  on  the  banks 
of  a  stream  about  fifty  miles  off.  Taking  one  or 
two  Christian  natives  as  guides,  and  to  assist  in 
their  boat,  on  a  stormy  night  the  missionaries 
set  forth.  Though  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  the 
gale  was  pretty  fair,  and  in  the  morning  they 
landed,  having  accomplished  about  half  their 
journey.  But  the  harder  portion  yet  remained ; 
for  the  hills  were  slippery,  and  the  streams 
swollen  by  the  continued  rain,  so  that  in 
crossing  one  stream,  they  were  compelled  to 
construct  a  mokihi,  or  catamaran  of  flax  stalks. 
In  twenty-four  hours  the  missionaries  had 
descended  the  Thames  a  considerable  distance, 
and  crossed  its  frith;  they  had  ascended  the 
Piako,  and  walked  across  the  hilly  country  that 


STORY   OF   TB   WAHAEOA  55 

separates  that  river  from  the  Maramarua,  a 
stream  which  empties  itself  into  the  Waikato  at 
Wangamarino;  and  now,  towards  evening, 
though  sorely  tried  with  fatigue  and  exposure, 
they  neared  the  place  where  the  people  they 
sought  to  rescue  were  staying.  As  they 
advanced  their  anxiety  increased,  for  the  taua 
had  taken  a  shorter  road,  while  the  mission- 
aries, to  maintain  the  secrecy  necessary  to  the 
success  of  the  undertaking,  were  obliged  to  take 
a  more  circuitous  route.  Urged  on,  therefore, 
by  the  exigency  of  the  occasion,  they  used  every 
effort,  for  the  unsuspecting  natives  at  Mara- 
marua were  the  rearguard  of  a  party  of 
Waikatos,  whose  main  body  had  gone  to  Waka- 
tiwai,  to  endeavour  to  bring  about  a  peace  with 
the  Thames  natives ;  while  the  Thames  natives, 
knowing  that  the  flax-scraping  party  at  Mara- 
marua had  been  left  by  the  peace-seeking 
expedition  in  charge  of  their  canoes  there, 
privately  sent  a  taua  to  cut  them  off.  Hence 
the  brethren  felt  that  not  only  were  the  lives  of 
the  Maramarua  party  at  stake,  but  that  the 
success  of  the  taua  would  utterly  overthrow,  or 
indefinitely  postpone,  all  hopes  of  terminating 
the  long  and  bloody  war  between  the  Thames 
and  Waikato  tribes. 

Now,  there  were  two  landing  places,  some 
distance  from  each  other,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Maramarua  stream,  and  the  road  dividing  led 
to  each  of  them.  Mr.  Fairburn,  accompanied  by 
the  native  guides,  proceeded  to  the  lower 
landing  place,  while  Mr.  Wilson  branched  off  by 


56  STOKY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

himself  for  the  upper.  Presently  the  latter 
missionary  arrived  on  a  summit  above  the 
stream,  and  saw  the  objects  of  his  search  one 
hundred  yards  from  him,  sitting  on  its  banks 
outside  their  whare.  He  also  saw  the  taua 
about  five  hundred  yards  from  them, 
approching  from  the  lower  landing  place,  along 
the  margin  of  a  swamp.  Not  a  moment  was  to 
be  lost;  he  shouted,  but  the  wind  prevented 
his  being  heard.  The  Waikato  group,  however, 
saw  him,  and  when  he  took  off  his  coat  and 
waved  it,  they  rose  as  one  man,  and  gazed 
fixedly  until  he  repeated  the  signal.  Then, 
without  confusion,  they  seemed  to  slink  into 
their  canoes,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time, 
were  paddling  away ;  so  that  when  Mr.  Wilson 
reached  the  hut,  the  last  canoe  was  just 
disappearing  in  the  windings  of  the  stream. 

Scarcely  had  our  missionary  time  to  realise 
the  event,  and  to  think  of  his  own  situation, 
when  the  first  man  of  the  fight  appeared.  He 
was  a  naked,  square-built,  powerful,  dark- 
complexioned,  forbidding-loking  fellow,  who, 
eager  for  the  fray,  had  outstripped  his 
companions — on  he  came,  dripping  with  rain, 
with  his  left  arm  en  garde,  wound  round  with  a 
mat,  and  his  right  hand  tightly  clutching  a 
short  tomahawk,  he  was  too  intent  on  entering 
the  hut  to  perceive  the  missionary,  who  stood 
near  and  watched  his  movements.  He  did  not 
go  straight  in  at  the  doorway,  as  a  measured 
blow  might  have  been  dealt  him ;  but  suddenly 
he  leaped  obliquely  through  it,  making  at  the 


STORY  OF  TE   WAHABOA  57 

same  time  a  ward  to  defend  himself.  Some 
disappointment  must,  however,  have  ensued,  as 
he  quickly  came  out,  and,  running  with  uplifted 
weapon  in  search  of  prey,  met  Mr.  Wilson.  He 
paused,  and  scarcely  restraining  himself,  looked 
the  white  man  full  in  the  face — it  was  a  critical 
moment — but  the  countenance  of  the  latter  was 
firm,  and  the  eye  of  the  savage  fell,  and,  wan- 
dering, lit  upon  a  pig  asleep  close  by,  which 
luckily  served  as  a  safety-valve  to  the  explosive 
power  of  his  fury,  and  was  despatched  instanter 
by  a  blow  on  the  head. 

But  the  taua  came  up,  and  was  extremely 
glum.  Mr.  Fairburn,  too,  following  on  its 
track,  presently  arrived.  All  went  into  the 
long  low  hut,  for  night  had  set  in,  and  the 
weather  continued  bad.  The  whare  was 
crowded,  and  the  missionary  party  were  to- 
gether at  one  end  of  it.  For  two  hours  the  taua 
maintained  a  dogged  silence — most  trying  to 
their  neighbours.  They  neither  ate,  nor  did 
they  light  a  single  pipe ;  they  merely  kindled  a 
fire,  and  it  was  impossible  to  foresee  the  upshot 
of  the  matter  when  the  missionaries  at  length 
had  prayers  with  their  party,  beginning  with 
the  Maori  hymn : 

<{E!  Ihu  homai  ekoe 
He  ngakau  hou  ki  au." 

* '  0 !  Jesus  give  to  me 
A  heart  made  new  by  Thee. ' ' 

The  attention  of  the  taua  was  quickly  riveted. 
The  hard  countenances  of  the  sullen  and 


58  STOEY  OF  TB  WAHABOA 

chagrined  men  gradually  relaxed,  as  listening, 
they  mutely  acknowledged  the  superior  power 
of  the  pakehas'  Atua — perhaps  from  their  own. 
superstitious  fear  at  His  having  so  palpably 
thwarted  their  enterprise — or  perhaps  a  nobler 
influence  was  then  mysteriously  working  in 
their  minds.  At  any  rate,  when  that  short 
service  had  ended,  the  natives'  conduct  became 
so  altered  that  it  seemed  as  though  a  spell  had 
been  removed  from  them.  Fires  were  made, 
food  was  prepared,  and  the  carcase  of  the  pig, 
which  had  lain  neglected,  was  cut  up,  and  a 
portion,  together  with  a  present  of  potatoes, 
was  handed  to  the  missionaries;  conversation 
followed,  and  the  evening  ended  better  than  it 
began.  So  great,  however,  had  been  the  mental 
and  bodily  strain  on  the  brethren,  that  next  day, 
on  the  homeward  journey,  one  of  them,  Mr. 
Fairburn,  repeatedly  fainted,  and  was  with 
some  difficulty  escorted  back  to  the  boat.  On 
that  day,  Koinaki,  leader  of  the  party,  and  the 
great  guerilla  captain  of  Ngatimaru  tribe,  said 
to  the  missionaries:  "If  Waharoa  will  cease 
fighting,  I  will  do  the  same. ' '  He  kept  his  word, 
and  thus,  in  1835,  ended  the  last  episode  in  the 
Ngatihaua  and  Ngatimaru  war. 

The  following  interviews  will  show  how,  in  a 
few  years,  the  thoughts  and  habits  of  these  very 
natives  became  changed. 

At  Whakatane,  twelve  years  after  the 
incident  above  recorded,  a  Maori,  well-dressed 
in  sailor's  clothes,  presented  himself  before  Mr. 
Wilson,  and  the  following  conversation  ensued : 


STOEY   OF   TE    WAHAKOA  59 

"Do  you  know  me?" 

* ' No,  I  do  not  remember  ever  having  seen  you 
before. ' ' 

"I  am  the  man  who  first  entered  the  hut  at 
Maramarua. ' ' 

' '  Indeed !  They  were  sad  days  then. ' ' 

"Yes,  they  were  the  days  of  our  ignorance; 
but  we  know  better  now." 

"And  pray  what  brings  you  here,  away  from 
your  tribe?" 

"Oh!  I  am  a  sailor,  and  I  have  been 
requested  by  So-and-so  to  bring  his  vessel  here." 

This  man,  however,  was  not  the  only  native 
that  remembered  and  spoke  afterwards  of 
Maramarua.  Mr.  Fairburn  retired  from  the 
mission,  and  Mr.  Wilson  removed  to  the  Bay  of 
Plenty;  and  Koinaki,  on  parting  on  that 
occasion  from  the  latter  gentleman,  did  not  see 
him  again  until  after  a  lapse  of  twenty  years. 
Yet,  so  impressed  had  his  mind  been  with  the 
events  of  that  day  that,  upon  meeting  the 
missionary,  he  exclaimed,  "Mr.  Wilson,  do  you 
remember  Maramarua?" 

We  have  thus  noticed  in  full  the  foregoing 
Maramarua  episode,  in  order  to  furnish,  once 
for  all,  an  example  of  a  class  of  incident  by  no 
means  uncommon  in  the  early  days  of  the  New 
Zealand  mission,  and  to  illustrate  the  very 
remarkable  manner  in  which  the  Maoris — 
savage  as  they  were,  and  bad  as  they  were — 
were  sometimes  influenced  by  Christianity. 

But  there  were  certain  elements  in  the  Maori 
mind  which  predisposed  the  natives  to  accept 


60  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

Christianity,  and  facilitated  its  spread  amongst 
them : — 

1.  They  had  no  idols ;  all  their  divinities  were 
of  a  spiritual  nature.  They  had,  indeed,  their 
tapued  images,  houses,  places,  things;  their 
tapued  persons,  and  their  tanas  tapu\  but  the 
sacredness  of  those  tapus  was  an  extrinsic 
mode,  having  some  reference  or  connection, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  a  spiritual  atua. 
Hence,  their  ideas  on  matters  of  tapu  were  often 
extremely  subtle  and  metaphysical.  Thus  in 
1836,  at  Rotorua,  at  a  place  where  a  cannibal 
feast  had  occurred  a  fortnight  before,  a  native 
was  asked,  "What  he  expected  Whiro,  the  god 
of  war,  to  do  with  the  offerings  left  to  him  on 
the  ground — did  he  think  Whiro  would  eat 
them?"  He  replied:  "The  question  is  a  very 
absurd  one,  for  how  can  a  spirit  eat  food  ?  How 
can  mind  consume  matter?  The  outward  forms 
of  those  offerings  to  Whiro  remain  the  same, 
but  the  god  has  absorbed  their  mana" — that  is, 
virtue  or  essence.  The  offerings  consisted  of 
a  cooked  piece  of  heart  or  liver,  a  lock  of  hair, 
and  a  cooked  potato,  each  placed  on  a  small 
stick  planted  in  the  ground  by  a  little  oven — for 
Whiro  had  his  own  separate  oven,  about  the  size 
of  a  dinner-plate.  The  flesh  and  hair  had  been 
taken  from  the  body  of  the  first  man  killed  in 
the  battle,  which  body  was  a  wakahere  held  tapu 
to  the  atua.  And  sometimes,  in  a  doubtful 
strife,  the  priest  of  a  taua  would  hastily  rip  out 
the  wakahere's  heart,  and,  muttering  incanta- 
tions, would  wave  it  to  the  atua,  to  ensure  the 
success  of  his  people. 


STOEY   OF   TE   WAHAKOA  61 

2.  Their  practical  acknowledgment  that  the 
shedding  of  blood  cancelled  evil.  This  doctrine 
of  atonement  occasionally  involved  them 
against  their  inclination  in  wars  and  broils, 
which,  on  the  violation  of  a  tapu,  were  engaged 
in  to  avenge  the  atua's  honour,  and  to  avert 
from  themselves,  their  wives  and  their  children, 
the  evils  and  diseases  supposed  to  be  inflicted 
on  such  as  were  remiss  on  the  atua's  behalf. 

Besides  their  atua's  grievances,  they  had 
their  own  private  ones  also;  sometimes,  too, 
these  classes  were  interwoven,  sometimes  hope- 
lessly entangled.  But  in  no  case  were  they 
satisfied  until  an  atonement  in  blood  had  been 
obtained ;  and  the  duty  of  seeking  such  redress 
was  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  if  neces- 
sary, even  to  the  third  generation.  The 
following  dialogue,  which  occurred  some  years 
ago,  between  two  travellers  on  a  lonely  road, 
sufficiently  exemplifies  this : — 

Maori:  "I  have  had  several  opportunities 
to-day  of  killing  you." 

European — uneasily — "What  do  you  mean! " 

Maori:  "That  among  us,  Maoris,  strangers 
never  travel  as  we  are  doing — walking  close 
behind  each  other  through  copses  and  narrow 
places  such  as  this  is." 

European:  "Why?" 

Maori:  "Because,  although  on  good  terms 
with  my  companion,  yet  I  might  know  of  some 
unavenged  evil  my  ancestors  had  sustained, 
which  he  had  forgotten,  or  perhaps  never  heard 
of,  and  then,  if  I  had  an  opportunity,  I  should 
kill  him." 


62  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAKOA 

So  necessary,  indeed,  was  satisfaction  of  this 
nature  to  comfort  their  too  susceptible  con- 
sciences, that  in  the  event  of  their  being  unable 
or  unwilling  to  obtain  a  recompense  from  the 
offenders,  they  would  turn  to  other  quarters; 
and  ultimately  get  utu  by  killing  persons  utterly 
unconnected  with  them  or  their  affairs,  and  who 
may  have  been  ignorant  of  their  very  existence. 

3.  They  say  that  conscience  warned  them  of 
the  difference  between  good  and  evil,  right  and 
wrong. 

4.  They    were    naturally    religious.      Their 
affairs,  whether  political,  civil,  or  social,  were 
all  blended  with  religion  or  superstition.    It 
was  invoked  when  they  fished,  planted,   and 
gathered  in  their  crops;  when  they  sent  out  a 
taua,  or  when  they  attacked  a  pa.    If  they 
engaged  in  warlike  operations,  they  observed 
the  flight  of  shooting  stars,  and  divined  the 
atua's    approval     or    disapproval     of    their 
expeditions.    If  a  star  travelled  towards  the 
enemy 's  country,  the  omen  was  favourable ;  but 
on   an   opposite   course,   it   was   sufficient   to 
paralyse  the  heart  of  the  stoutest  taua,  and 
cause  the  most  superstitious  of  its  warriors  to 
return  to  their  homes.     In  the  assault  and 
defence  of  pas  the  moon  was  studied.    That 
satellite  was  supposed  to  represent  the  pa,  and 
her  eclipse — should  it  happen,  as  was  the  case 
the  night  before  Te  Tumu  was  taken — would 
most  surely  prognosticate  its  fall.    So  also  the 
relative    positions    of    stars    with    the    moon 
indicated  the  success  or  otherwise  of  attacking 
tauas  against  a  pa. 


STORY   OF    TE    WAHAROA  63 

Failing  these  auguries,  the  tohunga  (priest) 
would  repeat  his  enchantments,  and  cast  the 
niu.  This  ceremony  was  performed  by  taking 
a  number  of  small  sticks — each  representing  in 
the  tohunga  'a  mind  a  particular  hapu,  or  section 
of  the  assailants — and  throwing  them  hap- 
hazard towards  a  small  space  described  on  the 
ground,  which  betokened  the  pa;  the  tohunga 
was  able,  by  the  way  they  fell  upon  the  ground, 
and  the  directions  they  pointed  in,  to  presage 
whether  an  attack  would  prove  successful ;  and, 
if  so,  to  assign  to  the  various  tribes,  or  hapus, 
the  parts  they  should  take  in  the  proposed 
assault. 

Their  planting,  too,  was  preceded  by  incanta- 
tions and  tapus,  and  their  harvesting  by  an 
offering  of  first-fruits  to  the  atua.  In  short, 
the  genius  of  the  people  was  nearly  as  essen- 
tially religious,  and  their  actions,  as  subject  to 
the  control  of  their  tohungas,  as  we  are  told 
the  Thibetans  are  influenced  in  all  their  civil 
and  social  arrangements  by  the  Grand  Lama 
and  his  Buddhistical  priesthood. 

Hence  the  native  bent  of  the  Maori  mind 
caused  the  people,  as  they  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, gradually  to  place  themselves  as  a 
matter  of  course  under  the  guidance  of  a  sort  of 
Christian  theocracy.  They  sought  the  mis- 
sionary's advice  in  secular  affairs  so  frequently 
that,  in  addition  to  being  their  teacher,  he 
became  their  magistrate  and  doctor.  Yet  was 
their  religion  rather  that  of  the  head  than  the 
heart.  It  was  a  principle  propelled  to  action 
in  many  cases,  and  especially  latterly,  by  the 


64  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

superstition  latent  in  their  minds — by  the  fear 
of  incurring  the  atua  's  displeasure.  They  ever 
lacked  the  opposite  principle  of  gratitude;  it 
was  so  foreign  to  their  ideas,  that  they  had  not 
even  a  word  to  express  it,  and  the  missionaries 
were  obliged  to  borrow  wakawhetai  from  a 
Polynesian  language  to  supply  the  deficiency, 
and  convey  their  instructions. 

It  was  under  the  auspices  of  this  mild  mis- 
sionary regime — which,  if  a  government,  was  a 
very  singular  one,  seeing  there  were  no  laws, 
and  an  almost  total  absence  of  crime — that  the 
first  British  Governor  set  foot  on  the  shores  of 
New  Zealand.  He,  Governor  Hobson,  and  his 
successor  Fitzroy,  were  well  aware  they  had  no 
physical  means  of  enforcing  law  and  main- 
taining order  among  the  natives.  Therefore, 
as  much  as  possible,  they  pursued  the  policy  of 
availing  themselves  of  the  moral  influence  the 
missionaries  possessed — an  influence  which  had 
laid  the  natives '  passions,  had  prepared  the  way 
for  the  founding  of  the  colony,  and  formed  the 
only  tie  (that  of  religion,  tinged  with  super- 
stition in  the  minds  receiving  it)  by  which  the 
turbulence  of  the  Maoris  was  held  in  check. 

The  missionaries,  however,  to  avoid  an 
ambiguous  relation  to  the  civil  power — a 
position  alike  alien  and  prejudicial  to  their 
vocation — permitted  one  of  their  number  to 
retire  from  the  mission  and  join  the  Govern- 
ment, for  the  purpose  of  managing  native 
affairs.  But  the  Governor's  selection  of  the 
gentleman  to  fill  this  new  and  important  office 


Capt.  William  Hobson,  E.N,,  First  Governor  of  New  Zealand. 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  65 

was  scarcely  a  happy  one  for  the  country;  for, 
although  a  very  sincere,  well-meaning  person, 
he  took  extravagant  views  of  his  duties  as 
Native  Protector,  and  the  natives  became  over- 
bearing. They  found  themselves  continually 
sheltered  and  favoured,  and  discovered  to  their 
surprise  that  Europeans — who,  before  the 
advent  of  a  government,  had  managed  to  take 
care  of  themselves — were  now  neglected,  and 
virtually  unprotected.  In  truth,  the  first 
Governor  erred  in  judgment  when  he  created  a 
Native  Protectorate.  The  natives  then  required 
no  special  protection  any  more  than  they  do 
now.  Then  they  learned  to  despise  the  weak- 
ness of  our  administration,  and  expect  that 
particular  kind  of  justice  which  they  have  since 
been  accustomed  to  obtain ;  then,  too,  began  the 
troubles  of  the  young  colony. 

If,  instead  of  establishing  a  questionable 
advocateship  under  the  guise  of  a  protectorship, 
the  Governor  had  entrusted  a  Commissioner  of 
judgment  and  ability  with  the  supervision  of 
native  affairs — some  person  who,  by  firmness, 
tact,  and  a  conciliatory  address,  should  have 
endeavoured,  during  the  political  honeymoon 
that  followed  the  union  of  English  and  Maori 
power  at  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi,  to  secure  the 
ground  the  missionaries  had  conquered  by  a 
candid  and  impartial  policy;  who,  by  an 
equitable  appeal  to  the  merits  of  the  cases 
submitted  for  his  decision  or  advice,  and  by 
summoning  to  his  aid  the  natives'  strong  sense 
of  justice,  and  their  desire  to  do  right  (for  old 


66  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

settlers  can  bear  witness  that  in  those  days 
almost  anything  might  have  been  done  with 
them),  might  perhaps  have  induced  a  superior 
style  of  justice.  Had  such  a  course  been  pur- 
sued, those  evils  which  have  gradually 
increased,  until  now  they  well  nigh  overwhelm 
this  unhappy  land,  would  possibly  have  been 
averted ;  or  at  all  events,  they  would  have  been 
experienced  in  a  mitigated  form. 

When  Captain  Grey  succeeded,  or  rather 
superseded,  Captain  Fitzroy  in  the  government 
of  this  country,  he  swept  away  the  Native  Pro- 
tectorate. This  step,  though  it  appeared  to 
initiate  a  policy  the  reverse  of  his  predecessors, 
did  not  really  do  so;  for,  notwithstanding  the 
office  was  closed  and  the  officer  paid  off,  yet  the 
principle  that  had  animated  the  old  protectorate 
was  retained,  and  its  disadvantages  were 
shortly  afterwards  very  much  intensified  by  the 
introduction  of  that,  which  has  since  been 
popularly  known  as  the  "flour-and-sugar- 
policy. ' '  This  policy  was  a  strenuous  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  to  civilise  the 
Maoris  by  liberally  and  gratuitously  supplying 
them  with  the  many  material  advantages  which 
are  necessary  to  the  comfort  and  well-being  of 
civilised  man;  and  it  also  somewhat  assumed 
the  character  of  a  system  of  bribery  to  keep  the 
peace. 

Now,  if  a  man  of  a  civilised  mind  be  cast- 
like  the  English  sailor  Rutherford — amongst 
savages,  he  may  be  compelled  by  the  force  of 
circumstances  outwardly  to  appear  like  his 
associates;  but  the  tastes,  sympathies,  and 


STOEY   OF   TE   WAHAKOA  67 

desires  of  his  mind  will  remain  unchanged,  and 
his  yearning  for  the  civilised  condition  of  life, 
which  is  natural  to  him,  will  probably  increase 
with  his  absence  from  it.  On  the  other  hand — 
with  all  due  respect  for  estimable  characters  of 
the  mythical  Man  Friday  school — we  venture 
to  say  that,  if  a  savage  be  removed  from  his  own 
to  a  civilised  country,  he  may  perhaps  for  a 
while  be  pleased  with  the  novelties  he  sees,  but 
he  will  soon  grow  weary  of  them ;  the  forms  and 
restraints  of  an  artificial  life  will  be  irksome, 
and  though  he  may  externally  conform  to  the 
usages  of  those  around,  in  heart  he  will  be  a 
savage  still,  and  long  for  the  freedom  of  his 
native  wilds. 

If  he  be  followed  to  those  wilds,  and  the 
benefits  of  civilisation  be  pressed  upon  him 
there,  he  will  receive  certain  of  them,  such  as 
axes,  fish-hooks,  knives,  etc. ;  if  of  a  pugnacious 
turn,  he  will  probably  accept  them  all,  and 
require  more  as  a  tribute  to  his  power.  But  the 
moment  any  of  the  combustible  elements  in  his 
bosom  in  the  shape  of  anger,  hatred,  revenge, 
fear,  suspicion,  fanaticism,  or  superstition,  are 
fired,  he  will  be  ready  unhesitatingly  to  relin- 
quish all  connection  with  civilisation,  and  go 
where  his  passions  lead  him ;  for  he  is  the  very 
antipodes  of  a  certain  style  of  artificial  life, 
which  dwarfs  even  the  generous  passions  of  the 
mind,  lest  they  should  interfere  with  the  worldly 
advancement  of  their  possessor. 

But  Sir  George  Grey's  policy  towards  the 
natives  was  founded  on  principles  diametrically 
opposed  to  those  contained  in  the  foregoing 


68  STORY  OF  TB  WAHAEOA 

remarks.  First,  he  broke  the  spell  that  held 
them,  and  severed  the  only  tie  we  had  on  their 
minds,  by  undermining  the  missionaries' 
influence;  and  then  he  sought,  by  dispensing 
gifts  with  a  liberal  hand,  to  win  the  natives  to 
civilisation,  and  raise  up  his  own  personal 
influence  in  its  place.  This  was  called  the 
"flour-and-sugar  policy/'  from  the  peculiar 
form  in  which  it  was  frequently  exhibited.  It 
lasted  very  well  during  his  time,  because  at  first 
the  natives'  minds  only  retrograded  gradually; 
several  years  elapsed  before  they  could  divest 
themselves  of  the  ideas  they  had  acquired  from 
the  early  missionaries,  from  whom  they  had 
learned  a  good  deal — about  as  much  as  they 
were  likely  ever  to  learn.  Anyhow,  their  minds 
had  become  tranquilised ;  and,  during  the  calm, 
the  policy  lived  its  little  span.  But,  if  the  men 
who  endeavoured  to  settle  at  the  Thames  in  1826 
had  resorted  to  it  for  protection,  they  would 
have  been  as  much  disappointed  as  many  are 
now,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  eulogise  Sir 
George  Grey's  native  policies,  and  to  expect 
great  things  from  them. 

Doubtless  Sir  George  Grey  had  a  difficult 
problem  to  solve,  and  one  that  then  was  but 
little  understood.  Physical  force  was  out  of 
the  question.  England  had  neither  the  dis- 
position nor  the  power  to  resort  to  the  subju- 
gation of  the  country.  This  is  no  assertion, 
but  simply  an  historical  fact.  Thus  Lord 
Hardinge  stated  that  she  had  only  10,000  men 
and  42  crazy  guns  available  to  defend  London 


Sir  George  Grey. 


STOEY   OF   TE   WAHAROA  69 

in  1841,  when  war  with  France,  who  had  300,000 
regular  troops  disposable,  was  most  imminent. 
In  1846,  Lord  Palmerston,  the  Secretary  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  informed  the  Cabinet,  by  a 
minute,  that  the  whole  Imperial  force,  exclusive 
of  India,  was  only  88,000  men,  24,000  of  whom 
were  required  in  Ireland;  leaving  only  64,000 
for  the  defence  of  England  and  her  colonies. 
Again,  in  1852,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  the 
last  important  speech  he  made  in  Parliament, 
when  addressing  the  Lords  on  a  bill  to  enable 
the  Government  to  raise  80,000  militia,  said: 
'  *  We  have  never,  up  to  this  moment,  maintained 
a  proper  peace  establishment;  that  is  the  real 
truth;  and  we  are  now  in  such  a  position  that 
we  can  no  longer  carry  on  that  system,  and  we 
must  have  a  suitable  peace  establishment.  I 
tell  you  that,  for  the  last  ten  years,  you  have 
never  had  more  men  in  your  armies  than  was 
sufficient  to  relieve  your  sentries  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  world;  such  is  the  state  of  your 
peace  establishment.  You  have  been  carrying 
on  war  in  all  parts  of  the  globe,  in  the  different 
stations,  by  means  of  your  peace  establishment ; 
yet  on  that  establishment  you  have  not  more 
men  than  are  necessary  to  relieve  the  sentries 
and  regiments  on  foreign  service,  some  of  which 
have  been  twenty-five  years  abroad."  From 
the  above  statements  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
during  Sir  George  Grey's  first  government  here, 
a  war,  on  an  effective  scale,  with  the  Maoris,  was 
a  thing  impossible.  The  Manchester  school  of 
politicians  would  not  suffer  it.  The  large  and 


70  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

influential  section  of  the  religious  public  at 
home,  that  looks  implicitly  to  the  platform  at 
Exeter  Hall  for  information  and  guidance, 
never  dreamt  of  it.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
supposed  that,  under  these  circumstances, 
England  could  tolerate  a  vexatious  war  in 
an  insignificant  colony  like  New  Zealand — 
at  a  time,  too,  when  the  handful  of  troops 
she  had  at  home  (less  than  a  third  of  the 
number  stated  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to 
be  necessary  to  garrison  her  coast  fortifi- 
cations) were  fully  occupied  in  her  disturbed 
and  distressed  manufacturing  districts;  when 
the  political  and  social  condition  of  Ireland  gave 
her  constant  uneasiness;  when  pauperism  was 
so  rife  that  in  England  and  Wales  every 
eleventh  person  belonged  to  that  class,  and  want 
so  general  that  riots  occurred  even  in  Scotland ; 
and  whilst  her  unparalleled  catastrophe  in 
Afghanistan  was  green  in  her  memory,  and  her 
exchequer  yet  suffered  a  deficit  of  nearly 
£5,000,000  of  a  sum  total  of  more  than 
£12,000,000  that  had  been  there  lost  to  the 
empire;  and  while  a  dark  cloud  over  the  Pun- 
jaub  daily  became  more  threatening.  Could  it 
then  be  any  matter  of  surprise  that  Governor 
Fitzroy — who ,  to  uphold  the  honour  of  the 
British  flag,  had  engaged  in  war  with  inade- 
quate forces — was  recalled,  and  that  Governor 
Grey  very  shortly  afterwards  discontinued  the 
strife? 

Our  readers  are  not  yet  informed  of  all  the 
measures  which  the  new  Governor  took  to  sup- 
port the  interests  of  his  Sovereign,  in  his  efforts 


STORY   OF   TE   WAHAEOA  71 

to  secure  the  establishment  of  her  viceroy's 
personal  influence  over  the  natives.  Without 
power  himself,  he  knew  when  he  landed  that 
there  was  a  moral  force  in  the  country,  which 
his  predecessors  had  used  and  valued — an  in- 
fluence, however,  that  did  not  properly  belong 
to  his  sphere,  and  might  not  at  all  times  be 
commanded  by  him,  and  which  if  not  actually 
considered  a  rival,  might  at  any  rate  be 
supposed  to  pre-occupy  the  natives'  attention, 
to  the  exclusion  of  the  scheme  he  hoped  to  set 
up.  But  whatever  the  Governor's  views  were, 
his  first  act  towards  the  men  whose  benevolent 
labours  had  gained  this  remarkable  influence, 
was  one  of  open  hostility.  When  Euapekapeka 
Pa  was  taken,  certain  letters  from  a  European 
were  found  in  it.  These  the  Governor  assumed 
to  be  treasonable ;  and  though  at  the  time  it  was 
generally  understood  they  had  been  written  by 
a  missionary  during  a  series  of  years  prior  to 
the  war,  on  subjects  unconnected  with  politics, 
yet  he  caused  them  to  be  burned  unread. 

It  may  appear  strange  to  some  persons  who 
are  unacquainted  with  the  history  of  New 
Zealand  during  the  last  fifty  years,  that  the 
individual  aspersed,  and  the  fraternity  he 
belonged  to,  did  not  suffer  under  the  withering 
imputation  cast  upon  them  by  the  Queen's 
representative;  but  it  would  really  have  been 
more  strange  had  they  done  so — for  the  simple 
reason  that  the  missionaries  were  better  known 
than  the  Governor.  The  gentleman  whose 
unread  letters  were  burnt  as  treasonable,  was 
of  the  number  of  England's  naval  heroes,  whose 


72  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

deeds,  as  recorded  by  their  historian,  James, 
have  ever  been  considered  a  sufficient  guarantee 
of  the  loyalty  and  devotion  of  the  British  naval 
officer ;  Sir  E.  Home,  commanding  the  squadron 
in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  probably  felt  this,  when 
he  very  unmistakably  expressed  himself  on  the 
subject;  for  never  since  Byng's  time — when 
ninety  years  before  an  innocent  naval  officer 
was  criminally  sacrificed,  for  reasons  of  state — 
had  an  officer  of  that  ''old  school,"  whether  on 
service  or  retired,  been  accused  of  treachery  or 
cowardice  in  reference  to  his  country's  enemies. 
The  gentleman  in  question  served,  in  1801,  as  a 
midshipman  in  Nelson's  own  ship,  the 
'Elephant,'  at  Copenhagen,  and,  after  many 
eventful  years  of  naval  warfare,  he  fought  his 
last  battle  for  his  country  as  a  lieutenant  on 
board  the  'Endymion,'  when  she  took  the 
American  frigate  'President,'  in  1815,  in  an 
action  characterised  by  the  great  Scottish 
historian  of  the  present  day  as  "one  of  the 
most  honourable  ever  fought  by  the  British 
navy,  and  in  none  was  more  skilful  seamanship 
displayed."  Seven  years  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  war,  we  find  our  sailor  in  New  Zealand, 
endeavouring,  with  religious  zeal,  to  convert  its 
natives  to  Christianity.  A  few  months  after 
his  arrival,  he  laid  the  keel  of  the  missionary 
schooner  'Herald,'  and,  with  such  assistance  as 
could  be  procured,  he  completed  her  in  1826. 
His  voyage,  in  this  vessel,  with  Messrs.  Hamlin 
and  Davis,  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  in  the  year 
1828,  we  have  already  narrated.  Of  him,  the 


STOEY   OF   TB   WAHAEOA  73 

author  of  the  "Southern  Cross  and  Southern 
Crown"  says: — "With  a  heart  given  to  God, 
and  zealous  for  the  salvation  of  the  heathen,  he 
combined  an  indomitable  perseverance  with  a 
spirit  of  ardent  enterprise  that  carried  him 
through  difficulties  and  obstacles  under  which 
most  men  would  have  succumbed. ' '  Such,  then, 
was  the  man:  one  of  the  oldest,  most  exper- 
ienced, and  most  valued  of  the  brethren,  against 
whom,  for  reasons  of  State,  a  step  was  taken 
which  might  have  had  the  effect  of  disparaging 
the  Church  missionaries  in  New  Zealand. 

We  confess  we  may  seem  to  have  wandered 
from  our  subject,  but  it  is  so  in  appearance 
rather  than  reality.  For  the  progress  of  the 
religious  spell  that  settled  on  the  Maori  mind  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  remaining  portion 
of  Te  Waharoa's  story;  and,  as  we  believe  the 
natives'  subsequent  retrogression  to  be  largely 
due  to  the  causes  which  paralysed  the  hands 
that  had  been  instrumental  in  establishing  and 
maintaining  that  religious  condition,  so,  in 
justice  to  our  readers,  and  to  the  memory  of  the 
early  missionaries  (of  the  nine  missionaries  and 
their  wives,  that  landed  at  Puriri,  in  1834  and 
1835,  more  than  half  are  dead,  and  of  the  sur- 
vivors not  one  can  be  said  to  be  engaged  in 
the  missionary  field),  we  feel  reluctantly 
constrained  to  touch  upon  an  uninviting  portion 
of  our  colonial  history. 

As  may  be  easily  conceived,  the  good  name  of 
the  little  band  that  landed  at  the  Puriri  was 
bound  up  with  the  reputation  of  their  brethren 


74  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

in  the  North.  Therefore,  when,  to  New  Zealand 
and  the  world,  their  brethren  were  proclaimed 
to  be  nothing  better  than  a  company  of  land 
sharks,  whose  unlawful  claims,  if  suffered  to  be 
retained  by  them,  would  probably  involve  the 
expenditure  of  a  large  amount  of  British  blood 
and  treasure ;  when,  to  the  skilled  pen  of  a  wary 
statesman,  and  the  fluent  tongue  of  a  zealous 
prelate,  whose  laudable  ambition  prompted  him 
to  lop  a  growth  which  never  should  have 
flourished  on  other  than  clerical  stems,  is  added 
the  cry  which  rose  throughout  the  land  from 
many  Pakeha-Maoris,  who,  rejoiced  for  once  to 
have  authority  on  their  side,  eagerly  embraced 
the  opportunity  presented  to  lessen  the  mission- 
aries'  restraining  influence;  when,  too,  the 
crusade  was  entered  on  across  the  sea,  and  the 
agitation  in  England  so  assiduously  sustained, 
that  in  one  year  the  Church  Missionary 
Society's  funds  fell  off  to  such  an  alarming 
extent  that  its  directors  (who  had  discerned  the 
gathering  storm,  and  had  sent  out  to  the  colony 
other,  and  different  stems,  to  revive  the  fallen 
and  faded  growth,  by  grafting  it  on  them)  were 
now  compelled,  under  pressure  of  popular 
outcry,  to  put  forth  their  hands  and  uproot  one 
of  their  most  honoured  patriarchs;  and  when, 
besides  the  shadow  from  the  cloud  in  the  North, 
their  own  atmosphere  was  pronounced  hazy  by 
such  authorities  as  for  the  time  being  were  able 
to  influence  others,  and  considered  themselves 
most  qualified  to  judge — it  was  openly  affirmed 
ihat  two  of  their  number  had  weakly  suffered 


STOKY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  75 

themselves,  some  ten  years  previously,  to  be 
overcome  by  the  urgent,  repeated,  and  united 
solicitations  of  certain  belligerent  tribes,  and 
had  purchased  from  them  certain  debatable 
lands  in  order  to  stop  the  further  effusion  of 
blood;  and  it  was  also  stated  that  four  other 
members  of  their  party  had  land  claims,  viz., 
Wilson  and  Stack's  grant,  2,987  acres;  J. 
Preece's  grants,  1,273  acres;  and  for  Arch- 
deacon Brown's,  £583  scrip,  the  Government 
received  7,630  acres  (vide  Court  of  Claims 
Papers) ; — when  all  these  varied  and  concen- 
trated influences  combined  openly  to  assault,  or 
stealthily  to  sap,  the  missionaries'  position,  it 
was  easy  to  see  that  success  was  sure;  for  the 
edifice,  though  a  good  one,  was  built  on  the  sand. 
We  have  already  remarked  that  the  Maoris* 
Christianity  was  of  the  head  rather  than  the 
heart.  Speaking  generally,  we  believe  it  to 
have  been  a  mass  of  Christian  knowledge, 
mingled  with  superstitious  fear,  and  guided  by 
an  instinctive  obedience  to  the  missionary 
teachers  of  their  religion,  just  as  in  the  previous 
religious  dynasty  the  genius  of  the  people 
caused  them  to  honour  and  obey  their  tohungas. 
In  short,  as  the  old  Maori  religion  had 
furnished  them  with  laws,  so  the  precepts  of 
their  newly  acquired  Christian  religion  were 
scrupulously  observed ;  not  from  its  true  spring 
of  inward  life,  but  because  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  govern  their  actions  by  the  dictates  of 
the  persons  they  trusted  to  explain  the  will  of 
the  atua  they  feared.  And  if  our  remarks  on 


76  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHABOA 

this  head  are  brought  down  a  step  further  in 
their  history,  to  the  time  when,  after  a  season 
of  mental  chaos,  they  embraced  the  Hauhau 
creed,  we  shall  observe  the  selfsame  obedience 
to  their  tiu  (priests),  coupled  with  a  rigorous 
adherence  to  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the 
new  superstition. 

Hence,  in  the  Maori  race,  the  curious  phe- 
nomenon is  seen  of  much  religious  or  super- 
stitious devotion,  exhibited,  however,  from  time 
to  time,  in  a  series  of  religions,  and  each 
religion  adapted  to  the  supposed  circumstances 
and  requirements  of  the  generation  professing  it. 

Therefore,  as  we  have  said,  when  confidence 
was  withdrawn  from  its  teachers,  the  Christian 
religion  declined ;  its  foundation  in  their  minds 
was  not  the  true  one,  and  the  grafting  process 
we  have  named  was  not  successful.  The  new 
missionaries  were  unable  to  acquire  the  lost 
influence  of  the  old  ones,  notwithstanding  some 
of  them  advanced  the  novel  doctrine,  which 
ultimately  gained  favour  with  the  natives,  and 
had  reference  to  the  non-disposal  of  their  lands 
to  the  Government. 

To  become  acquainted  with  the  various  phases 
of  Maori  life  and  character  during  the  last  half- 
century,  and  to  know  something  of  the  origin  of 
the  political  complications  of  the  present 
time,  it  is  necessary  to  study  the  history  of  the 
gradual  rise,  culmination,  and  quick  decline  of 
the  Church  Mission  in  New  Zealand.  The  study 
is  an  instructive  one,  inasmuch  as,  to  the 
reflective  mind,  it  illustrates  the  impartial  and 


STOEY   OF   TE   WAHAROA  77 

retributive  character  of  the  Divine  adminis- 
tration; it  shows,  even  at  the  antipodes,  that  a 
departure  from  justice  under  colour  of  justice 
recoils  on  its  authors;  it  matters  not  whether 
the  transgression  be  that  of  a  potentate  or 
prelate,  a  government  or  a  missionary  society, 
its  punishment  is  equally  sure.  We  see  that  in 
affairs  civil  and  political,  difficulties  have  arisen 
which  baffle  the  utmost  skill;  and  if  we  look 
beyond  the  secular  sphere  in  this  country,  to  a 
higher  order  of  events,  we  shall  find  the  fair 
work  once  wrought  in  God's  name,  and  out- 
wardly prospered  by  Him,  marred  and 
destroyed,  and  this  with  His  permission. 

Doubtless  the  Maoris  had  their  opportunity 
to  receive  the  Christian  religion,  but  had  failed 
to  do  so  with  a  truly  Christian  spirit;  and, 
therefore,  other  teachers  armed  with  much 
authority  were  suffered  to  go  to  them.  The 
natives  eyed  askance  the  rustling  cassocks,  the 
broadcloth  cut  square  at  the  corners,  and  the 
very  dictatorial  air  of  some  of  the  newcomers; 
and  for  a  while  clung  to  their  old  teachers,  of 
whose  honour  they  were  jealous;  but  in  time 
this  latter  feeling  became  blunted.  Still, 
though  they  were  gradually  weaned  from  their 
missionaries,  yet  Providence  suffered  them  not 
to  attach  themselves  to  the  men  who  bore 
discord  to  the  Church  Mission  in  this  country, 
who  divided  the  house  against  itself;  for  the 
natives  themselves  not  unfrequently  exper- 
ienced the  inconvenience  of  being  subject  to  the 
same  irascible,  domineering  spirit — aye,  and  a 


78  STORY  OF  TE  WAHABOA 

crochety  spirit,  too — which  continually  pained 
the  old  missionaries,  and  sometimes  frustrated 
their  labours. 

When,  in  the  third  year  of  the  colony,  the 
Right  Reverend  Doctor  Selwyn  came  as  first 
Anglican  Bishop  to  New  Zealand,  he  was 
joyfully  welcomed  by  the  Church  missionaries, 
and  immediately  installed  with  his  large  party 
in  their  pleasant  and  most  commodious  station, 
including  extensive  school  premises,  at 
Waimate,  near  the  Bay  of  Islands.  However, 
after  a  lapse  of  two  years  and  a  half,  the 
missionaries  withdrew  this  act  of  generosity, 
we  cannot  say  why.  And  so,  in  the  end  of  1844, 
we  view  the  new  Bishop  removing  his  numerous 
train  from  Waimate  to  Purewa,  near  Auckland, 
as  a  step  preparatory  to  the  establishment  of 
what  was  afterwards  called  St.  John's  College. 

The  change  from  Waimate  to  the  bleak,  bare 
clay  hills  at  St.  John's,  proved  a  trying  one  to 
his  followers.  They  were  required  to  toil 
incessantly  while  little  rewarded  their  pains, 
and  they  were  unable  to  disguise  their  chagrin, 
much  of  the  odium  of  which  was  cast  upon  the 
missionaries;  and  was  their  master  a  " sadder 
and  a  wiser  man?" 

At  this  time  the  missionaries  had  much 
influence  with  the  natives.  Governor  Fitzroy, 
too,  esteemed  them  highly,  not  only  on  account 
of  what  they  had  done  for  the  Government,  but 
also  for  the  assistance  they  might  yet  be  able  to 
render  him.  A  year  after  this  time  Fitzroy 
returned  to  England,  and  shortly  after  his 


Bishop  Selwyn. 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  7 

retirement  the  Bishop  and  New  Governor 
entered  the  lists  to  do  battle  with  the  mission- 
aries on  account  of  the  lands  they  had  bought. 
"We  do  not  intend  to  defend  the  missionaries, 
nor  are  we  going  to  find  fault  with  them  for  the 
purchases  they  made.  The  question  has  been 
discussed  ad  nauseam,  and  no  good  is  likely  to 
result  from  its  resuscitation. 

If,  as  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  the  mission- 
aries acted  unwisely,  their  fair  fame  has  been 
sullied.  If,  after  years  of  danger  and  toil  they 
succeeded  in  humanising  and  Christianising  a 
race  of  extraordinary  ferocity,  and  rendered 
this  country  a  field  fit  for  European  colonisa- 
tion; if  they  accomplished  this  work  to  be 
rewarded  only  by  calumny  at  the  hands  of  the 
men  who  benefited  by  their  labours;  in  short, 
if  they  had  faithfully  served  their  God  and  their 
country,  and,  having  committed  no  offence,  the 
finger  of  envy  and  popular  scorn  was  upraised 
against  them :  if  these  things  are  true,  can  it  be 
any  matter  of  surprise  if  a  recompense  has  been 
made? 

Do  we  not  see  a  once  happy  country  torn  with 
anarchy,  bleeding  at  every  pore,  bowed  down 
with  debt?  Do  we  not  see  colonists,  in  their 
turn,  unjustly  accused  of  an  inordinate  desire 
to  acquire  native  lands?  Do  we  not  see  a 
number  of  schemes  stranded  upon  New 
Zealand's  shores,  that  were  intended  to  benefit 
her  aboriginal  inhabitants?  Yes,  various 
schemes,  political  and  educational.  High  and 
dry  among  the  former  lies  the  "flour-and-  sugar 


80  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAKOA 

policy,"  condemned  as  unseaworthy.  Higher 
and  dryer  still  amongst  the  latter  lies  the  wreck 
of  the  Maori  Institution  at  St.  John's  College, 
which  expired  with  the  odour  of  a  mud-volcano. 
Broad  against  the  memory  of  this  we  would 
write  Carlyle's  excellent  motto  for  crotchets — 
"My  friends,  beware  of  fixed  ideas."  Aye — 
* '  Give  the  wisest  of  us  once  a  fixed  idea,  and  see 
where  his  wisdom  is ! "  Make  it  an  offence  for 
young  people  to  take  exercise  on  horseback,  and 
a  great  offence  to  be  caught  smoking  a  pipe,  and 
the  chances  are  they  will  err  more  egregiously. 
And  as  a  rule  we  should  say,  if  you  wish  young 
people  to  obtain  knowledge,  feed  them  more 
generously  and  task  them  less  with  bodily  toil 
than  was  done  in  the  olden  time  at  St.  John's 
College. 

But  of  the  fame  of  all  those  well-meant 
schemes,  one  only  shall  stand  the  test  of  time. 
Like  some  great  mountain  cone,  around  and 
against  which  other  little  cones  have  reared 
themselves,  it  is  seen  from  afar  when  they  are 
invisible;  whilst  to  the  inhabitants  at  their 
bases,  the  monarch  is  eclipsed  by  his  satellites. 
So,  by  the  world,  the  greatness  of  that  early 
missionary  effort — which  rendered  the  direst 
nation  most  harmless — has  long  been  acknow- 
ledged, whilst  we  in  the  vicinity  have  lost  sight 
of  it. 

A  few  words  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  and  we  have  done  with  all,  save  with 
old  Te  Waharoa  himself. 

When  next  you  are  permitted  to  secure  for 
your  Great  Master  a  missionary  field  like  New 


STOEY   OF   TE    WAHAROA  81 

Zealand,  and  it  becomes  your  duty  to  find  an 
overseer  for  the  work,  be  careful  to  choose  a 
man  of  the  same  stamp  as  your  successful  mis- 
sionaries; thus,  if  your  missionaries  are  of 
what  is  generally  termed  the  evangelical  party, 
or  of  a  higher  school,  get  a  Bishop  of  the  same 
complexion.  Avoid  a  person  rejoicing  in  the 
possession  of  highly  educated  physical  and 
intellectual  powers,  for  he  who  rejoices  in 
these  is  too  apt  to  lack  the  Christian  humility 
he  ought  to  have;  and,  though  it  may  seem 
unnecessary  to  say  so,  bear  in  mind  your  new 
Bishop,  when  tried,  must  govern  his  temper, 
else  he  will  sometimes  be  exhibited  to  disadvan- 
tage before  the  converts.  Deal  fairly  by  your 
old  missionaries;  allow  them,  after  thirty  or 
forty  years'  service,  to  claim  a  pension  and 
retire.  You  have  a  duty  to  perform  in  this 
respect  which,  we  are  informed,  other  mis- 
sionary societies  do  not  neglect.  And,  lastly, 
speak  truly  of  the  colonists  that  may  settle  in 
your  missionary  field;  for  your  periodical 
publications  have  a  great  circulation  in  the 
mother  country,  and  injurious  statements  in 
them,  not  founded  on  fact,  would  wound  their 
feelings.  We  mention  this,  because  your 
countrymen  in  New  Zealand  have  suffered  in 
this  manner.  Thus  much  for  New  Guinea,  or 
any  other  field  to  be  won. 

But  for  New  Zealand — the  field  that  was  won, 
and  is  lost — it  is  a  consolation  to  remember  how 
her  first  English  Bishop  was  endowed  with  an 
extraordinary  energy;  and  how  his  genius — 
which  accomplished  the  nautical  anomaly  of 


82  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

uniting  in  himself  the  offices  of  captain,  boats- 
wain, and  helmsman — prompted  him  to  essay 
much  that  ordinary  men  would  not  have 
presumed  to  attempt;  or,  as  was  once  homely 
but  graphically  expressed  by  a  New  Zealand 
dignitary — it  could  not  have  been  an  Arch- 
bishop, so  must  have  been  an  Archdeacon — yes, 
an  Archdeacon — who  thought  ''the  Bishop  was 
not  satisfied  with  playing  first  fiddle,  but 
desired  to  monopolise  all  the  fiddles!"  Alas! 
alas!  for  harmony.  0!  banished  Harmony! 
when  shall  thy  sweet  influence  return? 


PAET  in. 


Early  one  bright  New  Zealand  summer's 
morn — it  was  Christmas,  1835 — a  small  band  of 
men  propelled  their  light  canoe,  cleaving  the 
glassy  bosom  of  Lake  Rotorua.  Presently 
they  landed  on  its  northern  shore,  whence  they 
ascended  to  a  village,  near  the  margin  of  the 
forest  that  crowns  the  uplands  on  that  side.  As 
they  approached,  the  head  man  of  the  kainga 
welcomed  them ;  when  the  senior  visitor,  taking 
him  by  the  hand,  bent  forward,  and  rubbed 
noses,  according  to  Maori  custom.  While  thus 
engaged  receiving  his  guests,  the  head  man  was 
struck  dead  with  a  tomahawk  blow,  dealt  by 
another  visitor,  at  the  back  of  his  right  ear. 
Who  was  the  victim?  and  who  those  treach- 
erous men?  The  former  was  Hunga,  Te 
Waharoa's  cousin,  who  then  lived  at  Rotorua. 
The  latter  were  Huka  and  his  nephew,  attended 
by  a  small  following  of  six  or  eight  sans  culottes 
— Huka  being  then  a  second-rate  chief  of 
Ngatiwhakaue,  who  had  always  been  on 
excellent  terms  with  Hunga,  even  to  the  very 
moment  when  he  murdered  him. 

And  yet  Huka  had  a  very  good  Maori  reason 
for  committing  this  horrid  deed,  which  we  will 
endeavour  to  explain.  He  conceived  himself 


84  STOEY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

injured  and  insulted,  by  his  own  chiefs  and 
relations,  in  two  things.  First,  in  some  matter 
having  reference  to  a  woman;  and  secondly, 
because,  during  a  recent  temporary  absence,  his 
interests  had  been  utterly  overlooked  at  the 
division  of  a  large  quantity  of  trade  received 
from  Tapsal,  a  Pakeha-Maori,  at  Maketu,  in 
payment  for  flax  the  tribe  had  sold ;  which  flax, 
accordingly  to  mercantile  usages  of  that  day, 
probably  had  yet  to  be  delivered;  and  at  the 
time  when  the  trade  was  given,  was  most  likely 
flourishing  on  its  native  stem.  Huka  made  a 
journey  to  Maketu  to  see  Tapsal,  but  found  the 
pakeha  inexorable ;  he  had  paid  to  the  chiefs  of 
the  tribe  all  the  trade  agreed  for,  and  he  would 
pay  no  more.  So  Huka  returned  to  Eotorua, 
saying  in  an  ungracious  spirit :  "  I  can 't  kill  all 
my  relatives,  but  I  can  bring  war  upon  them," 
which  sure  enough  he  did,  by  murdering  Waha- 
roa's  cousin,  precisely  in  the  manner  we  have 
related.  And  thus  originated  Te  Waharoa's 
great  war  with  the  Ngatiwhakaue,  or  Arawa 
tribe. 

But  now  the  admirer  of  that  rude  sense  of 
justice,  which  dwells  inherent  in  the  savage 
breast,  exclaims:  Why  did  not  the  Ngatiwha- 
kaues  immediately  do  what  they  could  to  make 
the  amende  honorable  to  Waharoa?  They 
might  have  sent  off  the  heads  of  Huka  and  his 
nephew,  with  an  apologetic  message  to  the  great 
chief,  expressing  unfeigned  regret  at  the  melan- 
choly affair;  and  hoping  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  for  himself  the  condign  punishment  the 


STOBY   OF   TB    WAHAEOA  85 

criminals  had  received,  would  avert  his  just 
indignation;  and  trusting  the  amicable 
relations  that  had  subsisted  between  their  tribes 
during  his  time  might  still  remain  unchanged. 
We  think  no  one  would  have  been  more  amused 
at  the  novelty  and  simplicity  of  this  proceeding 
than  old  Waharoa  himself.  Of  course  he,  and 
perhaps  his  friends,  Te  Kanawa  and  Mokorou, 
chiefs  of  Ngatimaniapoto  and  Waikato,  would 
miss  the  pleasure  of  discussing  the  ambas- 
sador's quality  at  breakfast  next  morning — as 
no  native,  other  than  a  neutral  one,  would  have 
been  simpleton  enough  to  place  himself  in  such 
a  position.  No,  the  Ngatiwhakaue  never 
thought  of  such  a  thing;  their  minds  and 
actions  ran  in  another  groove,  for  by  noon  that 
Christmas  day,  they  had  cut  up  Hunga's  body, 
and  sent  the  quarters  throughout  the  Arawa 
tribes,  to  signify  the  new  state  of  public  affairs. 
As  for  Huka,  he  walked  a  taller  man;  his 
spirited  conduct  had  raised  him  in  the  eyes  of 
men. 

On  receiving  the  news,  Waharoa  was  so 
enraged  that  he  sent  Mr.  Chapman — the  Church 
missionary  at  Botorua,  who  had  buried  Hunga  's 
head — a  message,  through  a  neutral  channel, 
that  he  would  come  and  burn  his  house  down. 
To  Ngatiwhakaue  he  condescended  not  a  word. 
They  might  remain  ignorant  where  the  blow 
should  fall,  while  he  actively  prepared  to 
deliver  it. 

Meantime  the  Ngaiterangi  chiefs  greatly 
feared  that  Waharoa,  instead  of  taking  the 


86  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

Patetere  route,  would  pass  through  Tauranga, 
and  drag  them  into  a  war  they  had  no  interest 
in.  Their  country  would  certainly  be  devas- 
tated sometimes,  and  if  there  were  any  gains, 
Te  Waharoa  would  take  them.  In  about  ten 
weeks,  when  Waharoa  had  mustered  his 
Ngatihaua,  Ngatimaniapoto,  and  Waikato 
forces,  to  the  number  of  1,000  fighting  men, 
under  Te  Kanawa,  Mokorou,  and  himself,  their 
fears  were  confirmed. 

About  this  time,  Waharoa  sent  to  Nuka 
Taipari,  chief  of  Maungatapu,  requesting  him 
to  murder  fourteen  Tapuika  friends  who  were 
visiting  him,  from  the  place  now  called  Canaan 
—the  Tapuika  hapu  being  a  section  of  the 
Arawas.  Nuka  replied  to  the  effect  that  he  did 
not  exactly  like  to  murder  his  guests,  but 
Waharoa  could  do  so  by  intercepting  them  on 
their  road  home,  and  that  they  would  leave 
Maungatapu  at  such  a  time. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  March,  1836,  just 
three  months  after  Hunga's  death,  the  advance 
guard  of  Waharoa 's  taua,  70  strong,  under  the 
fighting  chief  Pea,  crossed  the  Tauranga 
harbour  at  Te  Papa  during  twilight,  and 
marching  on  took  up  their  station  across  the 
Maketu  road,  between  Maungamana  and  the 
coast  line.  The  next  day  Nuka  advised  his 
friends  to  return  home,  as  the  news  of 
Waharoa 's  approach  rendered  it  unsafe  for 
them  to  remain.  On  the  same  day  they  all 
fourteen  fell  into  Pea's  hands,  by  whom  they 
were  bound,  until  Waharoa 's  further  pleasure 


STORY   OF   TB   WAHAEOA  87 

should  be  known.  The  missionaries  at  Te  Papa, 
Messrs.  Wilson  and  Wade,  spared  no  pains  to 
save  the  lives  of  these  unfortunate  people. 
The  former  gentleman  proceeded  to  Pea's 
camp,  where  he  was  assured  all  would  be  well 
with  the  Tapuikas,  who  were  only  detained  to 
prevent  their  carrying  intelligence  to  the  enemy 
of  the  movements  of  Waharoa 's  taua;  and,  to 
convince  the  too  sceptical  pakeha,  four  or  five 
natives  impersonated  the  prisoners,  saying  they 
were  of  the  number  of  captured  Tapuikas,  and 
earnestly  desiring  that  the  question  of  their 
safety  might  not  be  raised  by  the  missionary. 
On  the  same  night,  Te  Waharoa,  with  his  taua, 
passed  through  the  Papa  station,  and  promised 
the  missionaries  to  spare  the  lives  of  the 
captives. 

The  next  morning — 26th — Waharoa  arrived 
at  Maungamana,  when  the  prisoners  were 
quickly  slain,  and  the  taua  halted,  until  noon 
the  following  day,  to  cook  and  eat  their  bodies. 
On  the  27th,  the  missionaries  went  to 
Waharoa 's  camp;  passing  unnoticed  along  his 
grim  columns,  they  found  the  chief  seated  apart 
on  a  sandhill,  protected  by  a  rude  breakwind — 
Mokorou  was  his  companion;  while  at  a 
respectful  distance,  sat  a  group  of  other  chiefs. 
Waharoa  saw  them  coming,  and  thinking, 
probably,  the  visit  would  prove  unwelcome,  gave 
orders  to  resume  the  march;  meantime,  the 
missionaries  arrived,  and  spoke  in  very  plain 
terms  to  him  about  his  conduct.  Mr.  Wilson, 
as  spokesman,  upbraided  him  with  the  murder 


88  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

of  his  friend's  guests,  and  reproached  him  with 
breaking  his  promise.  "And  now,"  he  said, 
"you  are  going  to  Maketu;  you  are  not 
ignorant  of  war ;  and  you  know  you  may  never 
return.  How,  then,  will  you  meet  the  God  you 
have  o  if  ended  I "  During  the  interview  the  old 
man's  light  sinewy  frame  and  small  expressive 
features  had  gradually  manifested  uneasiness; 
but  to  this  point  his  usual  mincing  manner  and 
taciturnity  had  been  preserved.  Now,  however, 
when  one  whom  he  considered  a  Tohunga  to  the 
pakeha's  powerful  Atua,  seemed  disposed  to  say 
that  which  was  ominous,  his  superstitious  dread 
of  aituas  (evil  omens),  and  fear  that  his 
expedition  should  go  forth  under  a  cloud, 
impelled  him  to  assume  his  other-self,  and  cry 
fiercely:  "Stop,  don't  say  that.  If  I  am  killed, 
what  odds?  and  if  I  return,  will  it  not  be  well? 
Leave  that  matter  alone."  By  this  time  his 
taua  was  in  motion — "marching,"  as  Mr. 
Wilson  says,  "with  an  order  and  regularity  I 
had  little  expected  to  see." 

On  the  29th  March,  1836,  Waharoa  stormed 
and  carried  Maketu,  garrisoned  only  by  the 
Ngatipukenga  hapu,  numbering  sixty  fighting 
men,  with  their  aged  chief,  Nainai,  at  their  head. 
Also  there  was  present  in  the  pa,  a  fighting 
chief  of  Ngatiwhakaue,  named  Haupapa.  All 
these  were  killed  and  eaten;  and  such  of  their 
wives  and  children  as  were  with  them  either 
shared  the  same  fate  or  were  taken  into  slavery. 
Haupapa,  mortally  wounded,  was  taken  into 
TapsaPs  house,  within  the  pa.  The  old  sailor 


Judge  Man  ing  (a  famous  "  Pakeha  Maori  "). 


STOEY   OF   TB   WAHAKOA  89 

had  a  locker,  and  into  it  he  thrust  the  chief  for 
concealment;  but  ere  the  victorious  party 
entered  the  house,  he  died.  Now  his  wife,  Kata, 
a  woman  about  twenty-six  years  of  age,  was 
sitting  near  him,  and  as  soon  as  she  perceived 
he  was  dead,  she  earnestly,  but  vainly,  besought 
the  pakeha  to  cut  off  his  head,  that  she  might 
hide  it  from  his  enemies.  Just  then  Muripara, 
a  chief,  and  foremost  man  of  the  hostile  taua, 
entered  the  house,  and  hearing  the  woman's 
words,  exclaimed,  "I  will  do  it  for  you!"  He 
severed  the  head,  and  was  in  the  act  of  removing 
it  when  Kata,  suddenly  apprehending  his  real 
intention,  made  a  dash  for  it;  he  waved  it  out 
of  her  reach;  the  streaming  gore  flew  round, 
and  fell  as  he  held  it  over  a  kit  of  water-melons. 
In  came  the  taua,  and  munched  the  melons  up. 
Mr.  Tapsal  himself,  was  stripped  of  all  save  the 
clothes  he  had  on,  and  then  beheld  his  premises 
on  fire.  And  now  the  missionaries,  Messrs. 
Wilson  and  Wade,  arrived  from  Tauranga,  and 
going  to  Waharoa,  asked  him  to  secure  Tapsal 's 
safety,  and  the  safety  of  his  native  wife.  The 
chief  consented,  and  said  they  might  leave  the 
place,  which  Tapsal  was  not  slow  to  do,  and 
went  to  Te  Tumu,  where  he  managed  to  obtain 
his  own  boat  from  the  natives — for  Tapsal  had 
considerable  influence  with  the  natives  in  their 
cooler  moments,  having  no  less  than  four 
trading  stations,  viz,  at  Matamata,  Tauranga, 
Maketu,  and  Te  Awa-o-te-Atua.  At  Te  Tumu, 
Tapsal  rescued  five  women  from  slavery,  and 
then  withdrew  in  his  boat  to  Te  Awa-o-te-Atua, 


90  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

where  Eangitekina  enabled  him  to  escape  to  Te 
Kupenga,  and  so  he  rejoined  the  Arawas. 
Among  the  women  rescued  from  slavery  on  this 
occasion  was  Kata,  Haupapa  's  widow,  of  whom 
the  reader  will  hear  more  yet. 

By  the  burning  of  his  place  at  Maketu,  Tapsal 
lost  a  large  amount  of  property;  among  other 
things,  it  is  said  120  tons  of  flax — worth  a 
great  deal  in  the  English  market — were  con- 
sumed by  the  flames.  All  this  flax  had  been 
obtained  from  the  natives  in  exchange  for  guns 
and  fine  powder.  In  those  days,  the  price  of  a 
superior  gun  was  about  eight  hundredweight  of 
flax,  weighed — while  for  powder,  in  casks  of 
fifty  pounds  weight,  it  was  usual  to  receive  one 
ton  of  flax  per  cask.  But  though  there  were 
several  Pakeha-Maoris  engaged  in  supplying 
the  belligerent  tribes  in  the  Bay  of  Islands  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  in  Waharoa's  time,  yet 
none  of  them  assisted  the  natives  by  joining 
in  or  directing  the  fights.  We  make  this  remark 
merely  because  reports  of  an  opposite  nature 
were  one  time  current. 

But  to  resume  our  narrative  of  the  fall  of 
Maketu.  Having  effected  their  object,  the 
missionaries  returned  to  Tauranga.  The  whole 
pa  was  in  flames.  Shots  were  flying  in  every 
direction — while  stark  naked  savages,  with  hair 
cropped  short,  and  features  blackened,  ran 
wildly  through  the  scene.  They  were  Maori 
warriors,  flushed  with  success,  and  drunk  with 
blood,  and  wrought  to  a  pitch  of  fiendish  excite- 
ment, such  as  rendered  their  company 
unpleasing  and  unsafe. 


STOEY   OF   TB   WAHAROA  91 

Thus  fell  Maketu,  and  thus  died  Ngatipu- 
kenga;  for  old  Nainai,  when  urged  to  retreat 
to  Eotorua,  had  said,  * '  Let  me  die  on  my  land, ' ' 
a  speech  which  sealed  the  fate  of  his  tribe.  How 
strange  is  the  fortune  of  war!  Five  months 
afterwards,  the  selfsame  speech,  in  Korokai's 
mouth,  was  the  means,  in  the  critical  moment 
of  danger,  of  saving  the  great  Ohinemutu  pa. 
To  Te  Waharoa,  who  always  led  the  stormers, 
the  credit  however,  is  due,  of  being  first  with  his 
tomahawk  to  cut  the  lashings  of  the  pa  fence. 
The  attack  was  made  according  to  a  favourite 
mode,  in  two  divisions;  Waikato  and  Ngati- 
maniapoto,  under  Mokorou  and  Te  Kanawa, 
assaulted  the  pa  on  its  southern  side,  rushing 
up  the  natural  glacis  opposite  Warekahu  (the 
same  slope  that,  three  years  afterwards,  proved 
so  fatal  to  them,  while  Tohi  Te  Ururangi  hurled 
them  pell  mell  down  it) — while  Waharoa,  with 
Ngatihaua,  scaled  the  steeps  on  the  river  side, 
and  first  led  his  men  into  the  pa. 

Two  or  three  days  after  this,  as  soon  as  the 
heads  were  sufficiently  cured,  the  warriors 
returned  homewards,  and  a  week  after  these 
events,  some  of  them,  including  Te  Waharoa, 
encamped  for  the  night  at  Te  Papa  station. 
Here  numbers  of  the  wretches  took  up  their 
quarters  in  Mr.  Wilson's  garden — the  plot  of 
ground  that  now  forms  Archdeacon  Brown's 
garden — and  destroyed  its  shrubs,  breaking 
them  down  to  furnish  green  leaves  as  dampers 
to  retain  the  steam  of  the  Maori  ovens  in  which 
their  carrion  was  cooked.  At  this  time  the 
missionaries  had  taken  the  precaution  (soon  to 


92  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

become  a  custom)  to  send  their  families  away, 
and  had  conveyed  them  to  Panepane,  a  desert 
island  on  the  north  side  of  Tauranga  harbour. 

The  complete  success  and  speedy  result  of 
Waharoa's  first  campaign  stung  the  Ngati- 
whakaue  tribes  to  rage  and  action.  Within  four 
weeks  of  the  receipt  of  the  news,  one  thousand 
six  hundred  men  had  mustered  at  Ohinemutu 
pa,  on  Lake  Rotorua,  and  had  marched  for 
Maketu,  whence  it  was  their  set  purpose  to  take 
the  Tumu. 

The  Tumu  pa  belonged  to  Ngaiterangi — 
Waharoa's  allies — and  was  situated  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Kaituna  river,  about  two  miles  from 
Maketu,  at  the  place  where  the  river,  des- 
cending from  the  interior,  flows  to  within  about 
one  hundred  yards  of  the  sea,  and  then  by 
a  sudden  freak  of  nature  turns  sharply  off  to 
the  eastward;  from  whence  it  pursues  a  course 
parallel  to  the  coastline,  until  it  reaches  Maketu. 
At  the  Tumu,  the  narrow  neck  of  sand  that 
divided  the  river  from  the  sea,  was  not 
obstructed  by  growing  sandhills,  as  it  is  now; 
but  was  so  low  that  high  tides  in  heavy  gales 
swept  over  the  river. 

Te  Tumu  was,  doubtless,  a  convenient  enough 
place  for  Maoris  in  times  of  peace — com- 
manding the  sea  as  it  did,  as  well  as  the  river 
navigation ;  but  for  war  it  was  quite  the  reverse. 
Unlike  Maketu,  it  had  neither  natural  nor 
artificial  strength;  yet  the  inmates  of  the  pa 
were  as  infatuated  as  the  Maketu  people  had 
been.  Numbering  only  one  hundred  men  and 


STOEY   OP   TB   WAHAROA  93 

two  hundred  women  and  children,  their  garrison 
was  too  weak  to  hold  the  position  against  the 
large  odds  to  be  opposed  to  them,  and  too  proud 
to  desert  it.  The  chiefs  at  the  Tumu  were 
Kiharoa  of  Maungatapu,  Hikareia,  and  his 
nephew  Tupaia  of  Otumoetai,  Te  J£oke,  and 
four  others  of  minor  note.  It  certainly  seems 
strange  that  the  inhabitants  of  Maketu  and 
Tumu  pas  were  not  better  supported  by  their 
respective  tribes ;  we  suppose  "what  was  every- 
body's duty  was  nobody's  duty,"  as  nobody 
appears  to  have  been  particularly  anxious  to 
sacrifice  himself  for  the  public  weal.  This 
supineness,  however,  may  in  reference  to  the 
Tumu  have  been  partly  due  to  the  occupant's 
own  assumed  security — a  security  arising, 
perhaps,  from  the  hope  that  they  would  not  be 
attacked.  Still,  there  was  no  foundation  for 
such  a  hope,  for  on  the  20th  April,  Ngati- 
whakaue  made  their  first  haul,  and  unmis- 
takably signified  their  view  of  Ngaiterangi 's 
political  position  in  the  war  by  cutting  off  one 
man  and  ten  women,  who  were  found  collecting 
firewood  at  Maungamana.  At  any  rate,  the 
Tumuites  manifested  the  greatest  sang-froid. 
Kiharoa,  when  asked  if  the  enemy  had  not 
arrived  at  Maketu  in  great  force,  replied,  by 
taking  up  a  handful  of  sand  and  saying,  "Yes, 
there  is  a  man  there  for  every  grain  of  sand 
here."  Then,  suffering  the  wind  to  blow  the 
escaping  sand  away,  he  exclaimed,  "Hei  aha!" 
Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  a  highly 
auspicious  omen — an  eclipse  of  the  moon — 


94  STORY  OF  TE  WAHAEOA 

roused  Ngatiwhakaue  to  activity.  During  the 
night  of  the  6th  May,  1600  men  under  Kahawai, 
Pukuatua,  Korokai,  Hikairo,  Amohau,  Ngaihi, 
and  Pango,  alias  Ngaihi — in  fact  under  all  the 
great  chiefs  of  Eotorua — crossed  the  Kaituna, 
and,  taking  their  stations  unperceived  on  two 
sides  of  the  Tumu,  awaited  the  signal  of  the 
attack.  And  now,  as  morning  approached,  a 
young  man.  volunteered  to  reconnoitre  the  pa,  to 
ascertain  whether  the  garrison  was  on  the  alert, 
and  though  several  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him 
from  the  rash  attempt,  he  went.  Passing  in  the 
shade  along  the  river  bank,  he  entered  the  pa  as 
an  inmate  returning  within  its  precincts — a  not 
uncommon  occurrence — and  made  his  rounds 
without  attracting  attention,  farther  than  that 
one  man  seemed  to  eye  him  for  a  while;  then 
making  his  exit  in  the  manner  he  had  entered, 
he  reported  that  the  people  had  evidently  been 
at  their  posts  all  night,  but  had  gone  to  bed, 
leaving  only  a  few  sentinels  on  duty. 

At  the  first  crowing  of  the  cock  the  onset  was 
made.  At  the  first  sound  of  danger  the  Ngai- 
terangi  flew  to  their  stations.  Kiharoa, 
hastening  with  the  rest,  fell  pierced  by  a  ball 
in  his  forehead.  His  body  was  instantly 
tumbled  into  a  potato  pit,  a  rough  mat  thrown 
over,  and  remained  long  undiscovered.  The 
assault  was  repulsed,  and  repeated,  to  be 
repulsed  again  ;  twice  renewed  and  thrice 
repulsed,  the  assailants  had  lost  Kahawai,  their 
principal  chief,  and  seventy  men.  The  numbers 
of  the  defenders  were  also  considerably  reduced. 
At  length  the  light  of  returning  day  revealed  to 


STOKY    OF    TE    WAHAKOA  95 

both  sides  the  great  disparity  of  forces — the 
multitude  on  one  side,  the  few  on  the  other — 
and  inspired  the  Ngatiwhakaues  with  a  courage 
that  enabled  them  to  carry  the  pa.  But  the 
desperate  strife  was  not  concluded.  The  Ngai- 
terangis — men,  women  and  children — hastily 
collected,  and  precipitating  themselves  in  a 
mass  upon  their  enemies,  forced  their  way 
through  them  to  the  sea  beach ;  and  fled,  not  un- 
pursued,  for  Tauranga.  Poor  women  and 
children,  their  fate  must  rest  in  oblivion,  as 
only  about  twenty  of  the  former  escaped.  The 
elderly  chief  Hikareia,  closely  chased,  made  for 
the  inland  road,  to  be  struck  down  by  a  bullet  in 
crossing  Wairake  swamp.  Instantly  a  New 
Zealander  rushed  into  the  water;  in  his  black 
heart  lay  bottled  up  unwreaked  revenge  of  two 
generations'  keep — a  revenge  he  now  appeased 
by  cutting  out  his  victim's  liver,  and  eating  it 
reeking  hot  on  the  spot,  in  utu  for  his  murdered 
grandfather.  Although  Hikareia  was  related 
to  Kahawai's  hapu  of  Ngatiwhakaue,  his  body 
was  flayed — the  dutiful  young  men  his  nephews, 
being  foremost  in  the  business,  and  appro- 
priating the  skin  to  their  own  use,  cutting  it  up 
for  pouches.  One  of  them  secured  his  uncle's 
handsome  rape  —  posterior  tattooing  —  with 
which  he  made  an  ornamental  cartouche  box. 
Well  might  Mr.  Wilson,  at  Rotorua,  write  on 
the  6th  May,  "The  revenge  and  hate  on  both 
sides  is  ungovernable. ' ' 

The  fall  of  Te  Tumu  cost  Ngaiterangi  seven 
chiefs,  and  sixty  men  killed  ;  and  about  180 
women  and  children  killed  or  taken  prisoners. 


96  STOBY  OF  TE  WAHAROA 

Tupaia — now  Hori  Tupaia — was  the  only  sur- 
viving chief.  If  the  pursuit  had  been  properly 
followed  up,  scarcely  a  fugitive  could  have 
escaped;  but,  fortunately  for  the  Ngaiterangi, 
a  singular  circumstance  favoured  them  in  this 
respect.  As  soon  as  the  pa  was  taken,  the 
principal  Eotorua  chiefs  seized,  each  with  an 
eye  to  his  own  personal  benefit,  upon  a  cele- 
brated war  canoe  of  enormous  size — a  sort  of 
little  'Great  Eastern'  in  her  way,  named 
'Tauranga.'  Of  course,  they  quarrelled;  but 
failing  to  settle  the  matter  in  that  manner,  four 
of  them  got  into  her,  and  spent  the  day  trying 
to  out-sit  each  other  for  possession,  while  their 
followers  were  either  looking  on,  or  looting  the 
pa. 

Ngaiterangi  never  returned  to  the  Tumu. 
Hikareia  was  killed  at  Wairake,  and  that  place 
has  since  been  generally  considered  the  boun- 
dary of  their  country — a  country  which  for  four 
years  before  had  extended  some  seventeen  miles 
further  to  the  eastward,  to  Otamarakau  (Wai- 
tahanui).  For,  in  1832,  Ngaiterangi  held 
Maketu,  the  Arawas  only  living  then  on 
sufferance  in  a  pa  situated  where  the  redoubt 
is  now;  and  Tamaiwahia,  a  Ngaiterangi 
tohunga,  had  a  pa  at  Otamarakau,  which  he 
occupied  until  the  troubles  consequent  on 
Hunga's  death  compelled  him  to  flee  and  seek 
refuge  at  Tauranga.  Thus  the  Arawas,  when 
roused,  displaced  Ngaiterangi,  and  resumed 
those  coast  holdings:  severing  the  weakened 
links  of  the  once  powerful  chain  of  Ngatiawa 


STOKY   OF   TB   WAHAKOA  97 

conquests  that  Ngaiterangihohiri  had  made  four 
generations  before,  they  pushed  themselves 
northward  to  the  sea,  and  re-established  the 
maritime  frontier  of  their  country. 

But  Tamaiwahia  thought  it  a  pity  to  lose 
Otamarakau  without  an  effort  to  obtain  utu. 
He  was  a  tohunga,  and  why  should  he  not  use 
his  power?  We  regret  to  say  the  temptation 
proved  too  strong;  he  debased  his  office,  and 
pretended  he  had  seen  a  vision.  The  result  was, 
Ngaiterangi  fitted  out  a  flotilla,  which  sailed 
from  Otumoetai  and,  passing  Maketu  in  the 
night,  landed  at  Pukehina;  whence  the  taua, 
under  Eangihau  and  Tamaiwahia,  marched 
inland  to  attack  Tautari's  pa  at  Botoehu.  Now, 
Tautari  was  not  an  Arawa  native,  but  lived  at 
Botoehu  on  sufferance,  having  become  con- 
nected with  Ngatiwhakaue  by  marriage.  He 
was  chief  of  Ngaitonu,  of  Whakatane,  which 
tribe  is  better  known  now  as  Ngatipukeko ;  and, 
being  a  renowned  old  Maori  soldier,  was  not 
caught  napping  on  this  occasion.  With  much 
patience  and  forethought,  he  had  strengthened 
his  pa,  and  rendered  it  a  very  formidable  for- 
tress, so  that  when  Ngaiterangi  attacked  it,  they 
were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  Bangihau,  and 
seventeen  killed.  On  the  return  of  the  expedi- 
tion to  Tauranga,  Ngaiterangi  were  incensed 
against  the  false  prophet  to  such  an  extent,  that 
he  well-nigh  lost  his  life. 

Old  Tautari,  who  resisted  this  attack,  was 
rather  a  remarkable  warrior.  On  his  person 
he  bore  the  scars  of  twelve  hatchet  wounds; 


98  STORY     OF     TE     WAHABOA 

and  when  the  dreadful  Ngapuhi  some  years 
before  invaded  his  country,  they  were  soon  glad 
to  get  away  again;  for,  instead  of  rushing  to  a 
pa  for  protection,  he  took  to  the  bush,  and  when 
they  followed  him,  fell  upon  them  at  night  time 
while  they  slept.  At  length,  finding  themselves 
engaged  in  a  desperate  guerilla  warfare  from 
which  nothing  could  be  gained,  the  Ngapuhis 
retired  from  the  harassing  strife.  And  now, 
although  he  had  repelled  this  invasion,  Tautari 
did  not  consider  the  insult  wiped  out.  There- 
fore, he  betook  himself  to  his  own  country,  to 
equip  a  fleet ;  and,  mustering  a  strong  taua,  put 
to  sea,  where  we  will  for  the  present  leave  him 
pursuing  his  voyage. 

The  war  now  raged  with  the  utmost  ferocity. 
From.  Tauranga  looking  southward,  the  fires  of 
Ngatiwhakaue 's  war  parties  were  constantly 
visible',  especially  at  the  edge  of  the  forest ;  and 
when  night  came,  the  whole  of  the  intervening 
open  country  was  prowled  over  by  bloodthirsty 
cannibals,  seeking  somebody  to  devour.  The 
missionaries'  families  never  slept  in  their 
houses;  and  by  sunset  every  Tauranga  native 
was  within  the  fortifications  of  Otumoetai  or 
Maungatapu.  Murdering  parties  were  also 
sent  out  from  Eotorua  towards  Matamata,  by 
way  of  Patatere ;  and  the  missionaries,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  Morgan,  had  already 
retired  from  the  Matamata  station.  The  former 
gentleman,  with  his  family,  removed  to  Wai- 
mate,  at  the  Bay  of  Islands;  and  the  latter  to 
Mangapouri,  in  Upper  Waikato.  Some  time 
after  they  left,  one  of  their  empty  houses  was 


STOEY    OF    TE    WAHAKOA  99 

burnt  down  by  a  taua,  but  the  other  remained. 
When  times,  however,  became  less  boisterous, 
the  important  Matamata  station  was  not  re- 
occupied;  was  not  this  a  pity? 

By  the  middle  of  May,  1836,  matters  had  come 
to  such  a  pass  at  Tauranga,  that  Mr.  Wade, 
with  his  family,  retired  for  safety  to  the  Bay  of 
Islands;  and,  at  the  same  time,  Mr.  Wilson — 
though  he  remained  at  his  post — sent  his  family 
away  also.  Mr.  Chapman,  too,  removed  his 
wife  from  the  dangerous  station  at  Kotorua,  to 
that  at  Mangapouri,  in  Waikato;  and,  having 
done  so,  joined  Mr.  Wilson,  at  Tauranga. 
Thus,  when  all  had  fled,  did  these  maintain 
their  ground — like  brave  mariners,  who,  alone 
on  deck,  observe  the  direction  and  force  of  the 
storm,  and  patiently  watchful  for  a  favourable 
change,  endeavour,  by  the  means  at  their 
command,  to  extricate  their  hapless  bark  from 
surrounding  dangers — "from  the  impervious 
horrors  of  a  leeward  shore" — so  these  two 
faithful  men  waited  opportunities  to  exercise 
their  influence  for  good,  and,  by  a  seasonable 
presence,  asserted  the  neutrality  of  the  mis- 
sionary position,  so  that,  in  the  end,  it  became 
fully  established.  But  they  were  not  content 
simply  to  retain  Tauranga,  and  therefore,  after 
a  while,  they  separated — Mr  Chapman 
returning  to  Eotorua,  where  his  station  had 
been  sacked  and  burnt,  and  whence  Mr.  Knight, 
his  assistant,  had  retired. 

We  may  here  mention  a  tragedy — all  are 
tragedies  in  this  chamber  of  horrors — Oh !  that 
we  might  sometimes  delineate  with  a  brighter 


100  STORY   OF    TE    WAHAROA 

pencil;  but  we  have  not  the  gift  of  Claude 
Lorraine;  and  even  if  we  possessed  so  rich  a 
talent,  truth,  simple  truth,  would  compel  us  to 
use  the  sombre  and  monotonous  colours  of  that 
dark  and  dreary  time — a  wintry  time,  almost 
bereft  of  winter's  hopes.  Yet  to  vary  our 
figure,  upon  that  troubled  night  a  day  star  shall 
arise,  a  morning  shall  appear, — but  when  that 
morn  shall  break,  the  genius  of  our  subject 
shall  vanish — THE  STORY  OP  TE  WAHAROA  shall 
cease.  To  return,  however  to  the  tragedy.  Mr. 
Knight  was  accustomed  every  morning  about 
sunrise,  to  attend  a  school  at  Ohinemutu  pa; 
but,  as  there  were  no  scholars  on  the  morning 
of  the  12th  of  May,  he  went  to  the  place  where 
he  was  told  they  would  be  found ;  and  there  he 
perceived  a  great  number  of  people  sitting  in 
two  assemblages  on  the  ground — one  entirely  of 
men,  the  other  of  women  and  the  chief  Pango. 
The  former  company  he  joined,  and  conversed 
with  them,  as  well  as  he  was  able,  on  the  sin  of 
cannibalism;  but  Korokai  and  all  laughed  at 
the  idea  of  burying  their  enemies.  This  con- 
versation ceased,  however,  on  Knight  hearing 
the  word  patua — kill — repeated  several  times; 
and  looking  round  towards  the  women,  he  was 
horrified  to  see  the  widow  of  the  late  chief 
Haupapa — who  was  killed  at  Maketu — standing 
naked,  and  armed  with  a  tomahawk;  while 
another  woman,  also  nude,  and  Pango,  were 
dragging  a  woman,  taken  captive  at  Te  Tumu, 
that  she  might  be  killed  by  Mrs.  Haupapa,  in 
the  open  space  between  the  men  and  the  women. 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAROA  101 

Mr.  Knight  immediately  sprang  forward,  and 
entreated  them  not  to  hurt  the  woman — but 
Mrs.  Haupapa,  paying  no  attention,  raised  her 
hatchet;  on  this,  Knight  caught  the  weapon, 
and  pulled  it  out  of  her  hand,  whereupon  the 
other  woman  angrily  wrenched  it  from  his 
grasp,  and  would  have  killed  him,  had  not  Pango 
interposed,  by  running  at  the  pakeha,  and 
giving  him  "a  blow  and  thrust  which  nearly 
sent  him  into  the  lake. ' '  But  the  prudent  spirit 
of  self-command,  that  animated  Speke,  under 
similar  circumstances,  formed  no  part  of  this 
young  Englishman's  nature,  and  he  was  about 
to  return  to  the  charge  when  the  natives  seized 
him  and  held  him  back.  Just  then,  the  poor 
woman,  slipping  out  of  the  garments  she  was 
held  by,  rushed  to  Knight,  and  falling  down, 
clasped  his  knees  convulsively,  in  an  agony  of 
terror.  Her  murderers  came,  and  abusing  the 
pakeha,  the  while  for  pokanoa-ing  (interfering 
or  meddling),  with  difficulty  dragged  her  from 
her  hold.  The  helpless  pakeha  says:  "It 
would  have  melted  the  heart  of  a  stone"  to 
hear  her  calling  each  relative  by  name,  be- 
seeching them  to  save  her, — for  though  a 
Tauranga  woman,  she  was  connected  with 
Eotorua — and  to  see  her  last  despairing, 
supplicating  look,  as  she  was  taken  a  few  yards 
off,  and  killed  by  that  virago,  Mrs  Haupapa — 
the  fiendish  New  Zealandress.  Now  this 
scene  occurred  simply  because  Haupapa 's 
widow  longed  to  assuage  the  sorrow  of  her 
bereaved  heart,  by  despatching,  with  her  own 


102  STOEY     OP     TE     WAHAEOA 

hand,  some  prisoner  of  rank,  as  utu  for  her  lord. 
The  tribe  respected  her  desire ;  they  assembled 
to  witness  the  spectacle,  and  furnished  a  victim 
by  handing  over  a  chief's  widow  to  her  will. 

Yet,  although  we  deplore  the  darkness  of 
those  times,  still,  even  then,  there  must  have 
been  a  few  real  Christians  among  the  Maoris. 
We  will  give  two  cases,  from  which,  perhaps, 
our  readers  will  come  to  the  same  conclusion. 

Te  Waharoa  had  rather  a  noted  fighting 
chief  named  Ngakuku.  This  man,  who  had,  of 
course,  been  more  perfect  in,  and  given  to  the 
sanguinary  usages  of  his  companions,  embraced 
Christianity,  shortly  after  the  missionaries 
taught  at  Matamata,  and  placed  his  daughter 
Tarore,  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  under  Mrs. 
Brown's  care.  In  October,  1836,  after  the 
missionaries  had  removed  their  families  from 
Matamata,  Ngakuku  set  out  for  Tauranga, 
taking  his  daughter  and  his  son — a  little  boy— 
with  him.  They  were  accompanied  by  several 
Christian,  or  warekura  natives,  as  they  were 
called — also  by  a  Mr.  Flatt,  who  was  travelling 
in  the  service  of  the  mission,  to  the  same  place, 
and  they  formed  a  party  about  twenty  in 
number.  Camping  at  night  at  Te  Wairere,  a 
fire  was  incautiously  made,  the  smoke  of  which 
was  seen  by  a  murdering  party  that  had 
prowled  out  from  Patatere.  At  day  dawn,  the 
travellers  were  suddenly  roused  by  the  violent 
barking  of  their  dogs;  in  a  moment  they  had 
rushed  into  the  bush,  but  Ngatiwhakaue  were 
quick  enough  to  catch  the  girl,  who  slept  more 


STORY   OF   TB    WAHABOA  103 

soundly  than  the  rest.  Poor  Tarore!  when  it 
was  discovered  that  she  had  not  followed,  her 
father,  who  had  carried  away  the  little  boy,  was 
about  to  return — but  a  gun  went  off;  he  heard 
her  shriek,  "I  am  shot" — he  heard  his  own 
name  mingle  with  her  death  cries,  and  then  he 
heard  no  more.  The  deed  was  done — the 
offering  of  her  heart  was  waved  to  Whiro  in 
the  air, — a  devilish  orgy  danced,  and  the  mur- 
derers had  departed  almost  as  quickly  as  they 
came. 

Now,  although  it  was  possible  for  all  this  to 
happen,  and  Ngakuku  to  possess  but  little 
Christianity,  yet  we  think  it  quite  impossible  for 
a  man  accustomed,  as  he  had  been,  to  the  indul- 
gence of  naturally  strong  passions,  to  restrain 
them,  that  afterwards,  when  peace  was  made, 
he  stepped  forward,  in  the  presence  of  his  tribe, 
and  shook  hands  with  Paora  Te  Uata — his 
daughter's  murderer.  Could  Ngakuku  have 
been  guided  by  that  kind  of  Christianity  which, 
then  appeared  to  float  over  the  land  with  a 
hazy  light?  Could  he  have  done  this,  solely 
from  a  desire  to  adhere  closely  to  the  forms  of 
his  new  religion?  If  so,  his  was,  indeed,  a 
wonderful  climax  of  formalism.  No :  we  think 
Ngakuku  was  a  Christian,  and  that  a  ray  of 
pure,  bright  light  illuminated  his  soul,  in  the 
performance  of  an  action  so  few  could  follow. 

The  other  instance,  though  not  conspicuous, 
indicated  much  in  its  way,  and  was  that  of  old 
Matiu  Tahu — the  tohunga  who  escaped  from 
Te  Papa  pa,  at  Tauranga,  when  Te  Rohu  took 


104  STOEY     OF     TE     WAHABOA 

it  in  1828.  In  the  most  dangerous  times,  Matin 
never  consulted  his  own  safety,  but  always 
remained  with  the  missionaries,  sleeping  in 
their  house,  instead  of  going  to  the  pa  at  night ; 
and  during  the  long  winter  evenings  of  1836,  he 
would  listen  to  their  instructions,  or  vary  the 
topic  by  relating  his  Maori  traditions,  super- 
stitions, histories  and  mysteries,  together  with 
his  experiences  and  observations  as  a  tohunga; 
then  taking  his  gun  and  sallying  forth,  he  would 
go  his  rounds,  nor  retire  until  he  had  satisfied 
himself  the  enemy  was  not  lurking  in 
the  vicinity.  Sometimes  Mr.  Wilson  and  Matiu 
would  resort  to  their  boat  for  safety,  anchoring 
her  at  night  in  the  harbour,  and  sleeping 
securely  on  board  her. 

We  left  Tautari  with  a  fleet  of  canoes  at  sea. 
Tuhua,  Mayor  Island,  was  his  object  of  attack. 
He  wished  to  surprise  Te  Whanau  o  Ngaitai- 
whao,  and  carry  their  almost  impregnable 
stronghold  by  a  coup  de  main, — therefore 
endeavouring  to  regulate  the  progress  of  his 
voyage,  so  as  to  near  the  island  (which  is  very 
high)  after  nightfall,  he  silently  landed  at  his 
destination  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  marshalled 
his  forces  for  the  assault. 

The  pa  stood  above  them,  on  a  precipitous 
mass  of  volcanic  rock,  and  the  only  approach  to 
it  was  by  an  exceedingly  steep  glacis,  termin- 
ating in  a  rocky  path,  which  was  also  steep, 
and  too  narrow  to  allow  more  than  one  person 
to  advance  at  a  time.  Confidently  and  eagerly, 
but  without  noise,  the  taua  mounted  to  the 


STOKY   OP   TE    WAHAEOA  105 

pa;  they  swarmed  up  the  glacis,  and  filled  the 
narrow  path — when  suddenly  above  them 
a  hideous  yell  arose,  and  a  huge  body  of  rockr 
loosened  from  its  hold,  fell  crashing  and 
bounding  down  the  path,  and  thundered  through 
their  midst,  smashing  to  atoms  the  wretches 
whose  ill-starred  fate  had  placed  them  in  its 
way.  The  panic  was  great — while  volleys  of 
musketry  poured  down  on  the  discomfited 
invaders,  and  hastened  their  scarcely  less  head- 
long flight.  When  morning  dawned,  the  dead 
had  been  removed,  and  Tautari's  canoes  were 
nowhere  to  be  seen ;  but  the  ground  was  strewed 
with  arms  and  accoutrements,  and  the  rock  that 
fell  was  covered  with  blood — blood,  which  the 
women  of  the  pa  carefully  licked  off. 

So,  when  too  late,  Tautari  discovered  that  he 
was  greater  on  land  than  at  sea,  and  that  he 
was  deficient  in  the  art  of  calculating  heights, 
and  distances.  In  fact,  he  himself  had  given 
warning  of  his  approach,  by  venturing  too  near 
the  island  by  daylight;  for,  on  the  previous 
evening,  at  sunset,  his  flotilla  had  been  descried 
from  the  heights  of  Tuhua,  far  off  on  the  south- 
eastern horizon,  and  suitable  preparations  had 
been  immediately  made  for  his  reception. 

The  late  Tohi  Te  Ururangi,  alias  Beckham, 
was  an  active  fighting  chief  during  the  war; 
and  about  this  time  he  did  two  things  which  we 
will  relate.  One  circumstance  principally  refers 
to  the  Maori  tapu ;  the  other  speaks  of  the  once 
savage  nature  of  this  late  order-loving  man, 
and  shows  how  altered  he  became.  From 


106  STORY     OF     TB     WAHAROA 

intelligence  received,  Tohi  started  away  from 
Maketu  with  a  Taua  Tapu,  consisting  of  twenty 
men,  all  fortified  and  inspired  with  a  doubly 
refined  tapu.  The  expedition  was  aimed  against 
a  little  pa,  thought  to  be  nearly  empty,  up  the 
Kaituna  river;  but  it  proved  abortive.  Tohi 
was  mistaken,  and  returned  minus  a  man  or  two. 
When  they  arrived  at  Maketu,  the  crowd  stood 
apart;  a  tohunga  met  them  near  their  canoe; 
they  ranged  themselves  in  a  row  on  the  strand, 
and,  squatting  down,  devoid  of  clothing,  silently 
awaited  the  termination  of  his  incantation.  He, 
with  his  face  towards  the  wind,  and  small 
bunches  of  grass  in  his  hands,  made  sundry 
passes  over  them  and  in  the  air,  muttering  as  he 
did  so.  This  done,  they  rushed  to  the  river,  and 
plunging  in,  washed  themselves  as  was 
necessary  after  deeds  of  blood,  according  to 
the  Maori  creed. 

The  other  matter,  was  the  murder  by  Tohi, 
of  an  old  Tauranga  chief  (we  forget  his  name), 
who  had  been  induced  to  go  to  Maketu  in  the 
hope  of  making  peace.  It  was  a  cruel  action. 
A  neutral  woman  had  gone  over  to  Maungatapu, 
and  persuaded  him,  as  he  was  partly  connected 
with  Ngatiwhakaue,  to  accompany  her  back  for 
that  purpose.  As  they  approached,  they  were 
met  by  Tohi  and  another  man,  on  the  sands  in 
front  of  Maketu.  "There,"  she  said,  "I  have 
brought  you  so  and  so."  She  stepped  aside, 
and  Tohi  and  his  companion  completed  the 
iniquity. 

As  this  quarrel  arose  between  Ngatiwhakaue 
and  Waharoa,  it  seems  strange,  perhaps,  that 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHABOA  107 

their  respective  tanas  did  not  oftener  take  the 
direct  route  between  their  countries,  that  lies 
by  Patatere.  As  far  as  Te  Waharoa  is  con- 
cerned, this  may  be  explained  by  his  desire  to 
draw  Ngaiterangi  into  the  strife;  he  had 
involved  them,  and  he  intended  to  keep  them 
implicated.  While  the  reason  on  Ngati- 
whakaue's  part  was  probably  due  to  a  con- 
siderate wish  to  leave  the  lion  undisturbed  in 
his  den;  for,  as  they  had  Ngaiterangi  to  fight 
with,  they  did  not  care  to  go  further  and  fare 
worse.  On  one  occasion,  indeed,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  war,  they  had  sent  a  taua  direct  to 
Matamata ;  but  it  had  been  driven  back,  without 
effecting  anything  beyond  burning  down  Mr. 
Morgan's  house.  From  Patatere,  however, 
Ngatiwhakaue  frequently  sent  out  murdering 
parties — tauas  toto,  and  tauas  tapu — whose 
duty  it  was  to  infest  the  Wairere  and  other 
roads,  and  to  slay  all  unwary  and  defenceless 
travellers. 

Yet,  the  old  chief  of  our  story  would  some- 
times pass  by  the  Wairere  road — from 
Matamata  to  Tauranga  and  back  again  com- 
paratively unprotected;  and  if  remonstrated 
with,  and  informed  after  he  had  determined  to 
go  that  the  road  was  just  then  in  an  unusually 
dangerous  state,  he  would  reply,  "Does  not  my 
matakite  know  much  better  than  you?"  Now 
a  matakite  is  a  person  who  is  able  to  foresee 
events;  and  Waharoa 's  matakite  was  an  old 
sorceress — in  fact  his  private  priestess,  who, 
thoroughly  versed  in  the  necromantic  art,  cast 
the  niu,  was  consulted  on  all  necessary 


108  STOEY     OF     TE     WAHAROA 

occasions,  and  accompanied  him  on  his  expedi- 
tions and  journeys. 

By  the  end  of  July,  less  than  three  months 
after  the  fall  of  Te  Tumu,  Waharoa  had 
assembled  another  taua  to  avenge  his  allies' 
honour,  and  maintain  the  prestige  of  his  own 
arms.  On  this  occasion  he  went  by  Patatere, 
and  his  force,  consisting  chiefly  of  his  own  tribe, 
was  not  as  numerous  as  his  tauas  usually  were. 
By  the  1st  of  August  he  had  marched  into  the 
heart  of  the  enemy's  country,  and  encamped 
his  army  at  a  place  between  two  and  three  miles 
from  Ohinemutu  pa. 

Ohinemutu,  the  capital  of  Rotorua,  is  doubt- 
less on  the  most  singular  volcanic  site  a 
population  ever  dwelt  upon.  On  a  rising 
ground  at  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  it  is 
situated  on  what  seems  to  the  unaccustomed  eye 
to  be  but  a  crust  that  forms  neither  more  nor 
less  than  the  lid  of  an  immense  subterranean 
cauldron  of  boiling  water.  Through  this  lid 
numerous  natural  and  artificial  holes  have  been 
punched,  and  are  used  by  the  inhabitants  for 
cooking  purposes.  In  them  the  water  boils 
furiously,  hissing  to  the  very  surface,  and 
emitting  clouds  of  vapour,  which  under  some 
conditions  of  the  atmosphere  are  almost  dense 
enough  to  envelope  the  pa.  Now,  it  was  within 
this  curious  pa,  which  was  then  a  large  and  very 
strong  one,  that  the  Ngatiwhakaue  people  had 
collected  for  fear  of  Te  Waharoa;  all  their 
canoes,  also,  had  been  brought  within  its  forti- 
fications. 


STOBY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  109 

When,  therefore,  Te  Waharoa  had  arrived 
at  Eotorua,  he  found  himself  placed  in  an  un- 
satisfactory position.  The  well-manned  forti- 
fications of  the  enemy  forbade  an  attack  there, 
with  any  prospect  of  success;  while  his 
command  of  the  lake  by  means  of  the  canoes  in 
his  possession,  not  only  enabled  him  to  obtain 
supplies,  but  would  also  enable  him  to  fall 
suddenly  upon  any  of  Waharoa 's  people  who 
might  forage  on  its  shores.  At  length,  after 
waiting  several  days,  Micawber-like, ' '  for  some- 
thing to  turn  up,"  Waharoa  devised  a  scheme, 
and  of  its  success  the  reader  shall  judge.  On 
the  6th  August,  1836,  he  sent  a  party  of  picked 
men,  who  feigned  an  attack  on  the  pa;  one  of 
their  leaders  was  a  young  man,  Weteni  Taipo- 
rutu,  who  many  years  after  fought  us,  and  was 
killed  at  Mahoetahi.  This  portion  of  the  affair 
was  so  skilfully  conducted  that,  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  moment  all  Ngatiwhakaue,  believing 
Waharoa  defeated,  rushed  out  in  hot  pursuit. 
When  their  best  men  had  gone,  at  the  top  of 
their  speed,  so  far  as  to  be  utterly  out  of 
breath,  they  unexpectedly  came  upon  a  force 
posted  ready  to  receive  them ;  also  the  men  they 
had  pursued  turned  back  upon  them.  It  was 
now  their  turn  to  flee;  with  this  difference, 
their  enemies  were  fresh,  they  winded.  And 
now  the  crisis  comes;  few  of  these  men  shall 
live  if  Waharoa  succeeds.  The  greater  portion 
of  his  force  is  distributed  in  two  large  ambushes 
on  either  side  of  the  road ;  one  under  the  Ngati- 
haua  chief  Pohipohi,  the  other  commanded  by 


110  STORY     OF     TE     WAHABOA 

himself.  Suddenly  they  rise;  and  from  right 
to  left  appear  to  the  unlucky  fugitives  in 
hundreds,  hastening  to  intercept  their  flight. 
They  close  the  way;  but  Pohipohi  has  mis- 
directed his  men ;  some  confusion  ensues ;  and 
neither  division  can  fire  without  slaughtering 
the  other.  The  Ngatiwhakaue  seize  upon  the 
blunder;  they  run  the  gauntlet;  toma- 
hawks are  freely  used  upon  them,  and  many  a 
stalwart  warrior  bites  the  dust. 

The  Ngatiwhakaues  were  shot  down,  and  pur- 
sued to  the  waharoa  (gateway)  of  their  pa, 
through  which  they  pressed,  and  would  have 
been  followed  by  Te  Waharoa  and  his  Ngati- 
hauas,  had  not  the  men  in  the  pa  suddenly 
rallied,  closed  the  gate,  and  repelled  the 
assailants.  Now  this  unexpected  reaction  on 
the  part  of  the  Ohinemutu  people,  was  due  to 
Korokai,  chief  of  Ngatiwhakaue  proper,  alias 
Ngatipehi;  who,  when  all  within  the  pa- 
terrified  at  the  disaster  and  Waharoa 's 
approach — were  taking  to  their  canoes  to  seek 
refuge  on  the  island,  refused  to  accompany 
them,  and  exclaimed  with  a  loud  voice,  "Let  me 
die  here,  upon  my  own  land ! ' '  His  words  and 
example  affected  the  people,  and  changed  their 
fear  to  other  emotions ;  instead  of  going  to  the 
island,  Makoia,  they  hastened  to  their  posts, 
just  in  time  to  save  their  pa. 

That  day  Waharoa 's  Ngatihaua  and  Waikato 
tribes  returned  to  their  camp,  laden  with  booty ; 
for  they  had  sacked  Mr.  Chapman's  mission 
station  at  Te  Koutu,  and  they  carried  with  them 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAROA  111 

the  bodies  of  sixty  of  their  enemies.  And  now 
the  work  of  cutting  up  and  preparing  the  feast 
began.  While  thus  engaged,  Mr.  Knight 
appeared ;  he  had  been  robbed  of  all  save  shirt 
and  trousers,  and  had  come  to  complain  to  Te 
Waharoa.  The  natives  say  they  resented  his 
intrusion,  which  was  an  angry  one;  and  some 
of  them  would  have  added  him  to  the  number  of 
their  stock  in  hand,  had  not  Tarapipi — 
Waharoa 's  son,  now  known  as  William 
Thompson — interposed,  and  sent  him  back 
again.  We  believe  Mr.  Knight  never  knew  the 
danger  he  was  in  on  this  occasion.  There  was 
also  another  European  at  Te  Koutu,  a  car- 
penter. Both  these  men  suffered  loss,  though 
the  natives  perhaps  thought  them  well  off  in 
having  their  lives  spared.  When  the  excited, 
bloodstained  crowd  entered  the  station,  Mr. 
Knight  repaired  to  his  room,  and  filling  the 
capacious  pockets  of  his  shooting-coat  with  the 
articles  he  most  required,  was  about  to  retire 
from  the  scene ;  when  a  Maori  who  had  watched 
his  movements,  stepped  forward,  and  kindly 
insisted  on  relieving  him  of  its  weight.  At 
any  rate  our  pakeha  must  have  appreciated  the 
manner  of  the  action,  when  he  turned  and  saw 
the  poor  carpenter  down,  with  a  couple  of  great 
naked  fellows  sitting  on  him,  quarrelling  and 
struggling  for  the  clothes  on  his  back;  while 
others  tried  to  tug  the  garments  from  his  limbs. 
In  vain  the  oppressed  man  represented  the 
clothes  would  be  torn,  and  implored  to  be 
allowed  to  rise  and  divest  himself;  each  was 


112  STORY     OF     TE     WAHABOA 

afraid  to  lose  the  apparel,  and  preferred 
trusting  to  his  own  exertions.  Besides,  the 
pakeha  was  worthy  of  no  consideration :  he  was 
only  a  tutua,  who  had  been  detected  in  the  act 
of  escaping  with  a  double  suit  of  his  own 
clothes  on  his  person.  At  length,  when  they 
had  pretty  well  plucked  their  victim,  they  let 
him  go;  and  our  readers  will  hardly  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  neither  he  nor  his  f  ellow- 
pakeha  remained  long  in  the  country. 

But  in  reference  to  the  Koutu  station,  we 
have  to  add  the  curious  fact  that  on  the  same 
day,  after  Waharoa's  taua  had  retired,  Ngati- 
whakaue  came,  and  not  only  completed  its 
plunder,  but  actually  set  fire  to  their  own  mis- 
sionary's house.  This  they  did,  because  their 
hearts  were  sad  at  their  own  loss  and  of  course 
their  pakeha  would  not  object  to  participate  in 
their  sorrow.  Some  time  after  this,  these 
whimsical  beings  decided  that  their  missionary 
must  have  an  utu  for  his  losses  also,  and  there- 
fore they  informed  him  they  were  about  to  go 
and  destroy  Te  Papa  mission  station ;  his  place 
had  been  burnt,  and  Wilson's  should  be  burnt 
in  payment.  Mr.  Chapman  was  very  uneasy, 
all  he  could  urge  to  the  contrary  was  quite 
unheeded  by  them ;  it  was  impossible  to  foresee 
where  they  would  stop,  or  to  say  they  would 
not  commit  murder  when  excited ;  and,  besides, 
Te  Papa  was  the  only  station  left  in  that  part  of 
the  country.  Mr.  Chapman,  however,  solved 
the  difficulty,  and  baffled  them  by  going  to  Te 
Papa  and  living  with  Mr.  Wilson,  telling  them 


STOKY    OP    TE    WAHABOA  113 

as  he  went  that  if  they  burnt  his  brother  mis- 
sionary's house,  they  must  do  so  over  his,  their 
pakeha  's  head.  The  following  is  the  last  entry 
in  the  journal  of  the  Koutu  station: — 

"The  mission  station  at  the  Koutu  was 
destroyed  on  the  6th  inst.  by  the  Waikato  and 
Eotorua  tribes.  The  Ngatipehi  burnt  the  house 
and  the  adjoining  buildings.  We  saw  the  fire 
break  out  about  four  o'clock,  p.m.,  in  the 
dwelling  house,  and  before  darkness  succeeded 
twilight,  both  dwelling  houses,  and  every 
building,  taiepa,  etc.,  were  in  flames,  and  reduced 
to  ruins.  Thus  ended  a  station  which  began 
under  such  promising  circumstances.  The  ways 
of  the  Lord  are  mysterious,  past  finding  out; 
yet  we  must  believe  they  are  all  founded  on 
wisdom,  mercy  and  truth.  The  mission  station 
being  no  more,  of  course  this  public  journal  is 
from  this  time  discontinued. — 8th  August,  1836. 

There  is  yet  another  circumstance  that 
occurred  on  the  6th  of  August,  that  must  be 
mentioned;  for  it  shows  how  discipline  was 
maintained  in  Waharoa's  tauas.  Pohipohi's 
bungling  —  wakararu-ing  —  conduct  in  the 
morning  has  so  displeased  his  master  that  now, 
while  the  bodies  are  being  cut  up,  Waharoa 
challenges  him  to  single  combat.  Although  the 
old  chief  is  somewhat  lame  from  his  Hauwhenua 
wound,  he  is  active  still,  and  light  as  ever. 
Pohipohi  is  a  tall,  powerful  man,  a  great  land- 
owner, and  ranks  next  to  himself  as  chief  of 
Ngatihaua ;  but  he  must  do  his  duty  and  make 
an  example  of  him  as  a  warning  to  his  other 


114  STOBY     OF     TE     WAHAEOA 

lieutenants.  For  Waharoa,  who  had  been 
successful  in  every  conflict,  never  doubted  his 
own  personal  power  to  inflict  chastisement  in 
this.  Yet  his  success,  though  perhaps  unknown 
to  himself,  had  latterly  been  very  much  assisted 
by  the  superstitious  awe — the  atua-like  dread — 
with  which  the  Maori  mind  had  become  affected 
towards  him ;  and  we  cannot  say  how  this  duel 
would  have  ended,  had  not  the  tribe,  as  the 
chiefs  were  sparring  with  long  tomahawks, 
rushed  in  and  stopped  the  fight. 

Friendship  was  restored,  and  they  resorted  to 
scenes  of  feasting  and  triumph — such  scenes! 
They  lasted  nearly  a  week,  and  then  Waharoa 
broke  up  his  camp;  and  taking  nearly  all  his 
victims'  heads  with  him,  departed  to  his  own 
country  by  the  way  that  he  came. 

On  the  24th  August,  Messrs.  Wilson  and 
Chapman  visited  the  recent  camp.  What  they 
saw  is  described  in  the  former  gentleman's 
journal,  and  we  will  conclude  our  account  of 
this  expedition  by  quoting  his  graphic  words : — 

"Along  the  road  leading  to  the  encampment 
where  the  Waikato  tribes  had  been  pitched, 
might  be  seen  various  marks  erected,  which 
signified  where  a  chief  or  a  chief's  son  had 
fallen.  After  three-quarters  of  an  hour's  walk 
we  came  to  the  place  itself.  I  can  compare  the 
place  to  nothing  better  than  a  small  plot  of 
ground  allotted  to  a  menagerie  of  wild  beasts. 
Bones  of  men  lay  promiscuously  strewed  in 
every  direction;  here  a  skull,  and  there  a  rib, 
or  ribs  with  the  spine ;  while  around  the  ovens 


STOBY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  115 

might  be  recognised  any  bone  of  the  human 
frame.  When  I  say  that  sixty  bodies  were 
taken  to  this  den  of  cannibals,  and  some  of 
them  only  partly  devoured  from  being  but 
indifferently  cooked,  it  may  easily  be  conceived 
that  the  stench  arising  from  the  bones,  &c.,  was 
offensive  in  the  extreme.  It  was  literally  a 
valley  of  bones — the  bones  of  men  still  green 
with  flesh,  hideous  to  look  upon !  Among  some 
of  the  spectacles,  I  was  arrested  by  the  ghastly 
appearance  of  a  once  human  head.  In  mere 
derision  it  had  been  boiled,  and  having  a  kumara 
in  its  mouth,  was  placed  on  a  post  a  few  feet 
above  the  ground;  on  it  might  be  seen  the 
wound  that  had  caused  the  wretched  victim's 
death — a  long  gash  on  the  temple  by  a  war 
hatchet ;  it  had  also  been  beaten  in  from  behind. 
It  would  be  impossible  now  to  describe  the 
various  thoughts  which  engaged  my  mind  while 
walking  over  this  dismal  place ;  enough  to  say, 
that  never  did  human  nature  appear  lower  or 
the  power  of  evil  greater.  At  this  moment,  a 
bullet  from  the  adjacent  ground  whizzed 
through  the  low  tutu  bushes  where  we  stood, 
and  warned  us  to  depart,  the  whole  valley  being 
sacred. ' ' 

The  Ohinemutu  campaign  was  the  last  episode 
in  Waharoa's  war  with  the  Arawas.  For  their 
loss  on  that  occasion  the  latter  never  succeeded 
in  obtaining  anything  like  proper  utu.  Mur- 
dering parties  could  do  little  towards  squaring 
such  an  account,  especially  as  birds  had  become 
shy;  and,  besides,  in  the  course  of  the  war 


116  STORY     OP     TE     WAHAEOA 

these  petty  affairs  generally  balanced  each  other. 

After  this,  Ngaiterangi  sent  two  tauas  to 
Eotorua.  One  of  them  camped  on  the  site  of 
the  Koutu  station;  but  though  close  to  Ohine- 
mutu,  it  effected  nothing.  The  other  taua, 
under  Taharangi,  was  in  the  act  of  camping  at 
Manene,  at  the  end  of  their  first  day's  march, 
when  a  star  shot  brilliantly  through  the  eastern 
sky,  back  towards  Tauranga.  Instantly  many 
exclaimed,  "Ka  Jioki  te  taua!  ka  hoki  te  taua!" 
—equivalent  to  "There  goes  our  taua  back 
again,  its  hopes  dashed."  The  unpropitious 
omen  weakened  the  faith  of  all  in  the  success  of 
the  enterprise,  so  much  so,  that  the  more 
devoutly  superstitious  returned  to  their  homes 
next  day.  This  taua  hung  a  long  time  about 
Puhirua — Hikairo's  pa,  at  the  north  end  of  the 
lake ;  and  did  not  retire  until  it  had  killed  five 
women. 

In  return,  the  Ngatiwhakaue  or  Arawa  tribes 
sent  two  tauas  against  Ngaiterangi,  each  of 
which  was  accompanied  by  a  fleet  from  Maketu 
to  command  Tauranga  harbour.  Of  these,  the 
first  flotilla  entered  the  harbour  unawares  one 
night  in  November,  1838,  and  caught  and  ate 
twelve  persons — the  crew  of  a  fishing  canoe; 
their  bodies  were  cooked  in  ovens  at  Maunganui. 
To  those  ovens  the  Arawa  tribes  have  latterly 
laid  claim,  including  in  their  pretensions  the 
whole  intervening  district,  from  Maketu  to 
Maunganui.  As  well  might  William  Thompson, 
the  present  Te  Waharoa,  challenge  the  owner- 
ship of  the  country  that  extends  from  Patatere 


STORY   OF   TE    WAHAEOA  117 

to  Ohinemutu,  in  virtue  of  his  father's  cannibal- 
istic triumphs  there.  The  massacre  of  the 
fishermen  is  known  as  Te  Patutarakihi,  and  is 
all  the  first  taua  effected,  notwithstanding  it  had 
several  skirmishes.  The  second  taua  invaded 
Tauranga  in  March,  1840,  nearly  a  year  after 
Waharoa's  death.  It  made  a  demonstration 
against  Maungatapu,  and  fought  a  general 
action  on  the  flats  in  front  of  Te  Papa ;  but  the 
proportion  of  powder  expended  on  both  sides 
was  enormous  compared  with  the  damage  done ; 
for  there  were  not  more  than  ten  killed 
altogether  (excepting  Te  Patutarakihi)  on  both 
sides,  in  both  campaigns. 

Also,  on  the  other  side,  Waikato  in  1839  sent 
a  taua  against  Maketu.  This  time,  however, 
they  were  beaten  and  pursued  by  Ngatiwhakaue, 
headed  by  Tohi  te  Ururangi,  as  far  as  Te  Tumu. 
The  Waikatos  found  Maketu  much  more 
strongly  fortified  than  it  had  been  on  their  visit 
three  years  before. 

But  the  self-denying  presence  of  the  two 
missionaries,  and  their  labours,  were  rewarded 
in  the  end.  There  were  signs  of  a  favourable 
change ;  many  warriors  had  become  Christians, 
and  would  not  fight.  And,  whereas  in  the 
winter  of  1836,  it  was  thought  they  had  been 
murdered,  and  Mr.  Fairburn  from  the  Thames 
had  gone  in  a  boat  to  ascertain  their  fate;  by 
January,  1838,  those  missionaries  ventured, 
from  the  altered  appearance  of  affairs,  to 
bring  their  families  back  to  Tauranga.  About 
this  time,  also,  the  Rev.  A.  N.  Brown  and 


118  STOBY     OF     TE     WAHABOA 

Messrs.  J.  Morgan  and  J.  Stack  were  sent  to 
reinforce  them. 

Yet,  if  Te  Waharoa  had  lived,  it  is  hard  to 
say  in  what  condition  the  country  would  have 
been.  Even  some  of  the  Ngatiwhakaues,  or 
Arawas  as  we  now  call  them,  admitted  at  his 
death,  that  in  two  more  years  he  would  probably 
have  driven  them  from  Eotorua.  He  was 
attacked  with  erysipelas  at  Motu  Hoa,  at  Tau- 
ranga,  and  visited  by  Messrs  Wilson  and 
Brown,  who  found  him  on  his  deathbed  an  old 
Maori  still.  As  his  illness  appeared  serious, 
his  tribe  carried  him  to  Matamata;  where, 
perceiving  his  end  approach,  and  anxious  even 
in  death,  and  at  the  expense  of  his  friends  to 
gratify  the  ruling  passion  of  his  life — the 
aggrandisement  of  his  tribe — he  exclaimed 
"Oh!  that  I  might  drink  of  Waitioko's  sweet 
waters!"  Quickly  a  lithe  stripling  took  a 
calabash  and  ran  to  Waitioko,  a  stream  in 
Ngaiterangi's  country,  which  flows  in  mid- 
forest,  between  Te  Wairere  and  Waipapa,  and 
is  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Tepuna.  In 
an  incredibly  short  time  the  youth  returned. 
Te  Waharoa  drank  of  the  water,  pronounced 
the  beverage  good,  declared  the  stream  his  own, 
and  expired,  after  a  ten  days '  illness,  at  Easter, 
1839. 

We  will  not  now  pretend  to  define  the  Ngai- 
terangi  and  Ngatihaua  boundary,  for  the  son 
trod  in  his  father's  pious  steps;  and,  besides, 
Maori  titles  and  claims  to  land  have  too  often 
varied,  according  to  the  power  of  the  persons 


STOKY    OF    TE    WAHAEOA  119 

interested  to  set  them  up,  and  maintain  them. 

Our  readers  will  acknowledge  that  the  chief 
whose  story  we  have  told  was  not  an  ordinary 
New  Zealander.  Possessed  in  war  of  courage, 
enterprise  and  tact,  he  made  his  enemies  fear 
him;  whilst  sometimes  to  his  allies  his  crafty 
policy  was  scarcely  a  whit  less  dangerous.  He 
subsidized  the  Ngatimaniapoto  and  Waikato-nui 
tribes,  and  influenced  his  Ngaiterangi  friends, 
and  by  singular  address  established  and 
preserved  a  bond  of  union — no  easy  task  at  any 
time — between  four  powerful  sections  of  the 
Maori  race;  inducing  them  to  march  obedient 
to  his  word,  they  fought  and  bled  together,  the 
bond  became  cemented,  and  it  is  precisely  this 
union  with  its  ramifications  that  has  opposed 
our  Government  in  the  districts  we  write  of. 

Waharoa  was  succeeded  by  Ms  eldest  son,  Te 
Arahi,  who  before  the  Arawa  war  had  married 
Penenga,  Hikairo's  daughter.  Though  in 
appearance  a  fine  man,  the  tribe  soon  found  Te 
Arahi  lacked  the  mental  qualifications  necessary 
for  their  chief ;  therefore  they  deposed  him,  and 
placed  Tarapipi,  his  younger  brother,  in  his 
stead.  This  chief  had  already  professed  Chris- 
tianity, and  was  baptised  by  his  present  well- 
known  name  of  William  Thompson. 

William  Thompson,  a  young  man  on  his 
accession,  was  soon  much  thought  of  by  the 
natives.  His  disposition  towards  the  pakehas  at 
that  time  was  favourable,  as  his  father  had 
been;  old  Waharoa  was  a  great  patron  to 
the  pakeha.  When,  however,  Europeans  were 


120  STOEY     OF     TE     WAHAEOA 

followed  by  a  Government  which,  while  it  noticed 
inferior  chiefs  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
appeared  to  be  nearly  ignorant  of  Thompson's 
existence,  it  is  only  natural  to  suppose  that  his 
sense  of  isolation  was  communicated  to  the 
tribes  that  looked  to  him  for  advice;  just  as 
they  had  once  been  accustomed  to  look  to  his 
father  for  direction  and  command. 

We  have  been  told  that  Thompson  was 
inclined  at  one  time  to  enter  an  educational 
establishment  of  some  note  in  this  province. 
But  the  question  was  asked — does  he  smoke? 
and  there  was  an  end  of  the  project,  for  Te 
Waharoa's  son  was  not  a  man  to  be  dictated  to 
in  that  fashion — to  forego  "the  sweet  offence" 
on  such  compulsion.  If  true,  it  is  perhaps  a 
pity  his  desire  was  not  gratified ;  still,  we  should 
not  have  been  too  sanguine.  The  case  of 
Henare  Taratoa,  who  was  killed  in  the  trenches 
at  Te  Kanga,  reminds  us  of  the  fact — well 
understood  elsewhere — that  education  alone  is 
not  sufficient  to  induce  in  the  native  mind  a 
feeling  of  attachment  towards  the  British 
Government. 

We  merely  allude  to  this  as  showing  it  was 
time  old  Waharoa  departed,  to  avoid  the 
innovations  and  degeneracy  of  the  age  to  come. 
Times  became  changed;  and  when  he  once 
facetiously  carried  a  missionary  of  small 
stature  in  his  arms,  into  the  midst  of  his 
audience,  he  little  thought  that  that  man,  who 
had  often  given  him  a  stick  of  tobacco,  would 
within  ten  short  years,  be  required  to  interdict 


STORY    OF    TE    WAHAKOA  121 

his  son's  clay  pipe.  Yes — it  was  well  the  chief 
of  that  old  type  departed  when  he  did.  Well 
for  himself,  as  he  never  could  have  breathed 
the  atmosphere  his  son  has  inhaled;  and  well 
for  us  also ;  for  if  he  had  led  his  tribes  in  1863, 
we  probably  should  not  have  forgotten  Te 
Waharoa. 


SKETCHES  OF 
ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  AND  HISTOEY. 


SKETCHES  OF 
ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  AND  HISTORY. 


THE   MAUI   MAOEI   NATION. 


I  venture,  with  the  permission  of  the  reader, 
to  offer  a  few  remarks  upon  some  portions  of 
the  early  history  of  the  Maori  race.  Statements 
in  various  forms  are  constantly  being  made 
public,  many  of  them  more  or  less  erroneous, 
and  more  or  less  important  according  to  the 
sources  whence  promulgated;  and  it  is  to 
remove  the  misapprehension  that  gives  rise  to 
such  statements,  that  I  would  mention  some 
points  that  have  escaped  general  observation. 

My  informants  are  mostly  deceased,  and  if 
asked  for  authorities  I  regret  to  say  that  in  the 
majority  of  cases  I  can  only  point  to  l Where 
heaves  the  turf  in  many  a  mouldering  heap.7 
These  remarks  are,  however,  based  upon 
enquiries  made  by  myself  and  by  my  father,  the 
Rev.  J.  A.  Wilson,  before  me,  and  extend  back 
sixty  years  from  the  present  time  (1894).* 

I  will  begin  by  introducing  an  ancient  Maori 
tradition  at  which  a  descendant  of  Noah  cannot 

*Mr.  Wilson  landed  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  with  his  family 
on  13th  April,  1833.  One  year  is  allowed  in  the  above  passage 
for  learning  the  language  before  making  enquiry. 

125 


126  ANCIENT    MAOBI   LIFE 

afford  to  smile,  unless  lie  is  prepared  to  claim 
for  his  own  ancestor,  and  for  the  northern 
hemisphere,  a  monopoly  of  dilnvian  adventure. 
The  tradition  says  there  was  a  time  when  the 
waters  covered  the  earth;  that,  at  that  time, 
Maui  and  his  three  sons  floated  upon  the  waters 
in  a  canoe,  fishing ;  that  presently  Maui  hooked 
the  earth,  and  with  great  labour  he  drew  it  to 
the  surface  with  the  assistance  of  his  sons. 
Then  their  canoe  grounded  upon  what  proved  to 
be  the  top  of  a  mountain.  As  the  earth  became 
bare,  the  sons  of  Maui  took  possession;  but 
Maui  himself  vanished  and  returned  to  the  place 
from  whence  he  came.  The  canoe  remained 
upon  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where  it  may  be 
seen  in  a  petrified  state  at  the  present  time. 
Hikurangi  Mountain,  at  the  head  of  Waiapu 
Valley,  is  this  southern  Ararat  whence  the 
descendants  of  Maui  peopled  the  North  Island 
of  New  Zealand.  They  named  their  island  Te 
Ika  a  Maui  (Maui's  fish),  or  Ehinomaui  (fished 
up  by  Maui).  The  head  of  the  fish  is  at  Cook's 
Strait,  and  the  tail  at  the  North  Cape,  where 
there  is  a  subterranean  opening  by  the  seashore 
through  which  departed  spirits  pass  to  the  lower 
regions,  when  they  leave  this  World  of  Light 
(Aomarama).  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  ancient  descendants  of  Maui  had  a  good 
geographical  knowledge  of  the  shape  of  their 
island.  I  should  add  that  the  hills  and  valleys 
on  the  surface  of  the  island  were  made  by  the 
occupants  of  the  canoe  getting  out  and  tramping 
on  the  soil  while  wet  and  in  a  muddy  state,  thus 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  127 

making  hills  and  holes.  Omitting  much  circum- 
locutory description,  this  is  the  story  of  how 
Maui  fished  up  the  North  Island  of  New  Zealand 
as  it  was  told  more  than  fifty  years  ago  by  the 
natives.  Since  that  time,  I  observe  that  some 
of  them  have  changed  Maui's  sons  into  his 
brothers. 

In  course  of  time  the  people  of  Maui  increased 
and  spread  themselves  in  tribes  and  hapus  over 
the  greater  portion  of  the  island.  Probably 
they  occupied  the  whole  of  it,  but  this  I  cannot 
affirm.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  clear  that  at 
the  time  when  the  canoes  of  immigrants  came 
from  Hawaiki,  about  six  hundred  years  ago, 
that  the  Maui  or  Maori  nation  inhabited  the 
country  from  Wairarapa  in  the  south,  to  Wai- 
takere,  north  of  Auckland,  and  from  Tuparoa 
and  Hick's  Bay  in  the  east  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  Mokau  and  Kawhia  in  the  west. 

The  aborigines  did  not  cultivate  the  soil  for 
food — excepting  the  hue  gourd,  from  which 
calabashes  were  made;  they  had  no  useful 
plants  that  they  could  cultivate.  They  ate 
berries  and  the  shoots  and  roots  of  ferns  and 
other  plants,  as  they  found  them  growing  wild 
in  the  forests,  and  in  the  open  country.  For 
flesh  they  hunted  the  moa,*  and  caught  the 

*The  ancient  inhabitants  hunted  the  moa  until  it  became  extinct. 
The  last  bird  was  killed  with  a  taiaha  by  a  man  at  Tarawera.  The 
habits  of  the  moa  are  described  as  solitary,  living  in  pairs  in 
secluded  valleys  in  the  depths  of  the  forest  near  a  running  stream. 
It  fed  on  shoots,  roots,  and  berries,  and  was  particularly  fond  of 
nikau  and  tree  fern.  It  was  supposed  to  feed  at  night,  for  it  was 
never  seen  to  eat  in  the  daytime.  Hence  the  proverb  'moa  kai 
hau'  as  it  always  seemed  to  have  its  head  in  the  air,  eating  wind. 
The  moa  had  a  plume  of  feathers  on  its  head.  In  the  depths  of 
the  Motu  forest  there  is  a  mountain  called  Moanui,  where,  no  doubt, 
the  bird  was  killed  by  the  people  of  Rotonui-a-wai  and  Wharikiri, 
for  their  descendants  knew  fifty  years  ago  that  their  forefathers 
had  slain  the  moa. 


128  ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE 

kakapo*  at  night,  and  they  snared  pigeons, 
kakas,  and  many  other  kinds  of  birds.  They 
fished  with  the  seine  and  line  in  salt  water  and 
fresh.  They  dived  from  the  rocks  for  crayfish, 
and  in  the  swamps  they  caught  eels.  Before 
the  advent  of  the  Hawaikians  they  had  neither 
taro  nor  kumara,  nor  karaka  berries,  they  were 
unable  to  make  kao,**  and  they  had  no  rats.*** 
They  stored  their  food  in  chambers  called  ruas, 
hollowed  out  of  the  ground  where  the  soil  was 
dry.  They  cooked  their  food  in  the  Maori  umu, 
just  as  they  do  now.  Their  clothing  was  made 
from  flax,  for  the  aute  tree,  whence  tappa  cloth 
is  made,  had  not  yet  been  introduced  from 
Hawaiki.  They  spoke  the  Maori  language. 
Their  population  was  mostly  distributed,  not 
necessarily  where  the  land  was  fertile,  but 
where  the  forests  were  rich  in  birds,  as  at 
Motu;  where  streams  and  swamps  yielded  fish 
and  eels  plentifully,  as  at  Matata,  inland 
waters;  where  fern  root  of  good  quality  was 
easily  obtained,  or  where  the  sea  teemed  with 
fish,  as  at  Tauranga. 

Thus  it  happened  that  certain  tribes  became 
recognised  as  the  producers  of  special  kinds  of 
food,  and  tribal  nomenclature  was  not  infre- 
quently influenced  thereby.  In  this  way  we 
find  the  Purukupenga  (full  net)  living  at  Tau- 
ranga, the  Waiohua  (waters  of  abundance)  at 

*The  kakapo  betrayed  itself  at  night  time  by  its  cry.  With  the 
assistance  of  a  dog  it  was  easily  caught.  Only  within  the  present 
century  did  it  become  extinct,  through  constant  hunting.  Its  loss 
as  a  source  of  food,  was  very  much  felt  by  the  Maoris. 

**Kao  was  a  favourite  article  of  diet,  made  by  drying  the  karaka 
berry  and  the  kumara  root. 

***The  rat  was.  perhaps,  the  most  valued  kind  of  Maori  game; 
when  in  season  the  flesh  was  greatly  relished.  They  were  kept  in 
rat  runs  or  preserves,  which  no  stranger  would  venture  to  poach 
upon. 


Storehouse  for  the  Kumara. 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  129 

Eangitaiki  and  Matata,  and  other  similar  names 
will  appear  when  I  enumerate  them. 

Here  let  me  mention  en  passant  that  about 
two  hundred  years  after  the  Hawaikians  had 
landed  at  Maketu,  a  portion  of  them,  viz., 
Tapuika  and  Waitaha  a  Hei,  was  attacked  by 
the  Waiohua,  the  Tipapa,  and  other  hapus  of 
Te  Tini  o  Taunu  or  Ngaiwi  tribe,  the  war  being 
about  land.  I  will  not  anticipate  the  particulars 
of  the  story,  and  will  merely  say  now  that  the 
struggle  was  severe,  and  ended  in  the  defeat  of 
the  aborigines,  who  fled  through  Waikato  to 
Tamaki  and  Waitakere,  and  that  is  how  Ngaiwi, 
of  whom  the  Waiohua  were  a  part,  came  to  live 
in  the  district  now  called  Auckland.  In  those 
days  the  name  Waitakere  seems  to  have  been 
used  at  a  distance  to  denote  the  district  north  of 
the  Tamaki,  and  was  used  in  a  general  manner 
like  Taranaki,  Hauraki,  Tauranga,  etc.  The 
subsequent  history  of  the  Waiohua  is  well 
known. 

In  war  the  aboriginal  Maori  was  courageous. 
He  is  described  as  tall,  spare,  active,  and  with 
a  good  reach  in  the  delivery  of  his  weapon;* 

*In  draining  a  swamp  some  time  ago  at  Knighton,  the  estate 
of  S.  Seddon,  Esq.,  near  Hamilton,  Waikato,  two  wooden  swords, 
believed  to  be  of  maire,  were  dug  up  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
one  2ft.  the  other  5ft.  below  the  surface.  It  would  be  interesting  if 
we  could  be  sure  that  these  are  ancient  Maui-Maori  weapons, 
although  I  suppose  there  can  be  little  doubt  about  it,  for  they  differ 
entirely  from  any  weapon  used  by  the  New  Zealanders  when 
Europeans  first  came  amongst  them.  A  man  armed  with  a  taiaha  or 
tewhatewha  would  have  but  little  difficulty  in  coping  with  the  bearer 
of  one  of  these  swords — notwithstanding  they  are  good  weapons  of 
their  kind.  One  is  a  heavy  cutting  sword;  the  pitch  of  the  handle 
bespeaks  a  circular  movement.  It  has  no  guard,  the  length  of  the 
handle  and  size  of  grasp  is  the  same  as  an  English  infantry  officer's 
sword  is,  or  used  to  be;  the  length  of  the  blade  is  lOin.  shorter. 
This  shows  that  the  hand  it  was  made  for  was  as  large  as  the  hand 
of  a  man  of  the  present  time.  The  other  sword,  also  without  a 
guard,  is  two-edged,  and  is  apparently  a  thrusting  sword.  The  idea 
of  the  stone  mere  seems  to  be  developed  from  this  ancient  form  of 
weapon.  The  swords  are  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Seddon,  junr.,  of 
Gorton,  Cambridge. 

10 


130  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

this,  at  any  rate,  is  what  is  said  of  one  of  his 
warlike  tribes,  Te  Bangihouhiri,  now  known  as 
Ngaeterangi,  who,  at  the  battle  of  Poporo- 
huamea,  defeated  the  combined  Hawaikian 
forces  of  Te  Arawa,  Takitumu,  and  Tainui,  and 
taking  Maketu  from  the  former,  advanced  to 
Tauranga,  which  place  they  wrested  from 
Ngatiranginui,  who  were  also  Hawaikian  by 
Takitumu  origin.  The  aboriginal  Maori  built 
pas  in  strong  positions,  having  ramparts  that 
were  often  extensive.  Sometimes  earthworks 
were  thrown  up  to  divide  the  pa  into  two  or 
more  sections,  which  would  seem  to  show  that 
while  the  hapus  combined  against  the  common 
enemy,  they  had  to  guard  against  each  other. 

There  is  nothing  to  show  that  the  aboriginal 
practised  cannibalism  or  that  he  offered  human 
sacrifices  in  war,  whereas  the  Hawaikian  Maori 
when  he  came  to  these  shores  did  both. 

The  aboriginal  Maori  believed  in  the  tradition 
of  a  Divine  Incarnation,  and  he,  of  course,  had 
faith  in  the  supernatural  power  of  such  a  Being. 
The  narrative  of  how  the  child  Oho  manifested 
his  Divine  origin,  when  they  met  to  do  for  him 
after  their  law  (some  authorities  call  the  rite 
baptism),*  is  simple  and  beautiful,  and  is 
pitched  upon  a  high  plane  of  thought,  compared 


*When  the  child  Oho  was  being  tuatia-ed,  and  prayer  that  he 
might  he  brave  and  strong  in  war,  and  strong  in  peace  to  cultivate 
the  ground  and  perform  the  many  functions  of  social  life  was  being 
made,  he  stretched  forth  his  hand  and  took  the  sacred  food  offered 
to  the  Deity  and  ate  it.  His  two  brothers  perceiving  the  fearful 
thing  called  their  father,  who,  when  he  saw  the  demeanour  and 
action  of  the  child  became  aware  that  he  was  of  Divine  origin,  and 
said  to  his  sons,  'The  child  is  not  one  of  us,  it  is  his  own  food  that 
he  is  eating.' 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  131 

with  which  the  mythological  idea  of  the  Hawai- 
kians,  who  stole  their  atuas  from  one  another 
and  carried  them  about  with  them,  are 
grovelling. 

A  feature  in  the  life  of  this  people  was  their 
partiality  for  bird  pets.  A  bird  that  could  talk 
well  was  prized  by  its  owners,  and  coveted  by 
the  neighbours,  and  this  to  such  an  extent  that 
chiefs  sometimes  quarrelled,  and  on  two 
occasions  on  the  East  Coast  resort  was  had  to 
war.  I  shall,  at  the  proper  time,  tell  of  one  of 
these  wars  and  its  unexpected  outcome,  for 
unless  I  do  I  am  afraid  that  the  origin  of  a 
tribe  of  aboriginal  extraction  now  flourishing 
will  be  lost;  the  survivors,  if  any,  who  know 
these  things  being  few  and  reticent. 

This  ancient  people  has  preserved  its  genea- 
logies with  care,  tracing  its  ancestors  back  more 
than  1,000  years.  Their  tree  contains  double 
the  number  of  generations  found  upon  the  tree 
of  a  Hawaikian  subsequent  to  the  immigration. 
It  is  an  interesting  field  of  enquiry  to  learn  what 
(beyond  the  art  of  cultivation)  the  immigrants 
taught  the  aborigines,  and  what  the  latter 
acquired  from  the  former  in  various  forms  of 
knowledge.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
manners,  customs,  religion,  polity  and  the  arts 
of  the  two  peoples  have  been  fused  by  time  and 
habit  into  the  civilisation  belonging  to  one 
nation  now;  the  process,  however,  has  left  its 
marks,  some  of  which  are  easily  seen.  Thus 
the  aboriginal  tribes  that  remain  intact  have 
almost  invariably  adopted  the  Hawaikian  prefix 


132  ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE 

to  their  names.  The  Hawaikian  gave  up  the  use 
of  tappa  clothing,  and  ceased  to  plant  the  aute 
tree  round  his  pa,  because  the  flax  garments  of 
the  country  suited  him  better,  they  could  be 
made  at  all  times,  whereas  the  tappa  cloth  was 
too  frequently  unobtainable  for  years  after  the 
invasion  of  a  hostile  army,  as  it  was  a  maxim  in 
war,  if  a  pa  could  not  be  taken,  to  destroy  the 
cultivations,  and  cut  down  the  aute  trees.  The 
aborigines  knew  nothing  about  ocean-going 
canoes  and  how  to  build  them,  until  they  were 
taught  by  men  from  Hawaiki.  Three  natives 
of  that  country  were  cast  upon  the  coast  one 
night,  their  companions  having  been  lost  with 
their  canoe.  The  people  of  Toi,  at  Whakatane, 
succoured  them,  and  they  in  turn  showed  how  to 
build  'Te  Aratawhao'  canoe,  which  sailed  to 
Hawaiki  to  fetch  kumara  and  taro.  This  was 
before  the  immigrants  came  from  Hawaiki. 

The  tribal  nomenclature  of  the  aborigines,  as 
far  as  is  known,  was  for  the  most  part  borrowed 
from  the  names  of  natural  objects,  not  excluding 
favourite  kinds  of  food.  It  differed  from  that 
used  by  the  people  from  Hawaiki  in  not  recog- 
nising by  a  prefix  the  descent  of  a  tribe  from  an 
ancestor.  They  had  before  their  tribal  name  no 
Ngati,  Ngae,  Aetanga,  Uri,  or  Whanau,  and 
where  the  Nga  appeared  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  susceptible  of  another  meaning.  Some  of 
these  names  were  very  beautiful  and  quite 
unique,  as  the  "Small  Leaved  Tawa  Tree,"  the 
"Waving  Fronds  of  the  Tree  Fern";  others 
were  descriptive  as  the  "Tribe  of  the  Rocks," 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  133 

the  "Go  As  You  Please"  or  "Travel  Easily"; 
and  other  names  were  such  as  the  '  *  Bed  Crab, ' ' 
the  "Creature  Couchant,"  the  "Curling 
Wave,"  the  "Thickly  Standing  Fern,"  and  so 
on. 

It  will  be  twenty  years  next  August  since 
I  first  drew  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the 
existence  of  this  interesting  race.  Speaking  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Philosophical  Society  at 
Wellington,  I  said  that  the  people  who  came 
to  this  country  in  the  canoes  found  the  land 
inhabited,  that  the  men  of  the  island  were 
hospitable  to  the  Hawaikians,  and  the  latter 
intermarried  with  the  former ;  but  when,  in  the 
course  of  some  two  hundred  years,  the 
immigrants  had  become  strong,  wars  ensued  in 
many  parts,  and  the  aborigines  were  often 
destroyed;  that  these  wars,  however,  were  not 
universal,  and  where  the  natives  had  lived  at 
peace  the  races  had  amalgamated.  A  report  of 
the  proceedings  was  published  in  the  local 
papers  at  the  time. 

I  will  now  give  the  names  of  the  tribes  and 
hapus  of  the  Maui  Maori  nation  that  have  been 
furnished  to  me  by  the  natives  themselves,  also 
the  districts  where  they  are,  or  where  they  lived 
formerly,  also  a  short  account  of  each  hapu  or 
tribe  in  so  far  as  I  am  able,  and  the  same  may 
have  sufficient  interest. 

Te  Tini  o  Taunu,  also  known  as  Ngaiwi, 
known  too  as  Te  Tini  o  Awa  (Awa  was  the 
human  brother  of  Oho  before  mentioned) — but 
not  to  be  confounded  with  Te  Tini  o  Awa,  a 


134  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

chief  of  Ngatipukenga — lived  in  the  Bay  of 
Plenty,  between  Eangitaiki  and  Tauranga. 
There  were  many  hapus  in  this  tribe;  namely, 
Waiohua,  Tipapa,  Haeremariri,  Baupungao- 
heohe,  Papakawhero  Tururu  Mauku,  Tawarau- 
ririki,  Earauhi,  Turuhunga,  Ngaru  Tauwhare- 
wharenga,  and  Purukupenga.  This  tribe,  or 
group  of  tribes,  fought  against  the  Arawa, 
or  some  of  them,  but  the  two  last-named  hapus 
are  not  mentioned  as  having  taken  part  in  the 
strife,  nor  do  I  know  what  became  of  them 
eventually. 

It  was  twelve  generations  ago  (say  360  years) 
that  that  war  took  place.  The  Waiohua  and 
Tipapa  were  incensed  at  the  encroachments  of 
Tapuika,  then  the  rangatira  hapu  of  the  Arawa, 
whose  chief  was  Marukukere;  battles  ensued, 
in  which  the  Tapuika  were  defeated,  although 
assisted  by  Waitaha  a  Hei,  another  hapu  of  the 
Arawa,  who  lived  on  the  eastern  shores  of 
Tauranga.  Many  chiefs,  including  Marukukere, 
were  slain,  and  the  Arawa  were  in  such  straits 
that  they  sought  aid  from  their  compatriots  at 
Taupo.  Mokotangatatahi  led  the  army  that 
-came  to  their  assistance  from  Wharepuhunga  at 
Titiraupenga.  He  was  an  energetic  young 
chief,  and  nephew  to  Marukukere.  The 
struggle,  however,  was  protracted,  and  the  issue 
doubtful,  when  Moko  consulted  Kaiongonga,  a 
noted  priest,  who,  to  attain  his  ends,  demanded 
a  human  sacrifice,  who  must  be  a  man  of  rank. 
The  demand  was  complied  with,  and  Tanga- 
rengare,  a  senior  relative  of  Moko,  was  given 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  135 

up  for  the  public  good.  The  courage  of  the 
victim  acted  as  an  incentive  to  the  people,  and 
stimulated  them  so  that  they  vanquished  their 
enemies  at  Punakauia;  then  Te  Tini  fled,  and 
became  scattered,  and  were  destroyed  in  detail, 
but  some  remnants  of  Te  Waiohua  and  other 
hapus  of  Ngaiwi  escaped  to  Waikato,  where 
they  had  friends,  and  from  there  they  went  to 
Tarnaki  and  Waitakere,  and  occupied  the 
district  now  called  Auckland.  This  happened 
about  150  years  before  the  chief  Hua,  of  Te 
Waiohua,  flourished  at  One  Tree  Hill  pa,  near 
Onehunga,  and  the  supposition  is  erroneous 
that  the  Waiohua  are  named  after  him.  The 
natives  who  furnished  the  evidence  to  the 
Native  Land  Court  upon  which  that  opinion  was 
based  were  either  ignorant  of  the  history  and 
origin  of  Te  Waiohua,  which  is  not  improbable 
considering  it  is  usually  the  victor,  not  the 
vanquished,  who  cherishes  the  tradition  of  war 
and  destruction ;  to  the  one  it  is  a  glory,  to  the 
other  a  shame;  or  they  suppressed  the  infor- 
mation as  unnecessary  to  their  case.  This  prac- 
tice is  not  at  all  uncommon,  and  sometimes  all 
the  parties  to  a  suit  will  agree  to  avoid  fees  and 
shorten  labour  by  eliminating  a  few  chapters  of 
history  considered  by  them  to  have  little  or  no 
bearing  on  the  points  at  issue. 

It  is  said  that  some  of  the  Ngaiwi  travelled  as 
far  as  the  Bay  of  Islands,  which  is  quite  likely, 
as  the  tribe  of  Ngatirahiri  lived  in  the  North 
then,  who  were  of  Awa  origin,  and  would 
naturally  be  disposed  to  be  friendly  towards 


136  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

them.  Here  let  me  explain  who  the  Ngatirahiri 
were.  Shortly  after  the  arrival  of  Mataatua  at 
Whakatane,  Eahiri,  a  leading  man  amongst  the 
immigrants,  made  a  plantation  on  the  hillside, 
overhanging  the  mouth  of  the  river.  When  he 
had  planted  there  awhile  his  two  young 
brothers  quarrelled  with  him,  and  forcibly 
ejecting  him  from  the  cultivation,  took 
possession  of  it  themselves.  Eahiri,  unable  to 
brook  the  insult,  determined  to  leave  his  rela- 
tives, and  make  a  home  elsewhere.  He  had 
formed  a  friendly  connection  with  some  abor- 
igines of  the  Toi  tribe  (of  Awa  descent,  though 
not  of  Te  Tini  o  Awa),  by  whom  he  was  advised 
to  go  to  Hokianga,  or  the  Bay  of  Islands. 
Accompanied  by  certain  of  these  aborigines  he 
went  and  founded  a  tribe  in  the  North  that 
bears  his  name  to  this  day,  and  is  really  a  cross 
of  Awa  blood  aboriginal  and  imported.  It  is 
supposed  that  aboriginal  Awa  were  living  in 
the  North  prior  to  the  movements  of  Bahiri  and 
his  party,  and  that  it  was  the  knowledge  of  this 
that  influenced  them  in  the  choice  of  their  new 
home. 

The  Tapuika-Ngaiwi  war  conferred  an  unwel- 
come legacy  upon  the  victors  in  the  form  of  an 
undying  feud  between  Tapuika  and  Ngatimoko 
about  the  division  of  the  land  they  had 
conquered.  The  former  thought  the  latter 
grasped  the  fruits  of  victory  too  much,  the 
latter  considered  the  former  unreasonable,  and 
refused  to  give  way.  The  ill-feeling  has  been 
handed  down  through  three  centuries  of  time  to 


ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE  137 

the  present  generation.  We  shall  see  by-and- 
by  that  another  Hawaikian  tribe  managed  to 
avoid  this  difficulty  by  the  expedient  of  dividing 
the  lands  of  the  aborigines  amongst  themselves 
before  conquest. 

Ngatiawa  is  the  tribal  name  of  the  immigrants 
who  came  to  New  Zealand  in  Mataatua  canoe. 
The  name  Awa  is,  however,  aboriginal  as  well 
as  Hawaikian,  and  was  acquired  in  time  past  by 
the  former  through  Awanui  a  Rangi,  a 
younger  branch  of  Toi  family.  The  Ngatiawa 
(immigrant  race)  had  no  wars  with  the 
aboriginal  Awa  (Toi)  east  of  Whakatane  as 
far  as  inland  Motu;  but  to  the  southward  and 
westward  it  was  different.  On  those  sides  they 
displaced  the  aboriginal  element,  when  they 
had  become  strong  enough  to  do  so.  This  is 
how  the  Ngaiwi  in  course  of  time  were  thrust 
up  against  Tapuika  and  compelled  to  fight  that 
tribe;  how  the  whole  of  the  Uriwera  district 
was  over-run  and  occupied  by  Ngaetuhoe,  a 
tribe  of  Ngatiawa. 

Another  tribe  who  appear  to  have  been 
aboriginal  was  Ngamarama.  They  lived 
originally  at  Matamata*  and  other  places  in 
the  Upper  Thames  Valley,  whence  they  moved 

*The  present  European  Matamata  and  Railway  Station  of  that 
name  are  several  miles  away  from  the  true  Matamata,  which  ig  at 
the  European  settlement  now  called  Waharoa.  The  Matamata  pa,  a 
large  one,  stood  beside  the  river,  and  was  some  little  distance 
westward  and  northward  from  the  C.M.S.  Mission  Station,  which 
my  father  helped  to  found  in  1835.  The  Mission  Station  was  a  little 
to  the  southward  of  where  the  Waharoa  Railway  Station  now  stands. 
The  line  seems  to  run  through  the  site  of  the  old  station.  Waharoa 
is  a  new  name  for  that  land,  probably  borrowed  from  the  chief 
of  that  name,  whose  story  I  published  in  1866,  and  given  by  Euro- 
peans who  appropriated  the  historical  name  of  Matamata  for  their 
own  settlement  many  miles  off. 


138  ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE 

to  Tauranga,  and  occupied  the  central  and 
western  portions  of  that  district.  They  were  a 
numerous  people  at  the  time  the  canoes  came 
from  Hawaiki;  too  numerous,  and  uninviting, 
probably,  for  the  immigrants  by  Takitumu  to 
remain  when  they  visited  Te  Awanui,  the  name 
Tauranga  Harbour  was  known  by  then,  on  their 
way  to  the  South.  One  or  two  of  the  crew, 
however,  did  leave  the  canoe  and  settle  amongst 
the  Ngamarama,  thus  a  link  was  formed 
between  the  descendants  of  those  immigrants  in 
the  South  and  Ngamarama,  that  resulted  in  the 
conquest  of  Ngamarama  and  the  taking  of  Tau- 
ranga by  Ngatiranginui  several  generations 
afterwards.  There  is  a  remnant  of  Ngamarama 
still  living  at  Te  Irihanga  at  Tauranga;  it  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Ngatirangi,  and  is  not  to 
be  confused  with  Ngaeterangi,  who  destroyed 
Ngatiranginui,  and  are  dominant  now  at  Tau- 
ranga. 

In  respect  to  Tua  Rotorua  tribe,  who  lived  at 
Eotorua,  tradition  is  conflicting,  but  the  balance 
of  evidence  is,  I  think,  in  favour  of  their 
aboriginal  extraction;  it  is  not  so  much  a 
question  of  whether  the  chief  of  that  people  had 
Arawa  (immigrant)  blood  in  his  veins,  a  thing 
"by  no  means  improbable,  considering  his 
reputed  grandparent  had  travelled  that  way  to 
Wanganui,  as  it  is  a  question  whether  the 
Arawa  or  any  of  them  would  have  waged 
without  cause  a  war  of  extermination  against 
a  branch  of  their  own  tribe ;  judging  from  their 
history,  we  may  say  unhesitatingly  that  even 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  139 

with  a  casus  belli  such  a  thing  would  not  have 
been  thought  of,  and  an  utu  account  properly 
balanced  would  have  been  considered  sufficient 
to  serve  all  purposes  of  revenge,  especially  if 
supplemented  with  the  acquisition  of  a  little 
land.  But  in  the  war  of  the  Arawa  against 
Tua  Rotorua  if  they  did  not  succeed  in  annihi- 
lating the  latter  it  was  not  for  want  of  trying. 
The  remnant  of  this  aboriginal  tribe  is  the  Nga- 
titura  now  living  where  the  Oxford  Road 
emerges  from  the  forest  on  the  side  towards 
Eotorua;  the  trackless,  waterless  forest  has 
been  their  friend,  and  to  it  they  owe  their 
existence.  Here  let  me  instance  the  different 
degrees  of  animus  that  characterised  ancient 
Maori  warfare  as  between  immigrant  tribes 
and  aboriginal,  and  as  between  the  immigrants 
themselves.  Take  the  aboriginal  group  of 
tribes  known  as  Te  Tini  o  Taunu  or  Ngaiwi,  of 
whom  the  Waiohua  were  a  part.  Such  of 
these  tribes  as  escaped  annihilation  were  driven 
completely  out  of  their  native  district — first  by 
Mataatua  and  then  by  Arawa  immigrants.  The 
refugees  of  Tuarotorua  only  saved  themselves 
by  sheltering  in  Patetere  Forest,  as  did  Nga- 
marama  when  driven  out  of  Tauranga  by 
Ngatiranginui,  an  immigrant  tribe  from  Han- 
garoa  River,  south  of  Tauranga,  whose  fore- 
fathers had  come  to  New  Zealand  in  Takitumu 
canoe.  And  yet  again  we  find  tribes  of  these 
races  fighting  to  the  death  when  Te  Rangihou- 
hiri  drove  out  Tapuika  and  took  and  settled 
Maketu,  nor  were  the  efforts  of  all  Hawaikians 


140  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

far  and  near  sufficient  to  dislodge  them.  Tema- 
tera  from  Hauraki,  Whakaue  from  Botorua, 
and  Waitaha  a  Hei  and  Banginui  from 
Tauranga,  were  all  driven  off  and  defeated 
when  they  attempted  to  aid  the  Tapuika.  Here 
we  have  an  instance  of  tribes  of  Hawaikians, 
of  Arawa,  Tainui,  and  Takitumu  origin 
combining  against  the  aboriginal  people,  and 
combining  unsuccessfully.  Then  in  a  little 
while,  that  is  to  say,  within  the  same  generation, 
Te  Eangihouhiri  advanced  from  Maketu  to 
Tauranga,  and  well-nigh  exterminated  Waitaha 
a  Hei  and  Ngatiranginui.  The  survivors  of 
the  former  escaped  to  the  Arawa  at  the  lakes, 
and  a  small  remnant  of  the  latter  found  a 
refuge  in  the  same  forest  they  had  driven  the 
poor  remains  of  the  Ngamarama  to;  thus 
history  repeated  herself  with  a  vengeance,  and 
the  two  remnants  live  almost  side  by  side  at  the 
present  time.  The  name  of  the  Ngamarama 
remnant  has  already  been  given  as  Ngatirangi. 
The  name  of  Ngatiranginui  remnant  is  Te 
Piriakau  (Stick  in  the  Bush),  which  shows 
pretty  plainly  how  closely  they  hid  themselves 
from  the  conquering  Ngaeterangi,  who  had 
taken  possession  of  Tauranga. 

Now  the  intertribal  struggles  of  the 
Hawaikians  cannot  be  compared  with  these 
wars  "a  mort."  Take  the  lake  district.  The 
wars  between  the  east  and  west  ends  of  Botoiti, 
between  the  north  and  south  ends  of  Botorua, 
the  feud  between  Moko  and  Tapuika,  the 
differences  between  the  legitimate  and  bastard 


The  Downy  Eata  (Metrosideros  tomentosa). 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  141 

branches  of  the  people  on  the  east  side,  and 
anything  that  may  have  occurred  on  the  west, 
have  none  of  them  resulted  in  anything  more 
than  a  little  killing  and  eating  from  time  to 
time,  and  then  mending  matters  by  a  peace- 
making. Only  at  the  south  end  of  Eotorua, 
in  a  struggle  between  the  people  occupying  two 
lakes,  do  we  find  that  some  land  has  changed 
hands,  of  which  the  area  is  small  compared 
with  the  rest  of  the  landed  estate  of  the  losers, 
nor  in  this  war  was  there  any  apparent  intention 
on  either  side  to  proceed  to  extremities. 

Leaving  the  Arawa,  whose  name  in  ancient 
times,  I  ought  to  say,  was  Nga  oho  Matakamo- 
kamo,  and  whose  motto  was  "Oho  tapu  nui  te 
Arawa,"  let  us  turn  to  the  Ngatiawa,  of 
Mataatua  canoe.  There  is  a  civil  war  in  the 
ancient  history  of  this  people.  Te  Kareke,  a 
flourishing  tribe  descended  from  Uemua,  of 
Mataatua,  were  driven  away  from  Te  Poroa,  in 
the  Upper  Whakatane  Valley,  by  Ngaetonu, 
now  called  Ngatipukeko.  They  fled  eastward, 
where  many  became  absorbed  amongst  the 
aboriginal  Whakatohea.  Estimated  by  its 
results,  this  may  be  considered  an  exceptionally 
severe  case  of  civil  war  amongst  the  Hawai- 
kians.  The  same  Ngaetonu  drove  the  aboriginal 
Irawharo  away  to  the  westward;  this  war 
lasted  a  long  time,  and  there  were  many  cam- 
paigns in  it.  Eventually  the  Irawharo  found 
shelter  with  their  compatriots,  the  Bangihou- 
hiri,  at  Tauranga,  where  their  little  remnant 
still  exists.  Here  I  would  note  that  while 


142  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

including  the  Irawharo  amongst  the  aborigines, 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  they  were  not  also  of 
Hawaikian  origin.  It  would  be  quite  impossible 
now  to  draw  a  hard  and  fast  line  and  say,  here 
is  where  the  blood  of  the  old  race  ends,  and 
there  is  where  the  new  blood  begins,  especially 
eastward  of  Whakatane,  where  the  two  are 
very  intermixed,  and  it  should  be  known  that 
Ngatirawharo  came  from  Ohiwa,  which  was 
their  birthplace  as  a  tribe;  but  the  difficulty 
attending  a  line  of  demarcation  does  not  inter- 
fere with  the  general  grouping  of  the  tribes 
according  to  race,  and  according  to  position, 
surroundings,  and  sides  taken  where  relation- 
ships were  mingled. 

I  might  continue  to  compare  the  bitter 
character  of  the  war  of  race  on  the  one  hand 
with  the  milder  form  of  domestic  strife  on  the 
other,  and  explain  exceptional  cases  by  the 
circumstances  preceding  them ;  but  it  is  hardly 
worth  while  to  do  so,  seeing  that  each  war  will 
be  presented  at  the  proper  time,  when  the 
reader  can  judge  for  himself  whether  the 
remarks  offered  and  examples  given  should 
have  a  wider  application;  for  myself,  I  think 
it  can  be  shown  by  analysis  of  the  cause  and 
circumstances  of  each  war,  that  the  rule  applies 
to  the  greater  portion,  if  not  the  whole,  of  Te 
Ika  a  Maui  Island. 

I  will  now  return  from  this  disquisition  to 
the  description  of  the  Maui  Maori  tribes.  There 
was  a  great  tribe  known  by  the  name  of  Toi, 
who,  before  the  canoes  came  from  Hawaiki,  and 


ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE  143 

at  that  time  occupied  a  large  part  of  Te  Ika  a 
Maui,  extending  from  Whakatane  eastwards. 
I  might  mention  Toi  in  a  general  way  as  an 
ancestor  over  a  very  wide  country;  but  it  is 
not  in  that  sense  that  I  use  the  name  now.  I 
refer  instead  to  the  tribe  of  Toi  proper,  whose 
country  extended  from  Whakatane  to  inland 
Motu.  I  would,  however,  observe  first  that 
though  we  have  a  Hawaikian  Awa  and  an 
aboriginal  Awa,  also  Hawaikian  and  aboriginal 
Oho  tribes,  we  have  no  Hawaikian  Toi  tribe  in 
New  Zealand,  only  the  aboriginal  Toi  is  to  be 
found  in  Te  Ika  a  Maui ;  and  yet  in  the  genea- 
logies of  each  nation  the  names  of  these  three 
ancestors  are  found  standing  in  the  closest 
relationship  at  a  time  long  before  the  passage 
of  the  canoes.  The  Maui  Toi  lived  nearly  200 
years,  and  the  Hawaiki  Toi  400  years  before 
the  migration.  I  cannot  tell  how  it  is  that  these 
important  names  are  common  to  the  two  nations. 
It  might  be  asked  how  was  their  language  the 
same?  and  how  did  it  happen  that  they  were 
of  similar  appearance?  If  we  could  answer 
these  questions  we  should  have  the  key  to  much 
besides. 

A  principal  pa  of  Toi  was  Kapu,  situated  on 
the  highest  point  of  the  Whakatane  hills,  as 
seen  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Hokianga 
at  Ohiwa,  was  a  fishing  station.  Tawhitirahi, 
overlooking  Kukumoa  stream,  was  a  very 
strong  pa;  another  of  their  places  was  Kohi- 
paua,  east  of  the  Otara  River,  and  they  had  a 
settlement  at  Te  Botonuiawai  at  inland  Motu, 


144  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

and  doubtless  they  had  kaingas  and  pas  at 
intermediate  places.  As  already  stated,  this 
people  were  of  the  aboriginal  Awa  stock. 

The  head  man  at  Motu  at  a  certain  time  was 
Tauwharangi.     He  lived  at  Te  Rotonui  awai, 
near  Whakapaupakihi  Eiver.     It  happened  that 
a  strange  man  came  to  his  kainga  one  day,  who 
said  that  his  name  was  Tarawa,  and  that  he  was 
a  god.     When  asked  how  he  claimed  to  be  a  god, 
he  said  that  he  had  swum  across  the  ocean  to 
this  country,  and  that  no  one  unpossessed  of 
supernatural  power  could  do  that  thing.     Then 
he    remained    at    the    kainga,    and    married* 
Manawakaitu,  the  daughter  of  Tauwharangi,  by 
whom  he  had  two  children.     But  Tauwharangi 
failed  to  discern  any  Divine  attributes  in  his 
son-in-law,  and  sceptically  awaited  an  oppor- 
tunity to  prove  his  power  by  ocular  demon- 
stration.   At  length  a  chance  occurred,  and  one 
night   Tarawa  was   awakened  from   sleep   by 
water  coming  into  his  bed.     He  arose  to  find 
a  flood  had  suddenly  covered  the  land,  and  that 
all  had  fled.     His  retreat  was  cut  off,  and  he 
had  to  climb  to  the  top  of  his  house  and  call  for 
help  to  the  others  who,  knowing  the  local  signs, 
had  avoided  the  danger,  and  by  their  chief's 
order,  had  left  him  unwarned.     He  was  told  to 
save  himself.     He  said  he  could  not  perform 
an   impossibility.     "Oh!    but  you   can   easily 
save  yourself  by  your  Divine  power. ' '    It  then 
came  out  that  he  was  not  a  god  at  all,  and  that 
they  must  send  a  canoe  and  save  him,  which  they 
did.    Old  Tauwharangi  was  so  disgusted  that 


ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE  145 

he  thrust  Tarawa  out  of  the  kainga,  and  told 
his  daughter  that  if  she  went  with  him  she  must 
leave  the  children.  She  departed  with  her 
husband,  and  they  settled  a  few  miles  away  at 
Te  Wharekiri,  on  Motohora  Mountain,  over- 
looking the  valley  of  Motu.  Here  they  lived 
and  died,  and  here  they  left  a  family  that  has 
now  expanded  into  the  important  hapu  of 
Ngaitama,  of  the  Whakatohea  tribe.  This  hapu 
is  therefore  of  mixed  aboriginal  and  immigrant 
blood,  for  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  Tarawa  left 
one  of  the  canoes  during  its  passage  along  the 
coast,  as  Taritoringo  left  Tainui  at  Hawai  and 
found  his  way  to  inland  Motu,  and  like  the 
woman  Torere,  who  swam  ashore  from  Tainui 
at  night  as  the  canoe  was  passing  Taumata- 
Apanui  point ;  also  like  some  of  the  passengers 
by  Takitumu,  who  left  her  en  route,  and  whose 
blood  now  flows  in  the  veins  of  some  of  the 
principal  chiefs  inland  of  Ohiwa,  and  from 
whom  the  Ngatira  hapu  of  the  Whakatohea  are 
partially  descended. 

From  Tauwharangi 's  two  grandchildren, 
whom  their  parents  had  left  with  him  when  they 
went  to  Motohora,  and  from  others  no  doubt 
of  his  hapu  or  family,  sprang  the  Ngatingahere, 
another  hapu  of  the  Whakatohea,  and  in  after 
times  Ngatipatu,  another  hapu  branched  from 
the  Ngatingahere. 

Again,  when  Mataatua  arrived  at  Whakatane 
with  Ngatiawa  immigrants  from  Hawaiki, 
Muriwai,  the  old  woman  who  headed  the  party, 
had  a  son  named  Eepanga.  From  the  top  of 

ti 


146  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

Whakatane  range  this  man  descried  the  smoke 
of  the  aborigines  at  Kohipawa.  He  returned 
to  his  mother,  told  her  what  he  had  seen,  and 
obtained  permission  to  visit  the  people. 
Arrived  at  Kohipawa,  he  was  hospitably 
received  by  Eangimii  te  Kohu,  the  chief  of  that 
place,  whose  daughter,  Ngapupereta,  he 
married.  From  this  source  at  Kohipawa 
sprang  Ngatirua,  another  hapu  of  the  Whaka- 
tohea,  being  the  fifth  and  last  hapu  of  the 
great  tribe  of  the  Whakatohea,  all  of  which  are 
of  mixed  extraction,  three  being  tinged  with 
Tainui  strain,  one  with  Ngatiawa,  and  one  with 
a  Takitumu  connection. 

We  have  seen  that  Torere  left  Tainui  at 
Taumata  Apanui — this  she  did  to  avoid  the 
addresses  of  Rakataura,  one  of  the  crew. 
Arrived  on  shore,  she  concealed  herself  in  the 
bush  in  a  valley,  the  stream  in  which  bears  her 
name  still.  The  next  morning  when  her  flight 
was  discovered,  Rakataura  landed,  and 
returning  along  the  shore  passed  Torere  and 
Taumata  Apanui  searching  in  vain  for  the 
woman.  Then  he  gave  it  up,  and  turned  and 
followed  his  companions  by  land,  whom  he  at 
length  rejoined  at  Kawhia.  Torere  joined 
affinity  with  the  aborigines  in  that  locality,  and 
Ngaitai,  a  tribe  that  takes  its  name  from  her 
canoe,  represents  the  union  then  formed;  and 
this  tribe  is  acknowledged  by  Tainui  authority 
to  be  one  that  belongs  to  their  own  connection. 

An  interesting  illustration  of  practical 
tradition  is  furnished  in  connection  with  this 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  147 

Ngaitai  tribe.  Although  the  tribe  has  a  very 
ancient  genealogical  record  extending  some 
twelve  generations  back  beyond  the  immigration 
from  Hawaiki,  and  believed  itself  to  be 
thoroughly  rangatira,  yet  it  was  unable  satis- 
factorily to  define  its  origin.  The  question  was 
raised  to  their  humiliation  during  a  boundary 
dispute  by  the  Whakatohea  in  1844,  when  Eangi- 
matanuku,  chief  of  Ngatirua,  speaking  of  the 
land  in  question  and  its  ownership,  said  to  Eru, 
the  chief  of  Ngaitai,  at  a  great  meeting  at  Opape 
(that  was  convened  by  my  father  in  the  hope  to 
settle  the  dispute  without  bloodshed),  "Who 
are  you?  I  know  the  chiefs  of  Ngatiawa,  and 
Te  Uriwera,  the  canoe  they  came  in,  and  how 
they  obtained  their  possessions.  I  know  Te 
Whanau  Apanui,  who  they  are,  and  how  they 
occupy.  Also  I  know  whom  we,  the  Whakatohea 
are ;  but  I  do  not  know  who  you  are.  Tell  me 
the  name  of  your  canoe?" 

Challenged  thus,  Eru  was  compelled  to  say 
something  in  self-defence,  and  replied,  "We 
came  in  your  canoe. ' ' 

"Oh!"  said  Eangimatanuku,  "  you  came  in 
my  canoe,  did  you?  I  did  not  see  you  there, 
I  know  all  who  came  in  my  canoe ;  all  who  came 
in  the  bow,  and  all  in  the  stern.  If  you  were 
on  board  you  must  have  been  somewhere  out  of 
sight,  down  in  the  bilge,  I  suppose,  bailing  out 
water. ' ' 

Eangimatanuku  was  a  chief  of  note,  and  was 
no  doubt  very  well  informed  in  Maori  lore,  and 
if  so,  his  speech  betrays  the  pride  the  Maori  of 


148  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

his  time  had  in  Hawaikian  descent,  which  is 
suggestive  of  a  superiority  of  the  immigrant, 
not  only  in  his  possession  of  seed  and  the  art  of 
cultivation,  but  as  having  personal  qualities 
such  as  tact  and  address,  skill  at  sea,  and  a 
knowledge  of  war  on  shore.  As  a  rule, 
Hawaikian  blood  has  been  more  thought  of,  and 
this  has  led  many  natives  and  many  tribes 
unconsciously  astray  in  figuring  to  themselves 
their  ancient  history.  A  fact  cannot  be  ignored 
for  generations  with  impunity,  sooner  or  later 
it  will  become  diminished  in  men's  minds,  or  lost 
sight  of  altogether.  Not  that  I  have  ever  found 
a  native  ashamed  of  an  aboriginal  connection; 
far  from  it,  but  his  other  side  seems  always  to 
be  more  present  to  him,  more  engrained,  so  to 
speak,  in  his  being  and  memory. 

Only  once  have  I  heard  a  Maui  Maori  speak 
in  public  with  great  and  real  pride  of  his 
unique  and  ancient  descent.  That  was  when 
the  chief  of  Uepohatu  or  Iwi  Pohatu  a  Maui  put 
the  land  of  his  tribe  at  Hikurangi  Mountain, 
Waiapu,  through  the  native  Land  Court  of  New 
Zealand,  and  obtained  a  legal  title  to  it.  On 
that  occasion  the  chief  (Wi  Tahata)  said  that 
he  was  descended  from  Maui,  from  whom  he 
claimed.  He  gave  his  genealogy  38  generations 
from  Maui.  He  spoke  of  the  Hawaikians  as 
having  come  to  their  island  in  canoes  from 
across  the  sea  in  an  age  long  after  the  time 
that  they,  the  Maori  nation  had  peopled  it.  He 
showed  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  that 
belonged  to  his  section  of  the  Maori  nation 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  149 

before  the  Hawaikians  came,  and  the  inroads 
that  had  since  been  made  upon  them,  and  he 
asked  me  as  Judge  of  the  Court,  to  accompany 
him  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  there  to  view 
his  ancestors'  canoe  in  its  rocky  form,  a 
proceeding,  however,  which  to  the  Court  seemed 
unnecessary. 

It  was  reserved  for  me  to  tell  the  Ngaitai  the 
name  of  the  canoe  they  are  connected  with,  and 
I  got  my  information  from  first-class  Tainui 
authority  in  the  Tainui  country. 

Beyond  Taumata  Apanui,  at  Hawai,  lived  the 
aboriginal  tribe  Te  Manu  Koau,  who  were 
conquered  and  scattered  by  Te  Whanau  Apanui, 
which  is  a  tribe  of  mixed  origin,  being  partly  of 
Ngatiawa  and  partly  Pororangi  blood  (i.e.,  of 
Mataatua  and  Takitumu),  but  all  of  Hawaikian 
extraction.  This  tribe  now  lives  on  the  land 
thus  taken.  As  for  the  remnant  of  Te  Manu 
Koau  it  fled  through  the  mountains,  and  came 
to  Raukumara  Mountain,  in  Hick's  Bay  district. 
Here  the  refugees  were  discovered  by  the  tribe 
of  Tuwhakairiora,  who  killed  and  ate  a  number 
of  them,  but  when  Tu  te  Eangiwhiu  became 
aware  of  what  was  taking  place  he  interposed, 
and  rescued  them  and  made  slaves  of  them, 
setting  them  to  work  to  catch  the  birds  of  that 
mountain.  Tu  te  Eangiwhiu  was  the  chief  of 
the  Tuwhakairiora  tribe  at  that  time,  now  some 
three  hundred  years  ago.  Those  slaves  have 
been  working  there  ever  since.  I  have  seen 
them  myself,  and  was  much  impressed  with 
their  timid,  deprecating,  cringing  air,  and 


150  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

exceedingly    rough    exterior.      The   man    who 
placed  them  in  bondage  was  a  Hawaikian. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  Iwi  Pohatu  a  Maui,  or 
Uepohatu,  as  they  now  call  themselves,  to  whom 
I  have  just  referred.  They  live  at  Tuparoa, 
also  they  reside  at  the  foot  of  Hikurangi,  their 
antipodean  Ararat,  whose  summit  is  shrouded 
in  snow  in  winter,  and  they  have  land  at  Rau- 
kumara.  Formerly  their  landed  possessions 
were  continuous  between  these  points,  and  their 
sea  frontage  extended  from  Tuparoa  to  Waiapu 
Eiver.  This  was  a  domain  perhaps  40  miles 
long  and  15  wide.  However,  Ngatiporou  (who 
are  Hawaikians  of  Takitumu),  one  way  or 
other,  have  now  got  the  greater  part  of  it ;  but 
the  tribe  has  always  been  free,  is  now  intact, 
and  holds  the  residue  of  its  lands  in  indepen- 
dence, and  is,  moreover,  recognised  by  the 
surrounding  tribes  of  Hawaikian  extraction  as 
being  aboriginal  and  of  Maui  descent. 

Adjoining  Uepohatu  country  to  the  west,  was 
a  group  of  five  aboriginal  tribes.  Their  habitat 
extended  from  Waiapu  to  Potikirua,  near  Cape 
Runaway. 

These  were  the  Ngaoko  at  Horoera  Hekawa, 
and  Kawakawa. 

The  Euawaipu  at  Pukeamaru  and  Whare- 
kahika  (Hick's  Bay). 

And  the  three  hapus  of  Parariki,  viz.,Parariki 
proper,  Ngaituiti,  and  Ngaitumoana.  The 
prefixes  to  the  two  latter  names  are  probably 
of  Hawaikian  origin. 

These  three  hapus  occupied  the  country 
between  Wharekahika  and  Potikirua,  Ngaituiti 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  151 

being  at  the  Wharekahika  end  of  the  district, 
and  Ngaitumoana  at  the  Potikirua,  or  western 
end. 

Eather  more  than  four  hundred  years  ago, 
Ngaoko  for  some  reason  attacked  Ruawaipu 
and  destroyed  them.  But  a  young  chieftainess 
named  Tamateaupoko  escaped  to  Whangara, 
where  she  married  Uekaihau,  of  Pororangi 
tribe,  a  chief  amongst  the  immigrants,  and  a 
descendant  of  Paikea,  the  captain  who  brought 
Takitumu  from  Hawaiki  to  Whangara,  near 
Gisborne,  about  six  hundred  years  ago. 

In  due  time  three  sons,  Uetaha,  Tamakoro, 
and  Tahania,  the  issue  of  this  marriage,  grew 
up,  and  determined  to  avenge  the  death  of  their 
grandfather  and  the  overthrow  of  his  tribe. 
They  organised  a  strong  force  of  the  people  of 
Takitumu  canoe,  thereafter  known  as 
Ngaituere,  and  set  out  by  land  along  the  coast. 
At  Paengatoetoe  the  Aetangahauiti  endea- 
voured to  stop  their  way,  but  were  defeated  in 
pitched  battle;  again,  at  Tawhiti,  Te  Wahineiti 
attempted  to  bar  their  progress,  and  were  also 
defeated.  For  the  rest  of  their  march  they 
were  unopposed  until  they  encountered  the 
offending  Ngaoko,  whom  they  vanquished  in  a 
series  of  engagements  and  sieges  rather  more 
than  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago. 
Ngaoko  were  scattered  and  killed,  their 
remnant  reduced  to  captivity,  and  their  lands 
were  appropriated  by  Ngaituere,  who  remained 
in  undisputed  possession  until  Tuwhakairiora 
and  his  followers  appeared  upon  the  scene  some 
sixty  years  afterwards.  At  this  time,  therefore 


152  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

(about  1530  A.D.),  the  Hawaikian  people  held 
the  country  from  the  mouth  of  the  Waiapu 
River  to  Wharekaihika,  and  the  aborigines  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  latter  place  to  Potikirua. 

When  Tuwhakairiora,  who  was  a  young  chief 
descended  from  Pororangi,  of  Hawaikian 
extraction,  appeared,  things  became  changed; 
not  only  did  he  subjugate  Ngaituere  who  had 
attacked  him  wantonly,  but  the  three  hapus  of 
Parariki  that  had  maintained  their  independence 
hitherto,  were  disturbed  by  him.  Parariki 
proper  and  Ngaetumoana  were  driven  from 
their  holdings  westward  to  Whangaparaoa,  and 
the  third,  Ngaituiti,  from  which  he  had  married 
a  wife,  Ruataupare,  was  reduced  to  a  condition 
dependent  upon  himself.  Of  this  extraordinary 
chief,  his  origin  and  education,  his  mission,  his 
wars  and  conquests,  his  revenge,  and  of  the 
tribe  bearing  his  name  that  now  occupies  the 
country  between  Te  Kautuku  and  Potikirua — 
that  is  to  say,  from  between  Waiapu  and  the 
East  Cape  to  between  Point  Lottin  and  Cape 
Runaway,  I  may  speak  more  particularly  later 
on  in  this  narrative. 

I  have  said  that  Tuwhakairiora  married 
Rautaupare;  the  manner  in  which  he  married 
this,  his  first  wife,  bespoke  the  dominant 
character  of  the  man.  Travelling  alone,  he 
arrived  for  the  first  time  on  the  shore  of  Whare- 
kahika  Bay,  and  there  he  saw  two  young  women 
in  the  water  collecting  shellfish.  Their  clothes 
were  on  the  beach.  He  sat  upon  them.  After 
waiting  long  in  the  water  for  the  stranger  to 


ANCIENT   MAOEI  LIFE 


continue  his  journey,  the  women,  who  were  cold 
and  ashamed,  came  in  from  the  sea  and  asked 
for  their  garments.  He  gave  them  up,  and  told 
the  young  women  to  take  him  to  their  parents  y 
kainga.  The  women  were  Euataupare  and 
Auahi  Koata,  her  sister.  On  the  way  to  the 
kainga,  he  told  Auahi  that  he  intended  to  take 
Euataupare  to  wife,  an  event  that  speedily  came 
to  pass.  He  was  aware  of  the  identity  of  the 
women  when  he  sat  on  their  clothes. 

That  marriage  did  not  turn  out  well.  Eua- 
taupare considered  herself  ill  used,  and  left  her 
husband.  She  went  to  her  relatives  at  Toko- 
maru  (she  was  half  Kahukurunui),  where  she 
lived  and  died.  She  conquered  that  district 
from  the  Wahineiti.  The  tribe  living  at 
Tokomaru  bear  her  name  to  this  day. 

We  read  in  the  journal  of  his  voyage  that 
it  was  here,  at  Tokomaru,  that  Cook  first  held 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  New  Zealanders. 
The  place  was,  to  say  the  least,  of  an  autoch- 
thonous atmosphere,  and  we  may  not 
unreasonably  assume  it  was  here  that  that 
great  navigator  received  an  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion that  must  have  been  uppermost  in  his  mind 
when  he  was  told  that  the  name  of  the  country 
he  had  come  to  was  Ehinomaui. 

Had  he  asked  the  same  question  at  a  purely 
immigrant  settlement  such  as  Maketu,  Mercury 
Bay,  or  the  Thames,  he  would  doubtless  have 
been  informed  that  the  name  was  Aotearoa  — 
Long  White  World.  And  why?  simply  because 
it  was  the  name  they  had  given  to  it  when  they 


154  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

arrived  off  the  coast  about  1290  A.D., — estim- 
ating a  generation  at  30  years —  and  having 
sailed  along  the  strange  shore  for  hundreds  of 
miles,  were  impressed  with  its  extent,  and  its 
white  appearance.  From  the  eastern  precipices 
of  the  Great  Barrier  and  Mercury  Islands,  to 
the  beaches  and  headlands  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty, 
and  from  Te  Mahia  to  past  the  East  Cape,  all 
the  coast  line  was  more  or  less  white  in  colour 
as  the  eastern  summer  sun  shone  upon  it.  The 
few  dark  rocks  only  brought  the  white  into 
relief,  and  increased  the  impression,  and  they 
were  partially  hidden,  too,  by  the  foliage  of  the 
pohutukawa  tree,  that  was  not  to  know  the 
white  man's  axe  for  several  hundred  years  to 
come.  Thus  history  in  her  unceasing  round 
repeated  her  recurrent  ways,  and  the  ancient 
Britain  of  the  South  became  another  Albion  to 
another  band  of  strangers  who  came  to  occupy 
her  soil. 

The  Whatumamoa  were  another  tribe  of 
aboriginal  Maoris.  They  lived  at  Hawke's 
Bay,  near  Napier;  one  of  their  principal  pas 
was  Te  Heipipi,  near  Petane,  and  they  had  a 
pa  near  Taradale,  and  other  pas.  This  tribe 
was  attacked  by  a  section  of  the  descendants  of 
the  immigrants  by  Takitumu  canoe,  who  came 
under  Teraia  from  Nukutaurua.  They  fought 
against  Te  Heipipi  pa,  but  they  were  unable  to 
take  it  on  account,  as  they  believed,  of  the 
autochthon  god  of  the  pa  being  superior  to  their 
own  god;  therefore  they  made  peace  with  Te 
Heipipi,  but  they  took  some  other  Whatumamoa 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  155 

pas,  and  eventually  the  residue  of  the  aborigines 
became  absorbed  in  the  Takitumu  people  now 
known  as  Ngaitikahungungu. 

A  tribe  of  aborigines  called  Te  Tauira  lived 
at  Wairoa,  Hawke's  Bay,  who  were  numerous 
and  had  many  pas.  Their  principal  pa  was  at 
Eakautihia.  They  were  attacked  by  a  section 
of  the  Takitumu  people,  who,  having  got  into 
trouble  at  home,  had  migrated  from  Turanga 
to  Waihau,  on  the  Hangaroa.  This  party  was 
led  by  Eakaipaka  and  Hinemanuhiri.  They 
lived  awhile  at  Waihau,  and  there  under  some 
provocation  made  war  on  Te  Tauira,  and  to 
prevent  quarrels  after  conquest  they  appor- 
tioned the  lands  of  Te  Tauira  amongst  them- 
selves before  the  war  commenced.  The  war 
resulted  in  the  complete  conquest  and  expa- 
triation of  the  Tauira  tribe,  whose  refugees 
fled  to  Hawke's  Bay  and  Wairarapa,  where 
some  hapus  of  their  tribe  lived.  The  only 
person  saved  by  Eakaipaka  was  a  woman  named 
Hinekura.  He  saved  her  because  he  had  an 
intrigue  with  her  before  the  trouble  began.  In 
this  war  it  was,  at  the  battle  of  Taupara,  that 
the  Tauira  tribe  was  crushed. 

Lastly,  a  large  tribe  of  Maui  Maoris,  named 
Te  Marangaranga,  inhabited  Te  "Whaiti 
country.  They  were  destroyed  by  the  descen- 
dants of  the  immigrants  of  Mataatua  canoe. 

I  have  now  covered  the  ground  from  the 
Upper  Thames  to  Hawke's  Bay,  inclusive,  by 
the  East  Coast,  and  far  back  into  the  interior 
to  the  middle  of  the  island  nearly;  excepting 


156  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

two  gaps  on  the  coast,  namely,  from  north  of  Te 
Mahia  to  south  of  Tuparoa  (Te  Tauira  occupied 
Te  Mahia),  and  from  Potikirua,  near  Cape 
Runaway,  to  Maraenui.  I  have  not  the  infor- 
mation in  respect  to  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
these  two  areas  necessary  to  enable  me  to 
state  with  precision  who  they  were  and  what 
became  of  them.  We  all  know,  however,  that 
(excepting  lands  alienated  to  Europeans)  the 
former  is  held  entirely  by  the  descendants  of 
Hawaikians,  that  is,  of  the  men  who  landed  at 
Whangara  from  Takitumu  with  Paikea,  their 
captain,  who  very  likely  fixed  on  that  locality 
because  he  saw  no  aborigines  there.  Into  the 
latter,  as  we  have  seen,  Ngaetumoana  and  Para- 
riki  proper  were  driven  by  Tuwhakairiora.  We 
also  know  that  Ngatiawa  are  living  in  that 
district  now  under  the  names  of  Ngaetawarere 
and  Whanau  Ihutu.  There  is,  therefore, 
perhaps,  to  some  extent,  an  admixture  of  the 
aboriginal  element  in  those  tribes.  I  am  not, 
however,  able  to  affirm  anything,  having  never 
travelled  in  their  country,  nor  had  opportunity 
to  inquire — and  in  covering  the  ground  named 
I  have  covered  the  whole  of  three  spheres  of 
influence — namely  of  the  three  canoes,  Taki- 
tumu, Mataatua,  and  Arawa,  in  so  far  as  the 
relations  of  the  immigrants  with  the  aborigines 
are  concerned.  This  qualification  is  necessary, 
because  I  am  not  now  treating  of  wars  that  took 
place  in  remote  parts  of  the  island  between  the 
outpost  colonies  of  the  various  canoes,  such  as 
the  war  between  Tainui  and  Arawa  people  at 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  157 

Taupo  four  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  latter 
ousted  the  former  from  the  south  and  east 
sides  of  the  lake,  or  the  wars  between  the 
people  of  Takitumu  and  Tainui  after  that  at 
Moawhango  and  the  Upper  Eangitikei  Elvers, 
when  the  latter  were  again  expelled.  These 
wars  amongst  the  descendants  of  the  immi- 
grants in  remote  parts  were  bitter  struggles 
for  territory ;  not  mere  tribal  strife  with  an  utu 
account,  and  they  usually  ended  in  one  side 
being  defeated  and  driven  off. 

The  same  thing  took  place  between  Ngatiawa 
of  Mataatua,  and  Ngatiporou  of  Takitumu; 
their  theatre  of  war  was  about  Te  Kaha,  where 
there  were  many  campaigns.  Te  Kaha  pa 
obtained  its  name  from  the  number  of  sieges  it 
withstood  in  that  war. 

In  determining  dates,  I  have  estimated  a 
generation  at  30  years'  duration,  which  period, 
all  circumstances  considered,  seems  pretty 
reasonable  as  a  chronological  standard.  Of 
course,  any  estimate  of  this  sort  is  necessarily 
arbitrary.  The  reader,  however,  can  reduce  it 
if  he  thinks  the  unit  too  large ;  at  the  same  time, 
it  is  well  to  remember  that  many  Maori  chiefs 
had  many  succeeding  wives,  and  the  genealogies 
preserved  embrace  not  infrequently  the 
youngest  born  of  the  youngest  as  well  as  the 
first  born  of  the  first  wife,  nor  had  the  latter 
a  monopoly  of  distinction.  Tuwhakairiora, 
Tuhourangi,  Tutanekai,  Hinemoa,  and  others 
were  all  youngest  or  nearly  youngest  children, 
yet  each  is  a  prominent  figure  in  Maori 
tradition. 


158  ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE 

In  concluding  this  sketch  in  the  history  of  the 
autochthons  of  New  Zealand,  let  me  say  that 
all  the  facts  set  forth  have  been  imparted  to 
me  by  the  Maoris  themselves,  excepting,  as 
already  stated,  such  things  as  I  learned  from 
my  father  in  the  forties.  He  prosecuted  his 
inquiries  in  the  thirties  and  forties,  and  was 
one  of  the  very  few  in  those  early  times  who 
took  an  interest  in  the  history,  laws,  and 
customs  of  the  Maoris.  Before  his  death  he 
wrote  to  me  from  England  urging  me  to  publish 
my  information  upon  these  subjects. 

My  next  chapter  will  be  upon  the  voyage  of 
the  Hawaikians  from  their  own  country  to  New 
Zealand. 


THE  HAWAIKI  MAORI  IMMIGRATION. 


The  story  of  the  immigration  from  HawaiM,. 
as  told  fifty  years  ago  and  more  by  old  natives, 
was  that  their  ancestors  had  left  that  country 
in  consequence  of  disputes  chiefly  about  land; 
that  the  land  available  for  cultivation  was  not 
extensive,  and  increasing  population  had 
created  a  pressure  that  resulted  in  wars  for  the 
possession  of  it — these  troubles  lasted  more  or 
less  a  long  time,  during  which  their  party  was 
gradually  weakened  and  overpowered;  that 
terms  had  then  been  proposed  to  them,  namely, 
that  they  must  leave  Hawaiki,  and  seek  another 
home  across  the  sea,  and  that  ample  time  to- 
build  a  flotilla  and  make  all  necessary 
preparations  for  departure  would  be  allowed 
to  them.  They  accepted  these  terms  in  the 
spirit  in  which  they  were  offered,  and  prepara- 
tions were  made  in  a  careful  and  methodical 
manner. 

I  think  the  whole  scope  of  action  at  Hawaiki 
at  his  juncture  strongly  indicates  a  knowledge 
of  the  existence  and  whereabouts  of  another 
country  to  which  the  emigrants  might  go.  The 
very  terms,  their  acceptance,  and  the  confidence 
with  which  the  equipment  was  made,  all  betoken 
such  knowledge;  nor  is  there  anything  in  the 
whole  story,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  to  show 

159 


160  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

that  they  were  groping  in  the  dark.  Moreover, 
the  result  of  the  action  justifies  the  remark. 
The  direction,  precision,  and  success  of  their 
navigation  show,  speaking  colloquially,  that  the 
emigrants  knew  what  they  were  about. 

Now,  if  this  were  so,  whence  came  this  know- 
ledge? This  question  is  susceptible  of  several 
answers.  For  instance,  the  knowledge  may 
have  been  handed  down  by  tradition,  that  in  a 
certain  direction  there  was  a  distant  country, 
the  birthplace  of  their  race,  from  which  they 
had  travelled  in  bygone  ages,  when  the  sea  was 
less  continuous,  and  before  intermediate  lands 
had  sunk  under  its  waves.  But  if  the  latter 
part  of  this  speculation  is  rejected,  as  perhaps 
it  may  be — crust  motions  of  the  earth  being 
slow  and  human  memory  short — still  the  former 
part  remains  feasible,  because  the  common 
origin  of  the  Hawaikian  Maori  and  the  Maui 
Maori  peoples  is  manifest  philologically,  myth- 
ologically  and  otherwise,  and  demands  a  point 
of  union  in  the  past. 

The  name  Barotonga  has  a  meaning,  and  tells 
how  the  ancient  mariner  who  gave  the  island 
that  name  was  impressed  by  the  phenomenon 
observed  during  his  voyage  towards  the  north 
of  the  continually  diminishing  altitude  in  the 
southern  heavens  of  the  great  stars  that  revolve 
round  the  Pole,  and,  as  he  advanced,  of  their 
disappearance  below  the  horizon  when  on  the 
meridian  below  the  Pole;  so  that  by  the  time 
he  had  discovered  the  island  to  which  he  gave 
that  name,  these  stars  were  dipped  below  the 


ANCIENT   MAORI   LIFE  161 

sea  a  considerable  time  during  the  meridian 
passage,  and  he  would  be  the  more  impressed 
by  the  change  because  he  was  accustomed  to 
estimate  his  latitude  by  the  altitude  at  the 
passage  named  of  the  star  Matatuotonga — The 
Watchful  of  the  South.  It  is  quite  easy, 
therefore,  to  understand  how  the  name  may 
have  been  given,  and  whence  the  discoverer 
came.  Conversely,  had  the  voyager  approached 
from  the  north,  he  would  have  named  the  island 
Eungatonga. 

Again,  if  the  Maui  Maori  people  broke  off 
from  their  countrymen  at  Hawaiki,  why  did 
they  leave  the  art  of  cultivation  behind  them? 
These  considerations  favour  the  idea  that  a 
tradition  of  the  nature  outlined  was  extant  at 
Hawaiki,  and  that  it  prompted  successful 
exploration  before  emigration  took  place. 
Exploration  could  hardly  have  been  made  in 
the  absence  of  a  tradition  to  guide  the  navi- 
gator; the  chances  on  the  areas  to  be  visited 
and  the  points  to  be  steered  are  too  numerous 
against  it.  Thus,  New  Zealand  subtends  from 
Barotonga  an  arc  so  small  that  an  error  either 
way  of  three  quarters  of  a  point  on  the  compass 
would  send  the  voyager  wide  of  the  mark,  and 
he  would  pass  the  islands  without  seeing  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  admitted  that,  as 
canoes  have  no  hold  in  the  water  and  no  weight 
to  meet  the  ocean  swell,  they  could  not  work  to 
windward  to  explore,  nor  could  they  run  to 
leeward,  for  fear  of  not  getting  back ;  therefore, 
their  movements  would  be  confined  to  a 


12 


162  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

comparatively  limited  area  while  in  the  trade 
wind  region.  In  adverting  to  these  questions, 
I  would  interject  the  remark  that  canoes  sailing 
in  low  latitudes  towards  the  south  must  stand 
across  the  south-east  trades  on  the  port  tack, 
and  ought  not  to  start  from  a  point  that  is  to 
leeward  of  their  destination;  and  further,  I 
would  say  that  in  leaving  Earotonga  for  New 
Zealand  all  these  conditions  would  be  fulfilled. 
Having  now  stated  the  reasons  which  render 
the  theory  of  an  exploration  prior  to  the 
emigration  likely,  I  will  return  to  tradition  on 
the  subject.  One  tradition  says  that  a  canoe 
named  Matawhaorua,  of  which  Kupe  was  the 
captain,  sailed  from  Hawaiki  and  arrived  at 
New  Zealand.  Along  the  coast  of  the  North 
Island  she  passed  for  a  considerable  distance, 
and  then  returned  safe  home  and  made  a  report 
concerning  the  land  she  had  seen.  Mata- 
whaorua did  not  return  to  New  Zealand.  As 
the  particulars  of  this  tradition  have  been 
furnished  by  other  writers,  it  is  unnecessary 
that  I  should  repeat  them,  especially  as  it  is  my 
object  to  publish  in  these  few  pages  original 
matter  only.*  Another  tradition,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  tells  of  how  on  a 
stormy  night  a  canoe  from  Hawaiki  was 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  New  Zealand,  four 
miles  to  the  west  of  Whakatane  River.  The 
next  morning,  the  daughter  of  the  chief  at  the 
pa  at  Kapu  found  three  strange  men,  bereft  of 
clothing  shivering  on  the  shore,  who  said  that 

*The  above  statements  about  Matawhaorua  are  not  borrowed 
from  any  European  writer.  They  were  made  to  me  by  a  chief  of 
Ngatiawa,  now  deceased. 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  163 

they  had  come  from  a  distant  country 
in  a  canoe  that  had  been  wrecked,  that  night, 
and  that  all  their  companions  were  drowned. 
The  woman  returned  to  her  father,  whose  name 
was  Toi,  and  told  him  what  she  had  seen.  Her 
father  ordered  the  men  to  be  brought  to  Kapu. 
When  they  arrived,  food  was  set  before  the 
three  men,  whose  names  were  Taukata,  Hoaki, 
and  Maku.  The  food  was  fish,  fern-root,  and 
the  fronds  of  the  tree  fern;  there  was  no 
kumara.  The  three  men  noticed  this,  and  Tau- 
kata produced  from  his  waist-belt  some  kao 
(dried  kumara),  which  he  crumbled  into  dust 
and  mixed  with  water,  making  a  drink.  This- 
he  presented  to  Toi,  who,  when  he  had  drunk^ 
demanded,  "Where  such  food,  fit  for  the  gods, 
could  be  obtained?"  The  strangers  all  replied, 
"From  Hawaiki,  the  country  we  have  come 
from. ' ' 

Toi  said :  "Alas !  I  am  not  able  to  send  across 
the  ocean  to  Hawaiki. ' ' 

The  strangers  replied:  "0!  yes,  you  can; 
you  can  build  a  canoe. ' ' 

Toi  said:  "No;  there  are  no  trees  in  this 
country  large  enough  to  make  a  canoe  fit  to 
brave  the  waves  of  the  ocean." 

The  strangers:  "We  saw  a  tree  in  the  bed 
of  the  river  at  the  ford  this  morning,  which  is 
quite  large  enough.  A  canoe  can  be  made  of 
it  that  would  reach  Hawaiki,  and  we  can  go 
and  show  the  way  and  bring  back  kumaras  to 
you. ' ' 

Toi  replied:  "It  is  well  said.  A  canoe 
shall  be  built." 


164  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

Then  the  tree  (a  totara)  was  raised  out  of 
its  bed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orini  Eiver,  and  out 
of  it  the  canoe  Aratawhao  (Way  through 
the  Wilderness)  was  made,  and  sailed  for 
Hawaiki.  Taukata,  Maku,  and  a  crew  went  in 
her. 

Hoaki  was  kept  by  Toi  as  a  hostage  for  the 
safety  of  his  people  who  went  in  the  canoe. 
Tradition  is  silent  as  to  whether  the  Aratawhao 
arrived  at  her  destination.  She  never  returned 
to  New  Zealand.  Toi  slew  his  hostage,  after 
waiting  two  years  in  disappointment,  and, 
leaving  Kapu,  where  he  and  poor  Hoaki  had  so 
often  vainly  scanned  the  horizon  for  the  longed- 
for  canoe,  he  retired  to  Hokianga  at  Ohiwa, 
where  he  was  living  with  his  people  some  time 
afterwards  when  Mataatua  canoe  arrived  at 
Whakatane. 

Let  us  now  revert  to  the  people  whom  we  left 
preparing  to  emigrate  from  Hawaiki.  We  may 
reasonably  suppose  that  the  canoes  they  had 
were  similar  to  those  used  by  their  descendants 
several  centuries  afterwards,  for  smaller  vessels 
would  not  have  answered  their  purpose.  A 
canoe  that  would  carry  fifty  fighting  men  on  a 
short  expedition  would  not  carry  more  than 
twenty  adults  on  a  deep  sea  voyage  with  safety, 
allowing  them  provisions  for  a  month  at  the  rate 
of  21b  of  food  each  and  a  quart  of  water  per 
diem,  and  carrying  half  a  ton  of  seed  and  other 
belongings.  The  bulky  seed  taken  was  that  of 
kumara  and  taro ;  seeds  of  the  karaka  tree  and 
of  the  hue  gourd  were  also  taken.  The  gourd, 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  165 

as  I  have  said,  was  already  in  New  Zealand, 
though  how  it  came  there,  being  apparently  not 
indigenous,  I  am  unable  to  say.  Also,  they  took 
with  them  their  valued  dogs  of  Ngatoroirangi 
breed*,  from  the  skins  of  which  their  dog-skin 
mats  were  woven,  and  they  took  the  Maori  rat 
on  board,  the  same  being  game  of  the  finest 
kind. 

It  is  true  that  the  Arawa  (if  a  female  accom- 
panied each  male)  carried  thirty  persons, 
twenty  of  whom  were  adults;  of  the  remaining 
ten,  who  were  young  persons,  some  may  have 
been  very  young.  She  must,  therefore,  have 
been  a  large  canoe.  That  she  carried  as  much 
as  they  dared  to  put  on  board  we  know,  from 
the  fact  that  some  members  of  the  party  were 
left  behind  to  follow  in  another  canoe,  named  Te 
Whatu  Eanganuku,  which  landed  them  at 
Wairarapa.  An  account  of  this  will  be  given 
at  the  proper  time.  No  doubt,  the  temptation 
to  the  emigrants  in  some  instances  to  overload 
was  very  great. 

That  the  Hawaikians  came  to  New  Zealand 
from  the  tropics  is  proved  by  the  tropical  char- 
acter of  the  plants  they  brought  with  them — 
kumara  and  taro  are  both  of  that  character. 
The  latter  is  especially  so,  in  the  fact  that  it 
never  could  be  properly  acclimatised  to  the 
change.  For  six  hundred  years  the  taro  Maori 
always  had  to  be  grown  artificially.  Sand  or 

*The  Ngatoroirangi  dog  was  extinct  before  Europeans  settled  in 
New  Zealand.  It  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Kuri  Maori,  which 
finally  disappeared  before  the  European  breeds,  about  the  middle 
forties. 


166  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

gravel  was  dug  from  a  pit,  and  carried  to  the 
field  and  placed  in  a  layer  over  the  soil;  this 
drew  the  sun's  rays  and  warmed  the  plant, 
which  was,  moreover,  defended  from  cutting 
winds  by  rows  of  manuka  branches  fixed  in  the 
ground  at  intervals.  The  same  remarks  in  a 
much  less  degree  apply  to  the  kumara.* 

I  think  I  have  shown  now  that  the  Hawai- 
kians,  when  they  embarked  in  their  canoes,  left 
some  place  in  the  tropics,  and  steered  to  the 
south-west  across  the  south-east  trade,  and  that 
they  were  probably  provisioned  for  one  month. 
The  question,  therefore,  arises  now,  where  did 
they  sail  from?  To  this  the  reply  is,  from 
Earotonga,  which  island  is  within  the  tropics, 
and  in  a  north-easterly  direction  from  New 
Zealand,  the  distance  between  being  about 
1,500  geographical  miles.  Now,  the  Arawa  and 
Tainui,  as  we  shall  presently  learn,  were  each  of 
them  coasting  along  the  shores  of  New  Zealand 
about  a  fortnight,  searching  for  sites  for  settle- 
ment, before  their  voyages  ended  at  Maketu  and 
Kawhia.  This  leaves,  say,  fifteen  days  for 
accomplishment  of  the  voyage  from  land  to 
land,  being  an  average  of  100  miles  a  day,  which, 
all  circumstances  considered,  is  a  fair  progress 
for  a  canoe  sailing  half  the  time  on  a  wind  in 

*The  great  labour  of  growing  taro  Maori  caused  it  to  be  aban- 
doned when  the  taro  Merekena  was  introduced.  The  latter  is  hardy, 
prolific — runs  wild,  in  fact— and  easily  cultivated;  but  it  is  very 
inferior  in  flavour  and  flouriness  to  taro  Maori.  I  don't  think  I 
have  seen  taro  Maori  for  thirty  years.  In  the  early  forties  a  new 
kind  of  kumara  (kumara  pakeha)  was  brought  into  New  Zealand, 
which  rapidly  came  into  favour.  It  was  more  easily  cultivated  and 
made  into  kao  than  kumara  Maori,  and  in  about  twenty  years  had 
superseded  it.  I  have  not  seen  the  kumara  Maori  for  many  years, 
perhaps  twenty. 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  167 

the  trades,  and  the  other  half  with  variable 
winds  and  perhaps  calms,  the  wind  in  that 
district  of  the  ocean  at  that  season  (December) 
being,  however,  generally  fair  from  the  north- 
ward and  eastward.  We  know  that  the  voyage 
was  made  in  December,  because  the  pohutukawa 
(Christmas  tree)  was  in  bloom  when  the  canoes 
arrived  on  the  coast  of  New  Zealand. 

As  for  the  canoes  themselves,  we  may  believe 
that  they  were  like  such  as  some  persons  still 
living  have  seen  in  New  Zealand.  Speaking 
generally,  they  were  rather  crank  in  build  and 
disproportionately  long  for  sea-going  purposes ; 
but  they  could  accommodate  many  rowers,  and 
in  smooth  water  were  able  to  make  good 
progress  for  a  few  miles  by  pulling.  Their 
draught  was  too  light  for  sailing  close  to  the 
wind.  They  required  to  be  about  seven  points 
off  the  wind,  to  move  through  the  water 
properly,  which,  with  heave  of  the  sea  and  drift 
when  the  the  sea  was  rough,  would  make  a  true 
course,  say,  of  eight  points,  the  course  they 
would  have  to  make  in  crossing  the  south-east 
trades.  Their  lines  were  so  fine,  that  with  a 
fair  wind  they  sailed  very  quickly.  One  fault 
they  all  had,  and  that  was  leaking  through  the 
caulking  of  the  top  sides.  This  was  due  to 
the  nature  of  the  construction  of  the  vessel,  and 
was  unavoidable  in  the  absence  of  ironwork 
attachments.  The  whole  force  of  propulsion  by 
sailing  or  pulling  came  upon  the  lashings  that 
secured  the  top  sides  to  the  body  of  the  canoe. 
This  caused  the  seam  to  work  a  little,  and  baling 


168  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

was  necessary  from  time  to  time  when  the 
canoe  was  deeply  laden.  If  the  lashings  were 
sound,  the  fault  was  one  of  inconvenience,  not 
of  danger.  It  must,  however,  on  the  Hawaikian 
voyage,  have  entailed  constant  vigilance  to  keep 
their  seed  dry,  which,  if  wet  with  salt  water, 
would  have  been  ruined. 

Before  the  Hawaikians  commenced  their 
voyage,  their  anxiety  was  to  prevent  a  separa- 
tion of  the  canoes  during  the  passage.  They 
were  all  relations  and  friends,  who  were  afraid, 
if  once  the  ocean  parted  them,  they  would  never 
see  each  other  again.  Therefore,  at  starting,  the 
canoes  were  attached  together,  and  progress 
was  made  in  that  manner  while  the  weather 
remained  fine;  but  that  condition  did  not  last. 
A  change  took  place ;  a  storm  arose ;  the  canoes 
were  endangered  by  their  nearness  to  each 
other,  and  the  lashings  of  the  attachments  were 
cut  one  night  by  the  crews  to  save  themselves. 
When  morning  dawned,  all  the  canoes  had 
separated,  and  lost  sight  of  one  another.  After 
that,  each  canoe  pursued  its  own  lonely  course, 
following  independently  the  line  of  navigation 
that  had  been  determined  upon  before  they  left 
Hawaiki. 

Thus,  without  compass,  quadrant,  or  chart, 
of  which  they  knew  nothing,  these  ancient 
sailors  possessed,  nevertheless,  intrinsic 
qualities  which  helped  them  on  their  way. 
They  were  endowed  with  knowledge,  skill,  fore- 
thought, resolution,  and  endurance.  They 
knew  the  positions  and  movements  of  the 


ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE  169" 

heavenly  bodies,  sufficiently  well  to  be  able  to 
steer  a  course  by  them  to  the  land  they  were 
bound  for.  Day  after  day,  under  skies  for  the 
most  part  clear,  they  observed  the  sun,  noting 
his  position  at  certain  times,  and  they  watched 
the  direction  of  the  winds  and  waves  in  relation 
to  his  course,  and  steered  thereby.  At  night 
the  task  of  steering  by  the  stars  was  easier. 
The  motions  of  the  moon  and  planets  in  the 
ecliptic  showed  the  eastern  and  western  points 
of  the  horizon,  and  the  south  (tonga)  wa& 
always  visible  as  the  centre  round  which  the 
Cross  and  Pointers  revolved;  and  so  each 
captain  in  his  own  canoe  maintained  his  course, 
keeping,  no  doubt,  if  anything,  a  little  to  wind- 
ward (i.e.,  southward)  of  it — prevailing  winds, 
as  I  have  said,  in  November  and  December 
being  easterly — until  he  knew  he  had  run  his 
distance  to  the  south,  when  he  shaped  a  course 
to  the  westward,  and  boldly  ran  down  upon  the 
land.  That  this  was  done  is  evidenced  by  the 
accuracy  with  which  the  landfall  was  made  at  a 
certain  parallel  of  latitude,  and  by  the  fact  that 
the  canoes  Arawa  and  Tainui,  that  had  overshot 
the  mark,  turned  back  northward  when  they 
reached  the  coast  and  rejoined  their  companions 
at  Ahuahu,  Mercury  Island.  The  captain  of  a 
canoe,  and  each  canoe  had  its  captain,  would 
know  by  celestial  observation  when  he  was  far 
enough  south.  He  could  tell  this  by  estimating 
by  a  standard  of  some  sort,  the  altitude  of  a 
polar  star  when  nearest  to  the  horizon ;  thus,  for 
instance,  he  might  hold  to  a  southerly  course 


170  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

until  he  had  made  the  lowest  star  in  the  Cross 
rise  above  the  horizon  and  be  equal  in  altitude 
to  half  the  altitude  of  the  highest  star  in  the 
same  constellation  at  the  time  of  their  lower 
meridian  passage,  or  he  might  have  made  other 
good  observations,  and  that  without  a  quadrant. 
The  objection  of  the  right  ascension  in  a  short 
summer's  night  has  no  force,  as  there  are 
several  large  stars  between  58  deg.  and  62  deg. 
S.  declination,  and  with  large  differences  in 
E.A.,  and  one  or  other  of  these  he  would  be 
sure  to  catch. 

The  skill,  tact,  and  ability  of  the  old  sailors 
who  navigated  their  canoes  from  Hawaiki  to 
New  Zealand,  so  many  canoes,  with  such  pre- 
cision, is  really  wonderful.  Could  the  certifi- 
cated sailor  of  the  present  age  have  done  better  f 
Deprive  him  of  his  appliances,  his  compass, 
chronometer,  and  chart,  his  sextant,  and 
nautical  almanac,  and  see  then  whether  his 
intrinsic  qualities  would,  on  the  same  voyage, 
have  enabled  him  to  do  better — especially  if  put 
into  a  long,  lean,  rather  leaky  open  boat,  that 
liad  no  draught,  could  he  have  sailed  her  better, 
have  kept  a  perishable  cargo  better,  or  main- 
tained better  discipline  amongst  a  numerous 
company  of  both  sexes?  There  can  be  but  one 
reply  to  these  questions,  namely,  that  under  the 
same  circumstances  and  conditions,  it  would  be 
difficult  even  now  to  excel  the  old  Hawaikian 
sailors  in  the  execution  of  their  craft. 

The  time  of  year  at  which  the  migration  was 
made  shows  forethought.  The  fine  season  had 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  171 

set  in,  and  the  hurricane  months  had  not  begun, 
and  there  was  still  time  on  arrival  in  the  new 
country  to  plant  the  seed  they  had  with  them; 
moreover,  they  would  have  several  months  of 
summer  weather  in  which  to  explore  and  form 
settlements. 

It  is  not  my  intention  in  this  narrative  to 
give  all  the  movements  of  each  canoe  of  the 
flotilla,  or  all  the  doings  of  the  people  of  each 
after  arrival.  I  shall  simply  mention  their 
names,  as  they  have  been  given  to  me,  and  a  few 
circumstances  connected  with  some  of  them, 
and  in  noticing  the  others  I  would  wish  to  treat 
of  the  movements  of  four  of  them  more  parti- 
cularly, namely,  Mataatua,  Takitumu,  Tainui, 
and  Te  Arawa,  as  the  immigrants  by  these 
vessels  settled  in  the  districts  with  whose 
history  I  am  best  informed.  The  following  are 
the  names  of  the  canoes : — Matawhaorua  (which 
returned  to  Hawaiki),  Arawa,  Tainui,  Mata- 
atua, Takitumu,  Kurahaupo,  Aotea,  Tokomaru, 
Mahuhu,  Pungarangi,  Eangimatoru  and  Whatu 
Eanganuku. 

Te  Arawa  made  land  at  Whangara,  eighteen 
miles  north  of  Gisborne,  but  did  not  land  there. 
From  Whangara  she  coasted  along  to  the  north ; 
off  Whangaparaoa  she  spoke  the  Tainui  coming 
in  from  the  sea.  The  Arawas  say  that  Tainui 
was  then  making  her  landfall.  This  some 
Tainui  people  contradict,  stating  that  their 
canoe  first  made  land  at  Te  Mahia.  The  Arawa 
did  not  join  Tainui,  but  continued  her  course, 
then  shaping  westward,  and  crossed  the  Bay  of 


172  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

Plenty;  and  next  we  hear  of  her  at  Ahuahu, 
Mercury  Island,  where  we  will  leave  her  for  the 
present. 

Whether  Tainui  made  land  at  Te  Mahia  as 
her  people  say,  or  at  Whangaparaoa  as  the 
Arawas  affirm,  is  an  open  question.  She  was 
making  for  the  shore  when  she  passed  the 
Arawa,  and  shortly  afterwards  she  was  nearly 
lost,  and  perhaps  all  on  board,  in  a  very  simple 
and  unexpected  manner.  At  Cape  Runaway 
there  is  a  reef  of  detached  rocks;  there  too  is 
a  perennial  current  that,  setting  strongly  out  of 
the  Bay  of  Plenty,  impinges  against  the  Cape 
and  reef.  The  Cape  itself  is  a  high  headland 
studded  with  pohutukawa  trees.  As  the  canoe 
approached  the  Cape,  in  the  bay  round  which  a 
landing  was  proposed,  the  crew,  whose  attention 
was  diverted  to  the  beautiful  bloom  of  the  trees 
on  the  hillside,  suddenly  found  themselves 
caught  and  carried  swiftly  towards  the  rocks 
by  the  current,  of  the  existence  of  which  neither 
they  nor  any  stranger  could  have  had  a 
suspicion.*  and  because  of  the  heavy  rollers  of 
the  Eangawhenua**  the  danger  appeared  to  be 
terrible.  Here  with  a  vengeance  were  'the 
waves  of  the  summer,  as.  one  died  away  another 

*The  current  at  Cape  Runaway  is  the  tail  race  to  a  vast  dam 
that  Nature  has  placed  across  the  course  of  part  of  the  tropical 
off-flow  of  the  South  Pacific.  The  dam  extends  from  the  North  Cape 
of  New  Zealand  to  Cape  Runaway,  or  it  may  be  to  the  Ea»t  Cape. 
We  are  justified  in  believing  that  the  stream  comes  from  the  tropics 
by  its  warm  temperature,  the  fish,  such  as  sharks,  that  frequent  it, 
and  by  the  tropical  shells,  like  the  nautilus,  that  are  found  on  the 
shores  adjacent. 

**The  Bangawhenua  is  an  ocean  swell  that  breaks  heavily  on 
the  north-east  coast  of  the  North  Island  of  New  Zealand  during 
the  months  of  November,  December,  and  January.  Along  the  beaches 
of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  fishing  is  stopped  by  it. 


Pohutukawa  Tree,  Kawhia  Harbour. 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  173 

as  sweet  and  as  sliming  came  on.'  The  way- 
worn voyagers,  turning  their  eyes  from  the 
beautiful  land,  grasped  the  situation  at  a 
glance,  and  their  hearts  fell  from  the  heights 
of  joy  and  hope  to  the  depths  of  fear.  Were 
they  after  all  their  suffering  and  pilgrimage  to 
be  sacrificed  at  the  gates  of  Paradise  on  those 
jagged  rocks.  Promptly  the  priest  betook  him- 
self to  his  prayers,  and  quickly  the  crew  plunged 
their  paddles  into  the  tide  but  it  was  too  late, 
before  they  could  change  their  vessel's  course 
she  had  struck  sideways  on  a  rock  and  remained 
there,  the  mussel  shells  grinding  into  her  sides 
to  the  peril  of  her  lashings;  and  now  the 
danger  of  being  dashed  to  pieces  by  the  next 
wave  or  filling  beside  the  rock,  which  is  awash, 
is  great  indeed;  fortunately  the  rock  was 
between  them  and  the  wave,  for  the  current  that 
pinned  them  to  it  ran  against  the  swell.  And 
then  the  very  thing  they  feared  became  their 
friend.  A  roller  broke  upon  the  rock  and  its 
unimpeded  portion  circling  quickly  round  the 
rock  caught  one  end  of  the  canoe,  and  raising 
it  up,  flung  it  off  wide  from  the  rock.  This  was 
the  moment  of  salvation;  with  a  flash,  before 
the  current  could  push  her  back,  all  the  paddles 
were  buried  for  dear  life  in  the  seething  foam, 
and  Tainui,  as  if  instinct  with  life,  had  shot 
into  the  open  sea.  The  priest  said  they  had 
been  saved  by  the  Atua  to  whom  he  had  prayed, 
and  his  words  were  believed  by  those  who 
heard  him  and  by  many  succeeding  generations. 
But  the  captain  in  going  round  the  point  again 


174  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

gave  those  rocks  what  sailors  call  a  wide  berth. 
Then  the  wearied  people  of  Tainui  rested  at 
Whangaparaoa  Bay,  and  refreshed  themselves ; 
but  the  story  that  they  found  a  dead  whale  on 
the  beach  in  that  bay  and  disputed  with  the 
Arawa  about  the  possession  of  it  is  difficult  to 
reconcile  with  the  fact  that  the  Arawa  deny 
having  gone  there  at  all,  and  with  the  harder 
fact  that  dead  whales  not  only  don't  drift  into 
the  bay,  but  cannot  even  be  towed  on  to  the  shore 
there  by  several  whaleboats  after  they  are 
killed,  the  current  above  mentioned  preventing 
it.  There  was  a  whaling  station  many  years  in 
Whangaparaoa  Bay  in  the  forties,  and  during 
that  time  the  fish  were  "tried  out"  at  a  place 
round  the  Cape,  much  to  the  inconvenience  of 
the  whalers,  who  at  first  often  tried  in  vain  to 
tow  the  dead  whales  into  the  Bay. 

From  Whangaparaoa  the  Tainui  sailed  along 
the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  inspecting  the 
country  as  she  went.  At  Hawai  a  man  named 
Taritorongo  left  her,  and  going  inland,  joined 
the  aborigines  at  Motu,  as  has  been  mentioned ; 
also,  we  have  seen  how  Torere  left  the  Tainui, 
and  how  she  was  pursued  by  Eakataura,  who, 
failing  to  find  his  inamorata,  returned  and 
rejoined  his  companions  at  Kawhia.  Eakataura 
landed  at  Taiharuru,  at  Opape.  When  next  we 
hear  of  Tainui  she  had  arrived  at  Ahuahu, 
where  the  meeting  of  canoes  took  place.  There 
is  reason  to  assume  from  subsequent  events 
that  the  Arawa  and  Tainui  had  made  a  compre- 
hensive survey  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty  before  they 
met  at  Ahuahu. 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  175 

Up  to  this  time  there  is  not  much  to  say  about 
Takitumu  further  than  to  report  that  her  land- 
fall was  made  at  the  Great  Barrier,  and  that 
passing  Cuvier  Island  she  had  arrived  at  Ahu- 
ahu  also. 

Mataatua,  though  not  in  company  with  Taki- 
tumu, sighted  the  same  land.  She  passed 
Cuvier,  which  was  named  Eepanga  by  Muriwai, 
the  chieftainess  on  board  of  her,  in  honour  of 
her  son,  the  young  man  who  afterwards  went 
to  Kohipawa,  and  then  the  canoe  sailed  into 
Ahuahu  Harbour. 

At  Ahuahu  (Great  Mercury)  a  conference 
took  place  between  the  captains  of  the  canoes 
and  other  chiefs  of  the  expedition,  which 
resulted  in  the  arrangement  of  the  course,  or 
line  of  action,  that  each  canoe  should  take  on 
leaving  the  island.  Hence  the  name  of  the 
island,  which  is  called  Ahuahu  to  the  present 
day,  and  is  an  abbreviation  probably  of  Ahu  te 
Ahu — to  shape  a  course.  I  have  never  heard 
whether  any  of  the  other  canoes  were  at  this 
meeting;  Pungarangi  and  Whatu  Eanganuku 
could  not,  however,  have  been  present,  as  they 
came  to  New  Zealand  afterwards. 

I  have  referred  several  times  to  the  captains 
or  nautical  experts  of  the  canoes.  The  captain 
of  Takitumu  was  Paikea;  of  Tainui,  Hotunui; 
of  Te  Arawa,  Tama  te  Kapua ;  and  of  Mataatua, 
the  captain  was  Toroa. 

And  now  we  view  these  and  other  chiefs  whose 
names  have  been  handed  down  to  posterity,  at 
this  the  first  Hawaiki  Maori  meeting  held  in 


176  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

New  Zealand.  There,  too,  we  see  seated  upon 
the  pebbly  strand  that  forms  the  landing 
at  Mercury  Harbour,  groups  from  the  several 
canoes,  all  dressed  in  the  tappa  clothing  of  a 
tropical  climate.  They  are  assembled  listening 
to  their  leaders,  who  are  discussing  the  situation 
in  its  various  aspects. 

They  have,  indeed,  found  the  country  they 
sought,  but  exploration  so  far  has  shown  it  to 
l>e  peopled  with  many  tribes  of  aborigines 
resembling  themselves  and  speaking  their  own 
language,  of  whom,  notwithstanding  their  in- 
offensive behaviour,  it  behoves  them  to  be 
aware.  Apart  from  rugged  coastlines,  they  have 
nowhere  seen  an  unoccupied  country  large 
enough  for  them  all  to  settle  upon.  They  have 
but  just  escaped  with  labour  and  loss  from 
internecine  strife  about  land,  where  land  was 
scarce  and  areas  small.  The  horror  of  what 
occurred  then  is  fresh  in  their  minds.  They 
cannot  forget  it,  and  therefore,  they  think  they 
had  better  separate  and  incur  the  risk  of  war 
with  the  aborigines  to  fighting  among  them- 
selves ;  besides,  the  former  risk  appeared  to  be 
hut  small  if  a  policy  of  tact  and  forbearance 
were  pursued  towards  them,  and  that  by  and 
by  when  they  themselves  had  become  numerous 
they  could  disregard  them. 

Two  rivers  falling  into  the  Bay  of  Plenty  had 
been  discovered  where  settlement  would  be 
possible,  but  more  inviting  districts  might  yet 
be  found. 

To  one  of  these,  however,  the  people  of 
Mataatua  under  Muriwai  decided  to  go.  The 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  177 

other  the  leaders  of  Te  Arawa  have  determined 
to  occupy  should  nothing  more  suitable  be  found 
on  further  search.*  The  immigrants  in  Tainui 
are  of  opinion  that  in  a  country  so  large  and 
promising  the  chances  are  that  they  will  secure 
a  better  location  by  prosecuting  their  voyage  of 
discovery;  while  those  of  Takitumu  resolve  to 
search  the  Bay  of  Plenty  for  themselves. 

Such  and  similar  were,  doubtless,  the  affairs 
that  were  considered  at  that  meeting — a  meeting 
which  heralded  to  New  Zealand  the  birth  of  a 
new  nation,  who  should  cultivate  her  soil  and 
increase  her  civilisation,  and  whose  warriors, 
orators,  statesmen  and  priests,  craftsmen  and 
people  of  low  degree,  were  destined  in  the 
distant  future  to  supplant  the  more  simple  sons 
of  the  soil  almost  throughout  the  whole  country. 

After  the  meeting  the  canoes  left  Ahuahu. 
Tainui  explored  the  Thames  and  found  the 
inhabitants  numerous;  she  passed  from  there 
along  the  coast  to  the  North,  and  turning  back, 
again  arrived  at  Tamaki  Eiver,  which  was 
ascended,  and  then  she  was  dragged  across  the 
isthmus  at  Otahuhu  into  Manukau,  from  which 
harbour  she  put  to  sea,  and,  coasting  south- 
wards, arrived  at  Kawhia.  This  was  the  end 
of  her  voyage,  for  at  Kawhia  her  people  deter- 
mined to  settle. 

Mataatua  sailed  from  Ahuahu  to  Whakatane 
direct.  Her  unwavering  course  is  highly 

*The  Arawa  had  most  probably  visited  Maketu  and  Tauranga 
on  her  voyage  through  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  and  had  found  the  latter 
thickly  peopled,  for  on  her  return  to  those  parts  she  passed  close 
by  the  mouth  of  Tauranga  Harbour  in  the  daytime  -without  entering 
it,  and  went  straight  to  Maketu,  notwithstanding  the  inviting  aspect 
of  the  Tauranga  country. 

13 


178  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

suggestive  of  information  received,  either  by 
Te  Aratawhao  (if  that  canoe  reached  Hawaiki) 
or  by  Tainui,  probably  the  latter,  for  none  of 
the  people  of  Te  Aratawhao  returned  to  Whaka- 
tane  in  Mataatua.  Ngatiawa  found  the  country 
at  Whakatane  unoccupied  by  the  aborigines, 
and  Kapu  pa  was  empty.  They  lived  at  first  on 
the  flat  by  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  there 
Muriwai  died  and  was  buried,  and  her  tomb 
under  a  rock  may  be  seen  at  the  present  time. 
Toroa  went  to  Hokianga,  at  Ohiwa,  to  interview 
Toi,  who  asked,  "Who  are  you,  and  where  do 
you  come  from?" 

To  which  Toroa  replied,  "I  am  Toroa  (alba- 
tross) ;  I  have  flown  across  the  ocean  to  this 
place. ' ' 

Toi  then  asked,  "Why  have  you  come  here?" 
Toroa  said,  "I  have  come  to  see  and  to  stay." 
Then  food  was  set  before  Toroa,  and  when  he 
had  eaten,  he  returned  to  Whakatane. 

This  short  conversation  as  it  has  been  handed 
down  by  tradition  describes  the  situation 
succinctly. 

From  Ahuahu  the  Arawa  sailed  to  Cuvier 
Island,  where  Hawaikian  birds  were  released, 
and  thence  to  the  Great  Barrier,  from  which 
place  she  crossed  over  to  Whangarei  and 
coasted  to  Cape  Brett;  there  she  turned  back 
and  arrived  at  Tamaki,  at  the  head  of  which 
river  she  found  Tainui,  whose  crew  were 
engaged  laying  the  skids  to  tow  their  vessel 
upon  in  crossing  the  isthmus.  The  Arawa  did 
not  remain  long  at  Otahuhu,  but  sailed  away  to 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  179 

Moehau  (Cape  Colville),  for  time  was  becoming 
precious.  Her  people  ianded  at  Moehau,  but 
did  not  stay  there,  notwithstanding  Tamati 
Kapua  was  so  pleased  with  the  place  that  he 
urged  them  all  to  go  no  further,  and  to  settle 
down  and  make  their  home  there.  From 
Moehau  they  resumed  ther  voyage,  and  passing 
along  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  sailed 
straight  to  Maketu.  Thus  ended  their  long  and 
toilsome  voyage  from  Hawaiki. 

In  passing  Te  Taroto,  between  Katikati  and 
Te  Awanui  (the  ancient  name  of  Tauranga 
entrance),  Hei  stood  up  and  said,  "The  land 
opposite  to  us,"  pointing  to  Tauranga,  "is  Te 
Takapu  a  Waitaha"  (the  belly  of  Waitaha), 
his  son.  Thus  he  bespoke  the  Tauranga 
country,  of  which,  however,  he  and  his  son 
never  got  more  than  the  eastern  end,  which  is 
a  comparatively  small  part  of  the  district.  The 
aboriginal  inhabitants  were  too  numerous  to 
allow  him  to  take  more.  Off  Wairakei,  Tia 
stood  up  and  declared  that  the  land  at  Eangiuru 
and  country  adjacent  was  the  Takapu  of  his  son 
Tapuika.  In  this  manner  he  took  the  land  he 
had  pointed  out.  Tamati  Kapua  then  thought 
it  time  to  rise.  He  took  Maketu  by  calling  that 
part  of  the  country  Te  Kureitanga  o  taku  Ihu, 
shape  of  his  nose  (cut  of  his  jib).  The  head- 
land of  Maketu  Point  is  still  known  by  the  name 
of  Okurei.  Now  all  this  was  a  very  solemn  and 
binding  form  of  appropriation.  No  one  could 
interfere  with  the  property  after  that  without 
tramping  on  the  belly,  etc.,  of  the  person  named, 


180  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

and  without  being  prepared  to  stand  by  his  act 
in  so  doing. 

The  behaviour  of  those  three  men  in  greedily 
snapping  up  all  the  land  in  sight  from  the  canoe 
before  they  landed  had  the  effect  of  compelling 
other  members  of  the  party  to  scatter  in  search 
of  country,  and  thus  the  Ngaoho  (or  Arawa) 
tribe  quickly  spread  to  the  interior  as  far  as 
Taupo. 

Takitumu,  whose  other  name  was  Horouta, 
had  the  reputation  of  being  a  sacred  canoe.  It 
is  said  they  took  slaves  on  board  at  Hawaiki, 
whom  they  kept  in  the  bow,  and  killed  and  ate 
from  time  to  time  as  they  required.  This  canoe 
left  Ahuahu,  and  went  to  Tauranga,  where  they 
found  they  could  not  settle.  The  aborigines 
permitted  a  very  few  persons  to  remain, 
probably  they  hoped  to  profit  by  the  Hawai- 
kians'  knowledge  of  agriculture.  The  canoe 
then  continued  her  voyage,  the  next  place  she 
called  at  being  Ohiwa,  where  she  was  nearly 
lost  on  Tuarae  Kanawa  shoal,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  harbour.  A  few  individuals  were  suffered 
to  leave  her  here,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  became 
the  progenitors  of  some  of  the  present  inhab- 
itants in  that  part  of  New  Zealand.  Toi 
doubtless  thought  there  were  already  enough 
Hawaikians  in  his  neighbourhood  at  Whaka- 
tane,  and  perhaps  Ngatiawa  objected  to  the 
propinquity.  Leaving  Ohiwa  the  canoe  Taki- 
tumu continued  her  search  along  the  coast  for  a 
place  of  settlement,  and  as  evidencing  how  fully 
the  country  must  have  been  in  the  occupation 


ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE  181 

of  the  aborigines  at  that  time,  I  will  enumerate 
a  number  of  specially  favourite  residences  of 
native  tribes  that  were  passed  by  the 
Hawaikians  of  Takitumu  while  searching  for  a 
place  where  they  might  safely  make  their 
future  home:  Opotiki,  Te  Kaha,  Wharekahika, 
Kawakawa,  including  Horoera,  Waiapu  Valley, 
Tuparoa,  Waipiro,  Tokomaru,  Tangoiro  to 
Anaura,  Uawa,  and  Puatai — all  these  sites  for 
settlement  were  passed  before  Paikea  thrust  his 
canoe  ashore  at  Whangara,  and  declared  the 
voyage  to  be  finished.  He  named  the  place 
Whangara,  from  a  fancied  resemblance  to  a 
place  of  that  name  at  Hawaiki. 

From  the  isthmus  of  Otahuhu  northward  the 
Hawaikian  element  in  the  population  of  Aotea- 
roa  was  derived  from  the  canoes  Mahihi  (or 
Mahuhu,  as  it  is  called  in  some  parts  of  the 
country)  and  Kurahaupo. 

The  canoe  Aotea  landed  on  the  West  Coast, 
at  the  place  of  that  name.  Her  people  travelled 
southwards,  and  occupied  a  wide  area  south  of 
the  Taranaki  district. 

Tokomaru  canoe  made  the  coast  at  Tokomaru, 
where  the  people  who  came  in  her  landed  but 
did  not  remain.  We  hear  of  her  next  as  having 
arrived  at  Mokau,  on  the  West  Coast,  but 
whether  she  passed  round  the  North  Cape,  or 
made  the  shorter  cut  by  Tamaki  and  Manukau, 
seems  to  be  uncertain.  Her  occupants  were  the 
forefathers  of  the  Atiawa  tribe  at  Waitara  and 
Taranaki,  from  whom  is  descended  a  Ngatira- 
hiri  hapu ;  just  as  the  Ngatirahiri  in  the  North 


182  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

are  descended  from  the  Ngatiawa  progenitor 
who  landed  in  Mataatua  at  Whakatane. 

Pungarangi  canoe  made  land  at  Eurima 
islets,  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty;  for  some  reason 
they  were  unable  to  land  on  the  mainland, 
probably  too  heavy  a  sea  was  breaking  on  the 
coast,  or  the  Tini  o  Taunu  at  Matata  may  have 
been  hostile.  The  passengers  had  no  water, 
and  were  greatly  distressed  by  thirst.  They 
landed  in  the  little  harbour  at  Eurima,  and 
rested,  but  were  unable  to  find  water,  and  all 
feared  that  a  cruel  death  was  before  them. 
Then  the  chief  of  the  party  sought  himself  for 
water,  trying  in  many  places.  At  last  he  found 
a  moist  spot  by  the  root  of  a  pohutukawa  tree ; 
he  dug  a  hole,  and  water  trickled  in  and  he 
drank,  and  the  people  drank  and  were  saved. 
That  little  cup  of  water  is  there  still,  six 
centuries  of  time  have  not  removed  it,  but  the 
root  is  gone.  As  I  looked  at  it  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  underground  drainage  had 
been  arrested  by  the  digging,  and  turned  to  the 
surface,  where  it  has  since  remained.  From 
Eurima  the  canoe  went  South  to  Wairarapa, 
and  some  of  her  people  crossed  Cook's  Strait 
and  settled  at  Nelson. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Arawa  was 
unable  to  bring  all  the  Ngaoho  party,  and  that 
some  were  to  follow  in  another  canoe.  The 
canoe  they  came  from  Hawaiki  in  was  the 
Whatu  Eanganuku.  She  landed  them  at  Wai- 
rarapa, in  a  part  where  the  inhabitants  were 
hostile.  The  leader  of  the  party,  Tauwera,  was 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  183 

illtreated  and  badly  burnt  by  them,  so  that  he 
could  not  walk.  The  perpetrators  of  this  out- 
rage were  not  aborigines,  but  Hawaikians  who 
had  arrived  there  previously,  and  their  object 
was  not  to  kill,  but  to  drive  Ngaoho  away.  The 
latter  took  the  hint,  and  left,  carrying  their 
disabled  chief  in  a  litter  by  the  Kowhai  road  to 
the  Bay  of  Plenty,  and  to  the  left  bank  of  Wai- 
tahanui  Eiver  at  Te  Takanga,  where  they 
settled,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  Waitaha 
Turauta  tribe,  or  hapu  of  the  Arawa,  members 
of  which,  among  the  other  Arawa  sections,  are 
still  numerous. 

The  last  canoe  I  have  to  mention  is  Rangi- 
matoru.  It  is  stated  that  she  ended  her  voyage 
at  Ohiwa.  She  is  a  canoe  that  has  been  very 
much  lost  sight  of  by  the  natives.  Her  repu- 
tation is  eclipsed  by  that  of  Mataatua,  close  by 
at  Whakatane,  and  of  the  existence  of  the 
representatives,  if  any,  of  her  immigrants,  or 
who  her  immigrants  were,  I  have  no  proper 
information.  The  fact  that  the  canoe  came 
seems  sufficiently  established.  Possibly  the 
extinct  Whakatane  sprang  from  the  people  of 
that  canoe.  They  were  a  tribe  of  Hawaikian 
•extraction  who  owned  the  land  between  Ohiwa 
and  Waioeka  Eiver  inland,  in  the  mountain 
region.  The  Upokorehe  held  the  land  in  the 
north  adjoining  the  possessions  of  the  Whaka- 
tane. The  former  were  destroyed,  and  the 
latter  nearly  so,  by  the  Whakatohea.  More  than 
fifty  years  ago  an  old  man  of  the  name  of  Ran- 
;gimatoru  was  a  principal  man  of  the  remnant. 


184  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

This  concludes  my  account  of  the  voyages  of 
the  canoes  from  Hawaiki  to  Aotearoa.  I  have, 
however,  to  add,  that  the  Takitumu  made  a 
voyage  from  Whangara  to  Otago,  where  she 
remained,  and  is  pointed  out  to  the  traveller  of 
the  present  day,  as  she  lies  at  her  journey's  end 
in  the  shape  of  a  rock.  The  Arawa  made  a 
voyage  to  Te  Awa  o  te  Atua  and  back.  Then 
she  was  hauled  up  on  the  eastern  bank  near  the 
entrance  to  Kaituna  River,  where  she  was  burnt 
afterwards,  and  where  a  grove  of  ngaio  trees 
grew  down  to  the  present  generation,  which 
trees  were  sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  old 
vessel. 

In  reviewing  the  movement  from  Hawaiki  to 
New  Zealand,  from  a  practical  point,  we  are 
justified,  if  the  foregoing  statements  and 
observations  are  accepted,  in  arriving  at  the 
following  conclusions : — 

That  the  Hawaikians  emigrated  under  pres- 
sure arising  out  of  troubles  chiefly  about  land. 

That  as  a  necessary  preliminary  they 
explored  the  sea  to  discover  a  country  where 
they  might  go. 

That  the  exploration  was  successful,  and  was. 
probably  conducted  upon  an  idea  derived  from 
tradition. 

That  the  Hawaikians  were  skilful  sailors,  and 
notwithstanding  the  want  of  appliances,  they 
were  good  practical  navigators  by  celestial 
observation.  That  as  they  had  no  means  of 
finding  the  longitude  on  a  true  course,  the  same 
being  a  rhumb  line,  also  as  unknown  currents 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  185 

and  variable  winds  rendered  the  making  of  a 
true  course  impossible  without  the  necessary 
aids,  they  devised  the  expedient  of  leaving  the 
true  course  wide  off  on  one  hand,  say  a  point  or 
two,  while  making  the  required  latitude  (which 
they  were  probably  able  to  find),  having  arrived 
at  which  they  ran  down  the  longitude.  It  was 
in  this  way  I  believe  that  eight  canoes  on  a 
voyage  of  1,500  or  2,000  miles  (according  to 
whether  they  came  from  Cook's  Islands  or  the 
Society  Islands)  managed  to  make  land  on  the 
East  Coast  of  the  North  Island  of  New  Zealand 
within  2!/2  degrees  of  latitude  of  each  other. 
They  all  came  straggling  in  singly,  and  four  of 
them  were  within  thirty  miles  of  each  other. 
There  could  have  been  nothing  accidental  about 
results  so  uniform ;  evidently  the  aid  of  science 
was  invoked,  roughly,  no  doubt,  but  sufficiently 
to  serve  all  practical  purposes. 

That  the  Hawaikians  introduced  the  art  of 
cultivation  into  New  Zealand,  where  they  found 
an  aboriginal  race  resembling  themselves  in 
appearance  and  speaking  the  same  language. 

That  in  selecting  sites  for  settlement  they 
avoided  the  localities  that  were  thickly  popu- 
lated by  the  aborigines,  towards  whom  until 
they  themselves  had  become  numerous  they 
behaved  with  much  circumspection. 


NGAETEEANGI,  OF  TAURANGA. 


It  was  many  years  ago,  before  our  utilitarian 
grass  paddocks  and  barbed-wire  fences  had 
changed  the  face  of  the  country,  that  I  first  saw 
the  picturesque  ruins  of  old  Tawhitirahi  pa  at 
Opotiki.  Standing  on  a  high  cliff  that  over- 
hangs the  stream  of  Kukumoa  they  were 
embowered  with  trees  and  flowering  plants  that 
festooned  from  them  to  the  stream  below.  The 
prospect  from  the  pa  was  delightful;  on  the 
one  hand  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the  ocean 
and  its  coast  lines  were  visible ;  on  the  other  the 
valley  of  Opotiki  was  everywhere  in  view.  The 
site,  too,  was  as  convenient  as  it  was  pleasant. 
Fishing  in  salt  water  and  fresh,  bird  snaring 
and  eel  catching,  were  near  to  hand,  while  fern 
root  in  abundance  of  finest  quality,  and  Tupa- 
kihi  wine  in  the  season  were  easily  obtained. 
It  was  here  some  350  years  ago  that  a  happy 
tribe  lived  of  Maui-Maoris  of  Awa  descent;* 
when  they  received  a  friendly  visit  from  the 
chief  of  the  powerful  neighbouring  tribe  of 
Ngatiha,  of  the  same  descent  (afterwards  called 
Ngatipukenga),  who  lived  at  Waiaua  and  Oma- 
rumutu.  The  visitor  greatly  admired  a  tame 
tui,  belonging  to  his  host  Kahukino,  that  sang 

*I  would  not  imply  that  this  tribe  has  not  a  strain  of 
Hawaikian  blood;  no  doubt  it  has,  and  like  some  others  it  knows 
more  about  its  Hawaikian  ancestors  than  its  aboriginal  lineage.  This 
is  due  to  causes  I  have  already  mentioned. 

186 


ANCIENT    MAOEI  LIFE  187 

and  was  otherwise  well  educated.  In  that  age 
birds  were  taught  to  bewitch  people,  and  to 
karakia  (say  prayers)  for  supplies  of  various 
kinds  of  food.  When  the  visitor  was  about  to 
return  home,  he  asked  that  the  bird  might  be 
given  to  him,  but  Kahukino  could  not  make  up 
his  mind  to  part  with  it.  The  visitor  concealed 
his  rage  and  went  away.  It  was  not  long  after 
this  that  Tawhitirahi  pa  was  surprised  one 
night  by  a  war  party  with  the  late  visitor  at  its 
head.  The  pa  was  taken,  some  of  its  chiefs 
and  people  were  slain ;  many,  however,  escaped 
and  fled  to  the  forest-clad  mountains  of  the 
interior,  where  they  wandered  for  a  time,  but 
could  not  remain,  as  they  were  trespassing  on 
the  hunting  grounds  of  other  tribes.  Thus  they 
passed  through  Motu  country,  and  crossing  its 
eastern  watershed,  descended  into  the  valley  of 
the  Waikohu,  where  they  were  found  by  the 
Takitumu  natives  of  Turanganui  (Poverty 
Bay),  and  would  have  been  slain  had  not  Waho 
o  te  Bangi  interposed.  He  was  the  chief  of 
Ngaeterangihokaia,  a  hapu  of  Te  Aetanga 
Hauiti,  of  Takitumu  descent,  who  lived  at  Uawa 
(Tologa  Bay). 

Waho  o  te  Eangi,  like  Tuterangiwhiu  at  Eau- 
kumara,  saved  the  refugees,  and  made  slaves  of 
them.  They  were  located  on  Te  Whakaroa 
Mountain,  inland  of  Waimata,  and  made  to 
catch  birds  and  carry  them  to  him  at  Uawa. 

At  this  time  the  people  who  laboured  in  this 
unhappy  plight  were  known  by  the  name  of 
Te  Rangihouhiri,  being  so  called  after  their 


188  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

chief,  who  was  the  son  of  Kahukino,  of  Tawhiti- 
rahi.  Kahukino  was  now  an  old  man,  and  had 
ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in  administering 
public  affairs.  Tutenaehe,  the  son  of  Eangi- 
houhiri,  grew  up  in  this  house  of  bondage. 

In  process  of  time  Waho  o  te  Eangi  grew  old 
and  approached  his  end.  The  aged  chief 
believed  that  there  would  be  no  one  in  the  tribe 
when  he  was  gone  who  would  be  capable  of 
retaining  possession  of  the  slaves.  He  felt  sure 
that  another  tribe  by  no  means  friendly  to  him 
would  come  and  remove  the  slaves,  thereby 
strengthening  themselves  and  weakening  his 
(Waho's)  tribe.  It  was  bad  enough  to  be 
weakened,  but  worse  that  at  the  same  time  the 
other  side  should  be  strengthened.  He  chose 
the  lesser  evil,  and  determined  to  kill  his  slaves. 

It  happened  by  some  means  that  the  slaves 
learned  the  fate  that  was  in  store  for  them,  and 
as  even  the  worm  will  turn,  so  this  poor  people 
turned  at  bay,  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  dearly. 
Although  their  slaves  had  taken  alarm,  and 
could  not  be  surprised,  the  masters  thought 
little  of  the  task  before  them.  Judge,  then, 
their  astonishment  when  their  heedless 
onslaught  was  met  by  an  organised  band  of 
skilled  warriors,  who  killed  them  instead,  and 
drove  them  back  the  way  they  had  come.  The 
Eangihouhiri  had  broken  their  bonds  and  never 
served  again.  They  decided  now  to  leave  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  seek  elsewhere  for  a 
place  where  they  might  make  a  home  for  them- 
selves, and  marched  towards  the  sea  at  Whan- 
gara,  near  which,  on  the  banks  of  the  Pakarae, 


ANCIENT   MAOEI  LIFE  189 

they  were  attacked  by  the  combined  forces  of 
Te  Aetanga  Hauiti,  the  tribe  of  which  their  late 
masters  were  a  section,  whom  they  defeated  a 
second  time  in  a  pitched  battle,  and  remained 
masters  of  the  field.  Te  Aetanga  Hauiti  now 
found  that  they  must  make  terms.  They  had 
altogether  mistaken  the  men  whom  they  had 
been  accustomed  to  despise,  whose  quality  man 
for  man  was  superior  to  their  own,  whose 
prestige  before  the  misfortune  at  Opotiki  had 
been  equal  to  their  own,  and  whose  spirit, 
disciplined  and  elevated  by  adversity  and 
self-sacrifice  was  unconquerable.  They  pro- 
posed that  fighting  should  cease,  and  that  Te 
Bangihouhiri  should  leave  the  district,  going  by 
canoes,  which  were  to  be  prepared  by  both 
parties,  and  Te  Bangihouhiri  were  to  have  time 
and  opportunity  to  collect  supplies  of  food  for 
the  journey.  These  proposals  were  accepted, 
they  suited  the  Bangihouhiri  perfectly,  and  both 
sides  observed  them  faithfully.  In  due  time  the 
Bangihouhiri  set  sail,  and  steering  north, 
arrived  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  where  they 
landed  at  a  place  called  Hakuranui,  and  lived 
there. 

Now,  accounts  conflict  as  to  this  locality.  I 
will  mention  them,  not  because  the  site  of  that 
place  affects  our  story,  but  just  to  illustrate 
practically  how  tradition,  like  history,  varies 
sometimes  in  its  facts.  There  are  two  Haku- 
ranui pas  at  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  one  south  of 
Baukokore,  the  other  at  Torere.  Ngaitai,  of 
Torere,  say  Te  Bangihouhiri  never  lived  at 
their  place,  while  the  people  of  Baukokore  say 


190  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

Te  Bangihouhiri  did  live  for  a  time  at  Haku- 
ranui,  that  is  upon  their  land.  These  state- 
ments one  would  think,  should  be  conclusive, 
but  they  are  not,  for  the  descendants  of  the 
Eangihouhiri  aver  that  the  Hakuranui  in 
question  is  at  Torere,  and  the  Arawa  who,  as 
we  shall  presently  see  have  a  voice  in  the 
matter,  support  the  Rangihouhiri  version. 

However,  no  matter  where  it  was,  the  location 
was  not  comfortable.  The  people  of  the  district 
disapproved  of  their  intrusion  and  harassed 
them ;  they  had  to  keep  close,  for  stragglers  did 
not  return,  and  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
cultivate,  as  the  following  instance  showed: — 
Two  men  of  Te  Eangihouhiri,  Awatope  and 
Tukoko,  went  out  into  a  field  to  plant  gourd 
seed.  Awatope  proposed  to  sow  broadcast  and 
get  away  for  fear  of  the  people  of  the  place. 
Tukoko  objected  to  such  a  slovenly  method,  and 
set  to  work  to  dibble  his  seed  in  properly.  Awa- 
tope quickly  sowed  his  broadcast  and  made  off. 
His  companion  was  busily  engaged  dibbling 
in,  when  he  was  suddenly  caught  and  killed.  It 
is  true  they  made  reprisals,  but  the  place  was 
not  worth  fighting  for,  and  therefore  they  went 
away.  Passing  Opotiki  and  their  old  pa  at 
Tawhitirahi,  they  came  to  Whakatane,  and  built 
a  pa  for  themselves  on  the  spur  of  the  hill  that 
approaches  the  river  next  above  Wainuite- 
whara.  Here,  on  the  strength  of  their  military 
reputation,  they  lived  undisturbed  for  a  time. 
There  was,  however,  sufficient  uneasiness  and 
uncertainty  on  all  sides  to  make  the  chiefs  of 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  191 

the  Eangihouhiri  think  seriously  of  taking  the 
initiative  by  a  coup  de  main  upon  the  Ngatiawa 
stronghold  of  Papaka  (which  position  is 
immediately  above  the  town  of  Whakatane). 
To  this  end  Tamapahore,  a  leader  of  theirs,  was 
one  night  creeping  about  under  the  fortifications 
of  Papaka  looking  out  for  a  point  of  attack, 
when  a  woman  came  out  of  the  pa  on  to  the 
defences  above  him.  She  did  not  see  him,  but 
he  saw  her,  and  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
he  gave  her  a  poke  with  the  point  of  his  taiaha. 
She  raised  an  outcry,  but  Tamapahore  escaped ;. 
the  incident,  however  betrayed  the  sinister 
designs  of  Te  Eangihouhiri  tribe.  Moreover, 
the  woman  was  the  chief's  daughter,  and  the 
insult  was  considered  great  by  her  tribe.*  All 
the  Eangihouhiri  knew  at  once  that  they  must 
move  on  from  Whakatane,  and  said  so  among1 
themselves. 

Then  Tamapahore  stood  up  and  addressed 
them,  saying :  "I  have  acted  foolishly,  and  we 
must  all  leave  this  place  in  consequence,  for 
all  their  hapus  are  roused,  but  we  will  not 
go  meanly  away;  we  will  deliver  a  battle 
first  and  then  go."  The  feelings  of  the 
people  approved  this  sentiment,  but  Ngatiawa 
would  have  none  of  it,  they  were  not  going  to- 
fight  for  nothing.  If  Te  Eangihouhiri  stayed 
they  would  be  wiped  out ;  if  they  went  at  once 
they  would  be  allowed  to  depart  in  peace.  Sa 
the  tribe  of  Te  Eangihouhiri  left  Whakatane,. 

*The  details  of  this  insult  will  not  bear  publication. 


192  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

and  went  to  Te  Awa  o  te  Atua,  where  they  were 
not  wanted. 

This  friendless  tribe  had  now  wandered  over 
the  country  200  miles  seeking  a  resting  place, 
and  no  resting  place  could  be  found,  for  the  land 
everywhere  was  occupied,  or  claimed  by  some- 
one. At  that  time  Te  Awa  o  te  Atua  was  held 
by  a  section  of  Ngatiawa  tribe,  who  not  long 
hef ore  that  had  expelled  the  Tini  o  Taunu  from 
that  district.  They  did  not  intend  that  Te 
Eangihouhiri  should  remain  with  them  too 
long,  and  by  and  by  as  the  visitors  manifested 
no  intention  of  moving  on,  an  intimation  to  go, 
too  rude  and  realistic  to  be  misapprehended, 
was  given  to  them. 

Then  Eangihouhiri,  the  chief  of  the  tribe  of 
that  name,  sent  Tamapahore  on  a  friendly  visit 
to  Tatahau,  the  chief  of  Tapuika,  at  Maketu, 
and  charged  him  to  spy  the  land  there.  Tama- 
pahore went  with  a  suitable  retinue,  and  was 
hospitably  received  by  Ongakohua,  another 
chief  of  Tapuika.  When  he  returned,  Tama- 
pahore reported  that  the  place  was  most 
desirable  in  every  respect.  The  aspect  was 
pleasant,  the  land  good,  the  cultivations 
beautiful,  and  fish  of  all  kinds  was  abundant 
in  the  sea  and  rivers  of  Waihi  and  Kaituna,  but 
the  place  was  populous,  and  Tatahau  was  a 
great  chief,  and  closely  connected  with  the 
powerful  Waitaha  a  Hei  tribe.  However,  the 
tempting  character  of  the  prize  outweighed  in 
Eangihouhiri 's  opinion  all  consideration  of 
difficulty,  and  war  with  Tatahau  was  determined 


ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE  193 

on,  but  a  pretext  was  required,  and  Kangi- 
houhiri  was  too  punctilious  to  misbehave  or  act 
incorrectly  in  the  matter.  Therefore,  he 
applied  to  Tuwewea,  the  chief  of  Ngatiawa,  at 
Te  Awa  o  te  Atua,  who  readily  furnished  the 
information  required.  Oddly  enough,  the  casus 
belli  took  its  rise  out  of  the  killing  of  their  own 
man  Tukoko,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  had 
dibbled  his  seed  instead  of  sowing  broadcast, 
and  that  point  being  settled  satisfactorily, 
preparation  was  made  for  the  campaign,  before 
entering  on  which  I  have  a  few  general  remarks 
to  make. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Eangihouhiri  tribe 
were  Awa  of  Toi,  that  the  tribe  of  Whakatane 
were  Awa  of  Hawaiki,  and  that  these  two  Awa 
tribes  became  connected  by  marriage  and  other 
causes,  due  to  amiable  propinquity,  also  by  a 
portion  of  the  latter  (Te  Kareke)  being  driven 
by  civil  war  into  the  former  and  being  absorbed 
by  them.  We  may  suppose  that  the  force  of 
these  affinities  was  greater  when  proximate; 
operating  as  it  were  upon  an  inverse  ratio  to 
the  square  of  their  distance,  and  extended  over 
a  considerable  area,  including  Tawhitirahi ;  and 
when  in  time  the  intervening  connection  consoli- 
dated, it  broke  up  into  tribes  and  hapus  of 
aboriginal  or  immigrant  appellation,  according 
to  the  degree  of  relationship  of  each  to  one  or 
other  of  the  centres  of  settlement,  the  former 
being  known  as  the  Whakatohea  hapus,  the 
latter  as  Ngatiawa;  but  in  the  cases  of  Te 
Bangihouhiri  of  Tawhitirahi  and  Ngatirawharo 

14 


194  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

of  Ohiwa  (both  intimately  connected  together), 
the  Awa  of  Toi  have  called  themselves 
Ngatiawa,  for  they  are  related  to  Ngatiawa,  and 
the  more  popular  name  has  been  adhered  to  by 
them. 

It  was  in  the  summer  that  the  Bangihouhiri 
tribe  set  out  from  Te  Awa  o  te  Atua  and 
marched  towards  Maketu.  The  main  body 
camped  at  Pukehina  under  Bangihouhiri  the 
chief,  while  a  strong  vanguard  took  up  a 
position  at  the  ford  at  Waihi,  giving  out  that 
they  were  a  fishing  party.  Presently  ten  men 
crossed  Waihi,  and  searching  among  the  plan- 
tations on  the  hill  above  Maketu  found  a  woman 
at  work  by  herself  collecting  caterpillars  off  her 
kumara  plants.  She  was  Punoho,  Tatahau's. 
daughter.  Her  they  outraged.  The  last  of  the 
party  to  approach  was  Werapinaki,  a  cripple. 
Filled  with  rage  she  derided  his  appearance, 
saying  "he  would  be  a  god  if  it  were  night 
time,  in  the  day  he  is  a  hideous  spectre, ' '  when, 
with  a  blow  of  his  weapon  he  killed  her,  the  body 
was  thrown  into  a  kumara  pit  where  it  could 
not  be  found.  When  Punoho  was  missed,  her 
tribe  sought  everywhere  in  vain,  not  a  trace  of 
her  was  seen.  They  suspected  the  Bangihouhiri 
of  foul  play,  and  sent  a  neutral  woman  to 
enquire.  The  answer  the  messenger  received 
was  "Yes,  she  was  killed  by  Werapinaki." 
Then  a  party  of  Tapuika  stealthily  crossed 
Waihi  at  night  and  slew  Werapinaki,  who  was 
a  chief,  as  he  slept  apart  under  an  awning,  the 
day  being  hot,  and  next  day  the  war  began. 
The  Bangihouhiri  took  the  initiative  by 


ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE  195 

assaulting  and  carrying  Tatahau's  great  pa  at 
Pukemaire  (where  the  old  European  redoubt 
stands).  Tatahau  and  many  of  his  tribe  were 
killed,  the  rest  and  two  of  his  sons  escaping 
to  Eangiuru.  All  the  smaller  pas  followed  the 
fate  of  Pukemaire.  In  this  war  the  Eangi- 
houhiri  forces  were  materially  strengthened  by 
a  section  of  their  tribe  that  came  from  the 
Uriwera  country,  where  it  had  taken  refuge 
after  the  fall  of  Tawhitirahi. 

Then  the  Ngaoho  (Arawa)  commenced  a 
series  of  campaigns  for  the  recovery  of  their 
lost  territory  and  prestige.  The  first  was  by 
Waitaha  a  Hei,  who  came  from  East  Tauranga ; 
Tatahau's  mother  was  of  their  tribe,  and  fought 
a  battle,  Te  Kakaho,  at  Maketu  ford  and 
retired,  for  the  weight  of  the  Eangihouhiri 
arms  was  greater  than  they  had  expected.  To 
mend  this  unsatisfactory  state  of  affairs 
Tapuika  strengthened  themselves  by  matri- 
monial alliances  with  Ngatimaru  at  the  Thames, 
and  with  the  people  at  Maungakawa,  from  whom 
they  got  assistance  in  the  next  campaign.  In 
the  same  way  they  tried  without  success  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  help  of  the  Hawaikian 
Awa,  or  Whanau  Apanui,  at  Maraenui.  On  the 
other  hand  the  Eangihouhiri  summoned  to  their 
aid  two  Opotiki  tribes,  one  of  them  (such  is  the 
irony  of  fate)  was  Ngatipukenga,  who  had  com- 
menced all  their  troubles  by  driving  them  out  of 
their  home  at  Tawhitirahi. 

When  ready  the  combined  forces  of  Ngati- 
maru (Tainui),  under  Te  Euinga,  Eanginui 
(Takitumu),  under  Kinonui,  who  was  carried 


196  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

in  a  litter,  also  "Waitaha  and  Tapuika  under 
Tiritiri  and  Manu,  sons  of  Tatahau,  advanced 
upon  Maketu.  The  first  encounter  was  a  night 
attack  upon  an  outwork,  Herekaki  pa,  which 
was  taken,  and  Tutenaehe  the  commander  was 
slain.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Te  Eangi- 
houhiri,  who,  when  he  heard  the  intelligence, 
exclaimed  "0!  my  son,  you  have  gone  by  the 
night  tide,  I  will  follow  by  the  morning  tide ! ' ' 
He  alluded  to  the  tide  because  it  is  the  custom 
in  that  part  of  the  country  where  much 
travelling  is  done  by  the  beach,  to  wait  for  low 
tide  to  make  a  journey.  Sure  enough  the  old 
man's  words  came  true,  and  by  the  morning 
tide  he  followed  his  son  to  the  unknown  world. 
The  next  morning  opened  with  the  beginning 
of  the  battle  of  Poporohuamea,  in  which  great 
numbers  were  engaged,  and  that  lasted  all  day. 
The  field  of  battle  was  on  the  high  ground 
immediately  above  the  entrance  to  Waihi  River, 
and  in  the  valley  there  that  descends  through 
the  high  ground  towards  the  sea  coast.  It  was 
there  that  the  Maui  Maori  and  the  Hawaikian 
Maori  joined  issue  in  perhaps  the  greatest 
battle  of  the  open  field  that  was  ever  fought  by 
the  two  races.  The  struggle  ended  at  last  in 
mutual  exhaustion.  The  party  in  possession 
retired  to  its  pas,  and  the  other  side,  who  had 
tried  to  oust  them,  gave  up  the  attempt,  re- 
crossed  the  Kaituna,  and  returned  to  the  places 
they  had  come  from.  Te  Bangihouhiri  is  the 
only  great  chief  whose  name  is  handed  down 
as  killed  in  this  battle.  From  the  death  of  Te 


ANCIENT   MAOEI  LIFE  197 

Bangihouhiri  the  tribe  of  that  name  became 
known  by  the  name  of  Ngaeterangi,  by  which 
name  they  are  called  at  the  present  day. 

After  the  battle  of  Poporohuamea  the  Ngaoho 
tribes  (Arawa)  of  the  lake  district,  took  up 
the  quarrel  and  determined  to  expel  the 
intruding  Ngaeterangi.  Year  after  year  they 
sent  armies  to  Maketu,  not  one  of  which  made 
any  impression  on  the  enemy.  The  first  army 
fought  a  little  and  returned  home.  The  next 
was  defeated  with  great  slaughter  at  Kawa 
swamp,  near  Maketu,  and  their  chief  Taiwere 
was  killed;  that  army  returned  to  the  lakes. 
Smarting  under  defeat  and  loss  the  Ngaoho 
again  set  forth  to  be  again  hurled  back  at  Kawa 
with  the  loss  of  Moekaha,  Taiwere 's  brother. 
They  had  as  many  killed  at  Kawa  No.  2  battle 
as  at  Kawa  No  1.  Assistance  was  now  sought 
and  obtained  from  Ngatihaua  tribe,  of  the 
Upper  Thames,  and  another  campaign  opened 
against  Maketu,  when  a  general  action  Kakaho 
No.  2  resulted  in  the  crushing  defeat  of  the 
combined  Ngaoho  and  Ngatihaua.  Haua,  the 
chief  of  Ngatihaua,  was  slain,  and  Ariari- 
terangi,  the  brother  of  Taiwere  and  Moekaha, 
was  drowned  in  making  his  escape.  After  this 
the  Ngaoho,  or  Arawa,  determined  to  avenge 
the  death  of  Ariariterangi,  and  his  son,  Te 
Eoro  te  Rangi,  led  an  army  against  Maketu. 
This  expedition  effected  nothing.  After 
fighting  awhile  Roro  te  Rangi  made  peace  with 
Ngaeterangi,  offerings  were  given  to  cement 
the  peace,  and  Roro  te  Rangi  returned  home  to 
Rotorua. 


198  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

Thus  ended  a  war  that  had  lasted  many  years, 
involving  many  tribes  and  much  bloodshed, 
there  had  been  several  pitched  battles  in  the 
field,  and  the  conquerors  had  stormed  thirteen 
pas.  Peace  was  made  with  the  Tauranga 
tribes  of  Waitaha  a  Hei  and  Ngatiranginui 
(Waitaha  Turauta  on  the  east  side  of  Maketu 
had  taken  no  part  in  the  war ) .  As  for  Tapuika, 
their  broken  power  was  not  worthy  of  con- 
sideration, and  was  simply  ignored.  Ngaete- 
rangi  now  held  undisturbed  possession  of 
Maketu,  and  about  75  square  miles  of  excellent 
land,  their  territory  extending  halfway  to  the 
lakes;  with  them  were  associated  Ngatiwhaka- 
hinga,  a  co-tribe  or  section  of  Ngaeterangi,  that 
had  not  been  driven  out  of  Opotiki  by  Ngatiha. 
Ngatipukenga  (formerly  called  Ngatiha), 
returned  to  Waiaua  after  the  battle  of  Poporo- 
huamea,  where  they  had  suffered  much;  Ngae- 
terangi availed  themselves  of  their  assistance 
at  the  battle,  but  their  presence  was  not 
particularly  acceptable  afterwards.  We  shall, 
however,  hear  more  of  this  most  pugnacious 
tribe,  which,  as  it  had  rendered  others  homeless, 
by  a  just  retribution  became  homeless  itself. 

Such  was  the  peaceful  condition  of  the  poli- 
tical horizon  to  Ngaeterangi,  as  resting  on 
their  laurels  they  enjoyed  the  tranquil  outlook, 
when  suddenly  another  war-cloud  rose,  of 
aspect  most  terrible;  they  were  precipitated 
into  it  and  all  was  strife  again. 

It  happened  that  a  canoe  went  out  from 
Tauranga  to  fish  in  the  open  sea.  Two  chiefs 
were  in  this  canoe,  named  Taurawheke  and  Te 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  199 

Turanganui.  A  westerly  gale  arose  and  drove 
the  canoe  before  it  until  it  was  lost  and  the 
people  all  drowned  excepting  one  man,  Taura- 
wheke, who  escaped  by  swimming  to  Okurei, 
Maketu  Point.  Here  he  was  found  in  an 
exhausted  state  by  a  woman  who  was  looking 
for  shellfish  amongst  the  rocks.  She  took  him 
to  a  sheltered  place  under  the  cliffs,  and  went 
to  fetch  food  and  clothes  for  him.  On  the  way 
she  met  her  husband  and  told  him  how  she  had 
found  Taurawheke  and  where  she  had  left  him. 
As  soon  as  she  had  departed  on  her  errand  the 
husband  went  and  killed  Taurawheke  and  ate  of 
him,  and  continued  thus  to  indulge  himself 
from  time  to  time  secretly,  the  people  of  his 
tribe,  Ngaeterangi,  knowing  nothing  about  it, 
but  his  wife  knew. 

At  Tauranga  it  was  supposed  that  the  canoe 
had  been  lost  at  sea  with  all  hands.  Sometime, 
however,  after  this,  the  man,  evidently  a  brutal 
fellow,  beat  his  wife  severely,  and  she 
exclaimed,  "Oh!  I  can  punish  you  by  telling 
what  you  did."  The  busybodies  of  the  tribe 
(of  whom  there  always  is,  have  been,  and  will 
be  a  number  everywhere)  now  sought  to  pene- 
trate the  mystery  of  the  wife's  words,  nor 
stopped  until  the  murder  was  out,  and  all  over 
the  place,  and  news  of  it  had  been  taken  to 
Tauranga.  Ngatiranginui  and  Waitaha  were 
not  slow  to  seek  revenge.  They  caught  two 
Ngaeterangi  chiefs  at  Otaiparia  at  Te  Tumu 
getting  toetoe.*  They  were  Tuwhiwhia  and  his 

*The   toetoe    (called   by   Europeans   tuitui   grass)    was   used   for 
thatch. 


200  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

son,  Tauaiti.  The  father  they  killed,  and  putting 
his  headless  body  into  his  canoe  sent  it  adrift  to 
float  down  the  stream  to  Maketu.  The  son 
they  took  to  Tauranga  and  killed  at  their  leisure 
by  torture  and  mutilation.  In  his  agony 
Tauaiti  said  to  his  persecutors:  "My  pain  is 
shallow  compared  to  the  ocean  of  pain  to  come," 
signifying  thereby  what  their  pain  would  be  like 
before  long. 

The  drift  canoe  was  seen  at  Maketu  and  told 
its  own  tale.  Intelligence,  too,  of  Tauaiti 's 
suffering  and  death  was  subsequently  received, 
and  entered  deeply  into  the  feelings  of  the 
people.  Their  rage  at  the  Tauranga  people 
was  dreadful,  to  whom  they  determined  that  the 
cup  of  wrath  should  be  administered  and  drunk 
to  the  dregs.  Then  was  seen  how  Kotorerua, 
the  younger  brother  of  Tauaiti,  rose  to  the 
occasion.  Putangimaru,  a  chief  of  Eaukawa, 
at  Waikato,  was  travelling  at  this  time  and 
came  to  Maketu;  he  was  known  to  be  a  wise 
man,  and  powerfully  possessed  of  the  art  of 
divination.  Kotorerua  suggested  to  his  sister, 
Tuwera,  that  she  should  be  complacent  to  their 
guest.  Putangi  was  pleased  and  Tuwera 
returned  with  him  to  his  home  as  his  wife,  and 
Kotorerua  was  invited  to  follow  them  to  their 
place  at  Hinuera  in  order  that  Putangi  and  he 
might  have  opportunity  to  divine  and  make 
plans  together. 

To  avoid  his  enemies  at  Tauranga,  Kotorerua 
travelled  through  the  forest  by  Otawa  to  Te 
Pawhakahorohoro,  where  he  found  a  guide  left 


ANCIENT   MAOEI  LIFE  201 

for  him  by  Putangimaru  named  Ika.  They 
travelled  to  Whenuakura,  whence  all  the 
country  could  be  seen  around.  Ika  pointed  out 
the  road  and  the  place  where  Putangimaru 
lived.  Kotorerua  having  got  this  information, 
killed  Ika  unawares,  because  he  wanted  some 
portions  of  his  body  to  divine  with  before  he 
met  Putangimaru.  Having  performed  this 
office,  he  pursued  his  journey,  taking  Ika's  head 
with  him.  Putangimaru  received  Kotorerua 
with  distinction,  and  asked  if  he  had  seen  Ika. 
"Yes,"  said  Kotorerua,  "he  brought  me 
through  the  forest,  and  then  I  was  able  to  find 
my  way  by  myself ;  so  I  killed  Ika,  as  I  had  to 
divine  before  I  met  you. ' ' 

"You  acted  very  wisely,"  said  Putangi. 

"I  have  brought  Ika's  head  for  us  both  to 
divine  upon,"  said  Kotorerua.  This  also 
received  the  approval  of  Putangimaru.  Then 
they  divined  carefully  and  found  the  auguries 
favourable,  and  they  took  counsel  together  and 
formed  the  plan  of  a  campaign.  This  done, 
Kotorerua  returned  to  Maketu  to  push  his 
preparations,  and  in  due  time  he  attacked  the 
large  pa  of  Banginui  and  Waitaha  at 
Maunganui. 

The  pa  of  Maunganui,  situated  on  the  hill  of 
that  name,  covered  about  100  acres.  The 
fortifications  crossed  the  top  of  the  hill  and 
ran  down  each  side,  then,  circling  round  the 
base  towards  the  south,  they  met.  Waitaha 
held  the  east  side,  and  Ngatiranginui  the  west 
side  of  the  pa,  which  enjoyed  a  beautiful  view 


202  ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE 

and  splendid  position  on  the  shore  of  the 
harbour.  The  fortifications  were  so  strong  and 
the  garrison  so  numerous  that  the  pa  seemed 
impregnable  to  Maori  weapons — no  matter  what 
the  prowess,  the  situation,  with  the  means  at 
command,  was  unassailable.  It  was  to  take 
this  pa  that  Putangimaru  and  Kotorerua  had 
devised  a  plan  as  daring  as  it  was  able,  and, 
perhaps,  the  only  one  by  which  the  object  could 
have  been  effected.  On  the  top  of  the  hill  on 
the  north  side  of  the  pa,  there  was  a  point  850 
feet  above  the  sea,  which,  under  certain  circum- 
stances would  be  vulnerable.  Kotorerua  under- 
took to  solve  the  problem  by  inducing  the 
required  conditions  and  making  the  attack  at 
that  point,  a  narrow  pass,  flanked  by  walls  of 
rock,  and  to  which  the  approach  from  below 
for  an  attacking  party,  was  exceedingly  steep. 
That  point  once  secured,  the  pa  must  fall,  for 
it  was  the  key  to  the  position.  A  handful  of 
defenders,  however,  could  hold  it  against  any 
number  from  without.  Kotorerua 's  scheme 
was  to  show  no  intention  of  making  war  on 
Kinonui,  the  chief  of  Maunganui;  on  the 
contrary,  he  would  lull  suspicion  by  appearing 
to  conciliate  him  with  a  handsome  present. 
The  offering  should  come  to  Kino  late  on  the 
evening  of  a  dark  and  stormy  night.  Kino  and 
his  people  would  then  be  occupied  fully  in 
entertaining  the  present-bearers,  or  pretending 
to  entertain  them,  and  in  counselling  amongst 
themselves  and  trying  to  fathom  this  new  and 
unexpected  departure  by  Kotorerua.  In  this 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  203 

way  many  hours,  perhaps  the  whole  night,  must 
elapse  before  Kinonui  and  his  people  would 
think  of  taking  action  of  any  kind,  and  during 
those  precious  moments  of  irresolution  Koto- 
rerua  intended  to  destroy  him ;  for  meanwhile, 
under  cover  of  darkness  and  storm,  the  whole 
force  of  Ngaeterangi  would  be  thrown  into  the 
pa  through  the  gap  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  The 
army  to  perform  this  service  would  have  to 
risk  the  storm  in  canoes,  passing  along  the 
coast  unseen  at  night,  and  landing  immediately 
below  the  gap  in  a  narrow  channel  between  the 
rocks  called  Te  Awaiti.  The  bearers  of  the 
present  were  to  slip  out  of  the  pa  in  the  dark- 
ness and  cut  the  lashings  of  the  topsides  of  all 
the  canoes  on  the  beach  and  rocks  in  front  of 
the  pa.  If  all  went  well,  this  rather  complicated 
scheme  would  no  doubt  realise  the  hopes  of  its 
authors,  but  there  were  obviously  several 
awkward  contingencies  connected  with  it,  which 
must  have  caused  considerable  anxiety  at  the 
time  to  those  charged  with  its  execution.  It 
happened,  however,  that  everything  came  to 
pass  exactly  as  Putangimaru  and  Kotorerua 
had  planned. 

One  evening,  Kotorerua  and  one  hundred  and 
forty  followers,  armed,  presented  themselves 
unexpectedly  before  the  fortifications  of 
Maunganui,  bearing  a  present  to  Kinonui  of 
one  hundred  baskets  of  kokowai  (red  ochre) ; 
it  was  houru,  the  kind  prepared  by  burning,  and, 
it  was  said,  had  been  obtained  with  much  labour 
from  the  streams  of  Kaikokopu.  The  rain  had 


204  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

overtaken  them  on  the  road,  and  they  explained 
that  they  had  been  delayed  while  preventing 
their  kokowai  from  getting  wet.  As  it  was  too 
late  to  go  through  the  formalities  of  presen- 
tation, the  baskets  were  stacked  at  the  quarters 
assigned  to  the  visitors.  Thus  an  inspection  of 
the  present  was  avoided,  which  was  just  as 
well,  seeing  that  each  was  only  a  basket  of 
earth,  with  a  layer  of  kokowai  at  the  top. 
Kotorerua  and  such  of  his  followers  as  he 
desired  to  accompany  him  were  taken  to  the 
large  meeting-house  in  the  pa,  where  the 
distinguished  men  of  the  pa  met  them.  This 
large  house,  belonging  to  Kinonui,  stood  on  the 
little  plateau  above  the  place  that  is  now  called 
Stony  Point ;  and  then  ensued  between  the  host 
and  his  guest  a  scene,  sustained  for  hours,  of 
courtly  urbanity  and  matchless  dissimulation, 
covering  a  substratum  of  deadly  hate;  each 
with  unparalleled  ability  was  playing  for  the 
almost  immediate  destruction  of  the  other  and 
all  who  were  with  him.  On  the  one  hand, 
Kotorerua  had  to  appear  at  ease  and  without  a 
trace  of  anxiety,  conversing  about  anything  or 
nothing,  to  gain  time  and  disarm  suspicion — 
and  this,  notwithstanding  his  men  might  be 
discovered  at  any  moment  tampering  with  the 
canoes  on  the  beach  below  the  pa,  and  notwith- 
standing the  safety  of  all  concerned,  and  the 
success  of  the  enterprise,  depended  upon  the 
arrival  in  time  of  the  canoes  through  the  storm. 
On  the  other  hand,  Kinonui  had  at  all  hazards 
to  keep  his  guest  interested  until  daylight,  when 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  205 

his  people  would  be  able  to  see  what  they  were 
doing,  for  it  was  intended  that  Kotorerua  and 
all  his  party  should  then  be  killed;  they  could 
not  kill  them  in  the  dark  without  accident  and 
confusion,  and  some  might  escape  in  the  dark- 
ness. Meanwhile  Kotorerua  was  not  to  be 
allowed  to  rejoin  his  men ;  but  to  kill  him  now 
would  alarm  them,  and  many  would  try  to 
escape,  therefore  the  conversation  was  kept  up 
between  these  two  great  actors,  each  working 
for  his  own  ends,  as  they  sat  facing  one  another 
with  apparent  indifference,  but  watchful  of 
every  movement.  Now  and  then  an  attendant 
of  one  of  the  chiefs  would  come  in  or  go  out, 
seemingly  about  nothing  in  particular,  but 
really  keeping  communication  open  with  their 
respective  parties  outside. 

At  length,  Kotorerua  was  made  aware  that 
the  time  for  action  had  arrived.  All  his  staff 
had  left  the  meeting-house  as  if  fatigued; 
presently  one  of  them  returned  about  something 
and  went  out  again,  leaving  the  door  open  after 
him.  Kotorerua  rose,  and  in  a  moment  had 
passed  swiftly  out.  Kinonui  had  not  time  to 
prevent  him,  so  unexpected  was  the  movement 
of  the  younger  man  and  so  sudden;  he  called 
after  Kotorerua  and  ran  to  stop  him,  but  it 
was  too  late,  the  sliding-door  was  slammed  in 
his  face  and  the  lanyard  fastened  outside.  The 
time  for  mock  ceremony  had  passed ;  that  which 
was  real  should  now  take  place.  A  torch  is 
handed  to  Kotorerua  and  quickly  applied  to  the 
raupo  wall,  the  meeting-house  is  wreathed  in 


206  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

flames,  and  Kinomii  with  his  associates  are 
immolated  at  the  ceremony  of  their  own  funeral 
pyre. 

Then,  by  the  illumination  cast  around,  an 
avalanche  of  war  was  seen  descending  from  the 
mountain-top,  sweeping  its  course  right  down  to 
the  sea,  and  crushing  the  people  as  it  rolled 
over  them.  Such  as  escaped  the  dread  invasion 
fled  to  their  canoes,  and  thrust  off  into  the 
harbour,  but  the  canoes,  already  wrecked,  filled 
with  water,  and  the  occupants  were  drowned 
in  trying  to  swim  to  the  opposite  and  distant 
shore. 

Thus,  with  the  head  rather  than  the  arm,  did 
Kotorerua  break  the  power  of  Ngatiranginui 
and  Waitaha,  and  it  was  all  done  by  a  coup  de 
main  in  a  few  short  hours.  The  conquest  of 
the  rest  of  the  district  of  Tauranga  speedily 
followed.  Katikati  and  the  islands  on  the 
north  side  of  the  harbour  were  first  subdued. 
This  was  Kinonui's  own  domain,  and  the  poor 
people  in  it  were  too  panic-stricken  to  offer  any 
effectual  resistance.  Tamapahore  took  the 
Waitaha  country  on  the  east,  including  the 
possessions  of  the  Kaponga,  hapu  of  Ngati- 
ranginui, at  Waimapu  and  Wairoa,  and  Buinga, 
between  Wairoa  and  Waipapa,  were  still  intact 
when  Kotorerua  returned  to  Tauranga  after  a 
temporary  absence.  He  was  then  surprised 
and  displeased  to  find  that  terms  of  peace  had 
been  granted  to  Ngatiranginui  at  Otumoetai  pa, 
that  the  same  had  been  ratified  by  a  marriage. 
Kotorerua  refused  absolutely  to  be  a  party  to 


ANCIENT    MAORI   LIFE  207 

the  arrangement.  He  immediately  attacked 
Otumoetai  and  destroyed  the  people  in  the  pa. 
This,  with  the  fall  of  some  minor  pas  on  the 
south  side  of  the  harbour,  completed  the  subju- 
gation of  the  Tauranga  country  by  Ngaeterangi. 

Kotorerua's  campaign  at  Maunganui  denotes 
consummate  generalship,  with  troops  of  finest 
quality  and  discipline,  and  a  high  military  and 
naval  organisation.  Only  with  such  material 
could  such  a  daring  and  complicated  scheme 
have  been  carried  out,  but  the  general  knew  the 
quality  of  his  men,  and  therein  he  showed  his 
capacity.  The  maxim,  that  for  desperate  cases 
desperate  remedies  are  necessary,  must,  I 
suppose,  be  taken  as  a  sufficient  warrant  for  the 
general  when  staking  everything  upon  the 
unknown  quantity  of  a  gale  of  wind  at  sea,  but 
the  auguries  had  been  favourable,  and  we  can- 
not tell  how  much  that  influenced  him.  I  have 
myself  been  impressed  with  the  unquestioning 
faith  the  old  Maori  chiefs  had  in  the  auguries 
vouchsafed  to  them.  I  remember  such  an  one 
who  went  through  many  battles  in  the  belief 
that  no  bullet  could  harm  him.  He  might  be 
wounded,  he  said  (experience  showed  that),  but 
he  could  not  be  killed.  He  died  in  his  bed,  with 
a  reputation  that  extended  throughout  the 
North  Island. 

Wolfe,  going  by  boat,  took  the  enemy  in  the 
rear  at  night  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  but 
he  had  not  a  sea  voyage  by  boat  in  storm,  and 
a  night  landing  through  breakers  on  the  coast 
to  make.  On  the  contrary,  he  had  a  river  so 


208  ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE 

calm  to  go  upon  that,  we  are  told,  he  recited 
Gray's  ''Elegy"  to  his  staff  at  that  time;  nor 
had  he  to  enter  the  enemy's  camp  and  delude 
him,  while  in  the  act  of  destroying  his  means 
of  retreat,  by  breaking  his  boats  not  one 
hundred  yards  away.  Yet  there  was  a  rift  in 
Kotorerua's  lute  which  wellnigh  spoilt  the 
harmony  of  his  combination.  He  was  a  young 
man,  and  his  uncle,  Tamapahore,  was  a  veteran 
leader  in  battles.  On  this  occasion  the  latter, 
with  his  division,  held  aloof  and  did  not  join 
the  flotilla,  which  was  kept  waiting  for  hours, 
until  the  very  last  moment  possible,  when  at 
length  he  put  in  an  appearance.  This  happened 
presumably  through  jealousy;  however  pres- 
sure or  loyalty  to  Ngaeterangi  prevailed  in  the 
end,  but  Tamapahore  never  got  a  quarter  in 
the  pa  at  Maunganui.  The  place  he  chose  was 
made  too  uncomfortable  for  occupation;  the 
other  Ngaeterangi  rolled  great  stones  down  the 
hill  to  his  location;  he  took  the  hint,  and  made 
a  pa  elsewhere  at  Maungatapu.  The  jealousy, 
if  such,  of  this  old  Maori  warrior  was  natural 
enough;  more  highly  civilised  soldiers  have 
felt  the  same,  and  some  have  not  come  out  of 
the  ordeal  as  well.  Witness,  for  instance,  the 
misconduct  of  that  Imperial  Archduke,  who,  by 
withholding  his  hand,  caused  his  brother  to  lose 
the  field  of  Wagram.  See  also  the  jealousy  and 
disunion  of  Napoleon's  marshals  in  the  Penin- 
sula. The  Waitaha  remnant  fled  to  Te  Eotoiti ; 
the  remnants  of  Ngatiranginui,  as  already 
stated,  escaped  into  the  forest  at  the  back  of 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  209 

Tepuna,  and  there  they  became  known  as  Te 
Pirirakau,  which  is  their  name  still. 

It  will  be  remembered  how  the  aborigines 
permitted  a  few  of  the  immigrants  by  Takitunm 
to  settle  at  Tauranga;  those  persons  kept  up 
a  connection  with  their  compatriots  at  Whan- 
gara.  Kahungungu,  the  ancestor  of  the  great 
tribe  of  that  name,  was  a  Takitumuan  of 
Tauranga,  who  left  his  native  place  and  went 
south  to  live  amongst  the  other  Takitumuans 
because  his  elder  brother  had  grossly  insulted 
him,  by  striking  him  on  the  mouth  with  a 
kahawai  (a  fish).  Similarly,  two  hundred  and 
forty  years  after  the  settlement  at  Whangara 
had  been  made,  Ranginui  moved  with  his  people 
from  Hangar oa  (between  Poverty  Bay  and 
Wairoa,  H.B.)  to  Tauranga,  and  camped  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Wairoa,  near  where  the  bridge 
on  the  Katikati  road  is  now.  They  were 
squatting  on  land  belonging  to  Ngamarama,  a 
numerous  tribe,  who  owned  the  whole  country 
west  of  Waimapu  River.  The  Ngamarama 
resented  the  encroachment,  and,  to  put  a  stop 
to  it,  caused  two  Ngatiranginui  children  to  be 
drowned  by  their  own  children  while  bathing 
together  in  the  Wairoa.  The  Ranginui  children 
fled  home  and  told  what  had  been  done  to  them. 
The  tribe  considered  the  matter,  and  next  day 
the  children  were  directed  to  return  and  bathe 
as  though  nothing  had  happened,  and  when  the 
Ngamarama  children  joined  them  they  were 
without  fail  to  drown  some  of  them;  this  the 
children  did,  and  reported  that  they  had 


15 


210  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

drowned  a  Bangatira  girl.  War  followed, 
resulting  in  time  in  the  destruction  and  expatri- 
ation of  Ngamarama,  and  this  is  how  Ngati- 
ranginui  became  possessed  of  Tauranga,  where 
they  lived  undisturbed  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  until  Ngaeterangi  came  and  took  it  from 
them,  about  two  hundred  and  forty  years  ago.* 

THE  NGATIPUKENGA  TEIBE. 
I  will  now  mention  Ngatipukenga  more 
particularly,  who  formerly  lived  at  Waiaua, 
east  of  Opotiki.  We  have  seen  that  they  drove 
the  Eangihouhiri  away  from  Tawhitirahi,  also 
that  when  the  same  Bangihouhiri  took  Maketu 
and  killed  Tatahau  they,  the  Ngatipukenga, 
came  to  Maketu,  hoping  to  join  in  the  spoil,  and 
took  part  at  the  battle  of  Poporohuamea.  Their 
chiefs  at  that  battle  were  Kahukino  and  Te  Tini 
o  Awa.  The  tribe,  I  should  say,  was  of  the 
ancient  aboriginal  stock.  At  the  battle  named 
they  suffered  severely,  and  recrossed  the  Waihi, 
whence  they  returned  home.  The  Bangihouhiri 
had  not  forgotten  Tawhitirahi  and  did  not 
solicit  their  aid  at  the  campaign  of  Maunganui. 
When  they  heard,  however,  of  Kotorerua's 
success  at  Maunganui,  they  hurried  up  to  Tau- 
ranga, to  try  and  share  in  the  spoil,  and  this 
time  they  managed  to  get  a  large  tract  of  land 
next  to  Tamapahore's  selection  on  the  west 

*In  the  story  of  Te  Waharoa,  written  twenty-nine  years  ago, 
though  not  published  until  the  year  following,  I  have  placed  the 
conquest  of  Tauranga  by  Ngaeterangi  at  'about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago.'  My  unit  then  for  a  generation  was  twenty  years. 
My  unit  now  is  thirty  years.  Moreover,  that  was  written  one 
generation  ago. 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  211 

side.  Here  they  became  so  overbearing  that  all 
the  Ngaeterangi  hapus  united  against  them 
about  one  hundred  years  ago,  and  drove  them 
completely  out  of  the  Tauranga  district.  Their 
culminating  offence  was  a  ruthless  assault  upon 
a  number  of  women  of  Ngaeterangi  who  were 
collecting  shellfish  on  the  flats  laid  bare  by  the 
tide  near  Te  Papa.  At  their  rout  they  fled  by 
way  of  Whareroa  (where  they  left  their  canoes 
thickly  lining  the  beach,  which  ever  after  was 
called  Whakapaewaka)  to  Orangimate  pa,  half 
way  to  Maketu.  Thus  the  measure  meted  by 
them  to  Te  Bangihouhiri  was  measured  to  them 
by  Ngaeterangi,  Bangihouhiri 's  descendants. 

After  this  expulsion  Ngatipukenga  hated 
Ngaeterangi  bitterly,  and  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity of  joining  the  enemies  of  that  tribe. 

When  Tapuika  fell  before  Ngaeterangi  at  Te 
Karaka,  Ngatipukenga  came  and  helped  them  to 
obtain  revenge  at  Te  Kakaho. 

When  Ngatiwhakahinga  retired  from  Maketu 
before  Ngatemaru,  Ngatipukenga  went  and 
occupied  that  place. 

Then  Te  Barau  from  Waikato  and  Ngaete- 
rangi attacked  them,  seeking  to  drive  them 
away  from  Maketu,  but  effected  nothing. 

Then  Ngapuhi,  armed  with  guns,  came,  at 
whose  approach  Ngatipukenga  fled  inland  to 
Te  Whakatangaroa,  near  Te  Hiapo,  and  Maketu 
was  evacuated  by  them.  But  some  time  after 
Ngatitematera,  from  Hauraki,  attacked  and 
took  Te  Whakatangaroa,  and  Ngatipukenga 
fled  to  the  lakes. 


212  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

A  war  party  of  Ngatirawharo,  allies  of 
Ngaeterangi,  going  from  Tauranga  to  attack 
Okahu  pa  at  Rotoiti,  were  encountered  en  route 
by  Ngatipukenga  and  an  action  was  fought  at 
Te  Papanui,  where  Ngatipukenga  were 
defeated. 

After  this  the  elder  Taipari,  of  Hauraki, 
made  peace  with  Ngatipukenga. 

Ngapuhi  came  a  second  time  to  Tauranga, 
and  on  this  occasion  joined  Ngaeterangi  against 
Ngatipukenga,  Orangimate  pa  was  taken  with 
much  slaughter,  and  the  refugees  fled  to 
Eotorua.  At  length  Ngatipukenga  decided  to 
go  to  Hauraki,  whence  their  feud  could  be 
carried  on  more  easily  and  effectively.  They, 
therefore,  left  Orangimate  and  Maketu,  to  which 
places  they  had  returned  from  the  lakes,  and 
joined  Ngatimaru  at  the  Thames,  by  whom 
some  of  them  were  located  at  Manaia,  near 
Coromandel,  where  they  are  now  known  as  Te 
Tawera. 

From  the  Thames  they  went  with  Ngatimaru 
to  Maungatautari,  from  whence  they  operated 
against  Ngaeterangi  thrice,  losing  two  engage- 
ments at  Te  Taumata  and  gaining  one  in  which 
the  Ngaeterangi  chief,  Tarakiteawa,  was  killed. 

Then  followed  the  taking  of  Te  Papa  pa  at 
Tauranga  by  Te  Eohu,  of  the  Thames,  where 
Ngatipukenga  were  present  and  joined  in  the 
assault.  Te  Papa  was  destroyed  in  utu  for  the 
murder  by  Ngaeterangi  of  Te  Hiwi,  near  the 
Wairoa  Eiver.  Te  Hiwi  was  a  chief  of  Ngati- 
raukawa. 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  213 

From  Te  Papa  Te  Eohu  advanced  to  Maketu, 
Ngatipukenga  accompanying  him.  They  found 
the  pa  occupied  by  Ngapotiki  of  Ngaeterangi. 
The  pa  was  taken  and  many  Ngapotiki  were 
slain. 

Again,  Ngatipukenga  followed  Ngatimaru 
through  the  war  at  Haowhenua  and  Taumata- 
wiwi,  and  after  the  defeat  suffered  there  Ngati- 
pukenga fled  to  Eotorua,  where  they  hardly 
escaped  death  because  they  had  murdered  Te 
Kuiti  at  Eotorua,  on  a  former  visit,  and  because 
they  had  killed  Te  Oneone  at  Maketu.  These 
were  very  good  reasons  why  they  should  be 
killed  and  eaten,  but  they  were  saved  through 
an  old  marriage  of  one  of  their  chiefs  with  a 
Ngatiwhakaue  woman  of  rank.  However, 
Ngatiwhakaue  would  not  allow  them  to  remain 
at  Ohinemutu,  and  they  passed  on  to  Maketu, 
which  place  they  held  until  Te  Waharoa  took 
their  pa  and  killed  nearly  the  whole  of  them. 
The  remnant  fled  back  to  Eotorua.  When 
Maketu  was  re-taken  by  the  Arawa  this 
remnant  returned  to  Maketu,  where  it  has 
remained  to  the  present  time. 

During  the  civil  war  at  Tauranga  in  the 
fifties,  Ngatipukenga  were  invited  from  Manaia 
to  help  Ngatihe,  with  the  promise  of  receiving 
land  at  Ngapeke,  at  Tauranga.  They  came  and 
got  the  land,  but  rendered  no  military  service 
for  it,  for  the  war  was  over  before  they  arrived. 
A  number  of  Ngatipukenga  live  at  Ngapeke  still. 

The  little  tui  was  the  ruin  of  Ngatipukenga. 
It  involved  them  in  a  long  struggle  with 


214  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

Ngaeterangi  that  lasted  for  generations,  and 
reduced  their  number  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  ceased  to  have  power  to  disturb  anyone; 
moreover  they  lost  all  their  lands  at  Opotiki 
and  Tauranga,  through  the  restless  and 
pugnacious  spirit  which  followed  their  adven- 
ture at  Tawhitirahi. 

NGATIBAWHAKO  TEIBE. 

Ngatirawharo  were  like  Ngaeterangi,  only 
more  Hawaikian,  perhaps.  Originally  they 
lived  at  Ohiwa,  whence  they  moved  to  Waiohau, 
on  the  Eangitaiki  Eiver.  The  Ngatipukeko 
a  tribe  of  Ngatiawa,  objected  to  what  they 
considered  a  trespass  on  their  land,  and 
attacked  them.  Marupuku  was  the  chief  of 
Ngatipukeko,  who  led  this  war,  in  which  there 
was  much  fighting,  lasting  a  long  time.  The 
following  battles  were  fought:  Whakaaronga, 
where  Ngatirawharo  suffered  severely;  then 
Putahinui  and  Pounatehe  were  engagements 
at  which  Irawharo  were  beaten  and  driven 
many  miles  toward  the  sea.  This  happened 
about  the  time  that  Te  Eangihouhiri  made  their 
progress  from  Opotiki  to  Tauranga.  Ngati- 
pukeko continued  from  time  to  time,  with  more 
or  less  success,  to  wage  war.  They  fought  at 
Otamarakau  at  Waiohau,  at  Tamahanga  near 
Raerua,  at  Tapuae,  and  at  Omataroa.  On  each 
occasion  they  improved  their  position,  and  after 
the  action  last  named,  Ngatirawharo  were  com- 
pelled to  move  off  their  land  and  cross  the  river 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  215 

at  Te  Teko;  but  the  people  at  Te  Teko  would 
not  allow  them  to  remain  there,  so  they  had  no 
option  but  to  move  on,  nor  stopped  until,  with 
reduced  numbers,  they  arrived  at  Otamarakau 
at  Waitahanui.  There,  and  at  Te  Euataniwha, 
they  settled,  and  remained  a  long  time.  At 
length  they  joined  their  friends,  the  Ngaete- 
rangi,  at  Tauranga,  where  they  have  lived  ever 
since.  This  tribe  has  forgotten  that  it  has 
aboriginal  blood  in  its  veins. 

THE  WAR  OF  NGATIPUKEKO  OF  MATAATUA  WITH: 
NGATIMANAWA  OF  TE  ARAWA. 

Shortly  after  the  termination  of  their  war 
with  the  Kareke  tribe  at  Te  Poroa,  Ngati- 
pukeko,  under  Te  Muinga,  went  to  Te  Whaiti  to- 
live.  Te  Muinga 's  example  was  not  im- 
mediately followed  by  all  the  chiefs,  but  in  the' 
course  of  four  or  five  years  all  the  great  chiefs 
had  moved  from  Whakatane  to  Te  Whaiti,  Tehe 
only  remaining  at  Papaka  to  take  care  of  that 
place  (Papaka,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the 
strong  pa  at  Whakatane  that  Tamapahore  was 
prowling  round  on  the  night  when  he  grossly 
insulted  a  chief's  daughter).  In  time  about  six 
hundred  fighting  men  had  settled  at  Te  Whaiti, 
whose  chiefs  were  Kihi,  Mokai,  Tautari  in  his 
youth,  Te  Mahuhu,  and  Te  Moeroa.  Their 
principal  pa  was  Nihowhati.  It  happened  one 
day  that  Tamahi  of  theirs  set  out  on  a  journey 
to  Whakatane,  for  numbers  of  the  tribe  contin- 
ually passed  and  repassed  between  the  two 


216  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

places.  When  he  arrived  at  Puketapu,  a  pa  at 
Mangahouhi,  Tamahi  met  a  war-party  of  the 
Uriwera,  under  Paiterangi,  who  slew  him. 
Ngatihaka  saw  the  deed  and  took  the  body  of 
Tamahi  and  buried  it.  Soon  after,  three  men 
of  Ngatimanawa  passing  by,  dug  up  the  body 
and  ate  it.  They  were  Manakore,  Tarewarua, 
and  Matarehua.  When  Ngatipukeko  heard  of 
it,  all  the  body  had  been  consumed. 

Then  Kihi  led  Ngatipukeko  away  from  the 
members  of  all  other  tribes,  to  a  remote  place 
in  the  forest,  where  he  said  he  wished  a  clearing 
to  be  made,  but  when  they  had  arrived  on  the 
ground  he  cast  aside  his  stone  axe  and  grasped 
his  weapon ;  they  all  did  the  same,  and  a  council 
of  war  was  held  to  know  what  should  be  done. 
It  was  unanimously  decided  to  avenge  the 
insult  offered  by  Ngatimanawa,  and  this  was 
done  by  making  a  night  attack  under  Kihi  on 
Parakakariki  pa,  near  Tutu  Tarata.  They  killed 
Te  Matau  and  vindicated  their  honour.  Then 
peace  was  ostensibly  made  and  hostilities  ceased. 

After  the  foregoing  episode,  messages  came 
to  Ngatipukeko  at  Te  Whaiti,  from  the  tribes 
at  Taupo  and  Whanganui,  asking  them  to  come 
and  fight  for  them.  The  tribe  was  summoned 
to  a  council  of  war,  and  Kihi  urged  the  enter- 
prise, saying  to  the  chiefs  Matua  and  Taimi- 
miti:  "Go  and  lead  the  fight."  They 
answered:  "No,  go  you  and  lead,  for  you  are 
our  fighting  chief. ' '  ( Kihi  was  probably  afraid 
to  leave  the  home  of  the  tribe  in  the  care  of  the 
two  chiefs  named.)  However,  he  went  with  a 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  217 

war  party  of  seven  score  men,  and  had  a  very 
successful  campaign,  taking  pas  at  Whangaehu, 
near  Whanganui. 

During  Kihi's  absence  Matua  and  Taimimiti 
went  on  a  fishing  excursion  (but  Ngatimanawa 
chose  to  say  they  went  to  kill  men  in  utu  for  the 
violation  of  Te  Wharekohuru,  Tautari's 
daughter).  They  were  busy  catching  eels  when 
they  received  an  invitation  from  Ngatimanawa, 
at  Waiirohia,  near  by.  They  accepted  the 
proffered  hospitality,  and,  as  a  reward  for  their 
simplicity,  they  and  their  party  of  seven  were 
slain.  Having  thus  committed  themselves, 
Ngatimanawa  immediately  arose  and  destroyed 
two  Ngatipukeko  villages,  Ngatahuna  and 
another;  only  one  person  escaped,  who  fled 
from  the  latter  to  Nihowhati.  But  though 
warned,  Nihowhati  was  nevertheless  destroyed, 
the  bulk  of  the  people  being  away.  Te  Munga 
and  one  hundred  people  were  burnt  at  Niho- 
whati in  a  large  house  in  the  pa,  called  Te  Umu 
ki  te  Ngaere. 

It  happened,  however,  that  one  man,  named 
Mato,  escaped  unperceived  from  the  rear  of  the 
house,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  the  scattered 
Ngatipukeko  in  the  surrounding  country,  who 
all  collected  at  Oromaitaki,  where  they  were 
joined  by  the  refugees  of  Ngatiwhare,  for 
Ngatiwhare  had  suffered  also,  and  there  they 
built  a  pa  to  defend  themselves.  Karia  was 
sent  to  recall  Kihi,  and  fortunately  met  him 
returning  with  his  war  party  close  at  hand  at 
Kaingaroa. 


218  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

On  hearing  the  dreadful  intelligence,  the 
warriors  of  the  Ngatipukeko  whose  families  had 
been  massacred,  determined  to  kill  Kihi  on  the 
spot  for  taking  them  away  to  Whanganui.  But 
Kihi  said:  "Let  me  live  to  get  vengeance.  If 
the  other  chiefs  had  lived  you  might  have  killed 
me,  and  I  would  have  been  willing  to  die,  but 
they  are  all  slain,  and  there  is  no  one  else  to 
lead  you  now.  Let  me  live  to  seek  vengeance. ' ' 
Then  Ngatipukeko  spared  him. 

Soon  they  came  upon  a  birdcatcher  of  Ngati- 
manawa,  whom  they  questioned,  and  learned 
that  they  were  close  to  the  main  body  of 
Ngatimanawa,  seven  or  eight  hundred  strong, 
who  were  about  to  attack  Oromaitaki.  Killing 
the  birdcatcher,  they  advanced  and  presently 
perceived  the  enemy  reconnoitring  the  pa. 
They  remained  unperceived,  and  at  daylight 
next  morning  attacked  him  unawares,  routing 
him  with  slaughter  and  the  loss  of  two  chiefs; 
but  they  found  at  the  end  of  the  action  that  the 
birdcatcher  had  deceived  them,  and  that  the 
main  body  of  the  enemy  had  not  been  engaged. 
On  this  they  became  very  cautious,  watching  all 
detached  parties,  and  cutting  them  off.  By  this 
means  several  score  of  Ngatimanawa  were 
killed.  At  length  a  general  action  was  fought, 
in  which  Ngatimanawa,  although  assisted  by 
Ngatihineuru  from  Eunanga,  were  defeated. 
Then  for  the  first  time  Kihi's  war  party  went  to 
Oromaitaki  to  mingle  their  lamentations  with 
the  people  there  for  the  many  murdered  mem- 
bers of  the  tribe.  For  a  short  time  only  did 


Kakapo. 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  219 

they  weep,  and  then  they  went  out  from  the  pa 
the  same  day  to  fight  the  enemy  at  Ikarea.  This 
was  not  a  decisive  action,  but  the  next  battle 
fought  at  Mangatara  was  entirely  favourable  to 
Ngatipukeko.  It  was  a  very  peculiar  battle, 
because  it  was  fought  by  women.  There  were 
only  thirty-seven  Ngatipukeko  men  engaged,  all 
the  rest  who  fought  were  women,  and  the  odds 
against  them  were  fearful.  But  first,  I  should 
say,  that  the  Ngatipukeko  had  been  out- 
generalled.  They  were  scattered  in  pursuit  of 
detached  parties,  when  suddenly  Ngatimanawa 
fell,  with  concentrated  force,  upon  their  head- 
quarters, where  their  families  were.  The 
women  were  equal  to  the  occasion.  They  rigged 
up  guys  so  well  that  the  enemy  was  deceived, 
and  in  forming  for  attack  laid  himself  open  to 
an  irresistible  onset  in  the  flank.  The  Amazons 
displayed  a  wonderful  courage  and  knowledge 
of  the  art  of  war.  With  hair  cropped  short  and 
bodies  nude*  they  charged  into  the  undefended 
side  of  the  enemy,  with  such  force  as  to  throw 
him  into  confusion.  Moenga  was  the  distin- 
guished Amazon  of  the  day.  She  fought  with 
a  paiaka,  and  hewed  the  Ngatimanawa  down  on 
every  side.  On  all  sides  the  enemy  fell,  until 
he  broke  and  fled;  the  main  body  of  Ngatipu- 
keko army  came  up  in  time  to  follow  in  pursuit, 
nor  stopped  until  Eunanga  was  reached.  From 
there  the  Ngatimanawa,  or  rather,  what  was 
left  of  them,  passed  on  to  Mohaka,  where  Te 

*In  Maori  warfare  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  fight  naked, 
and  with  short  hair,  in  order  to  give  the  enemy  no  means  of  catching; 
hold  of  the  body ;  for  the  same  reason  oil  or  fat,  when  obtainable, 
was  smeared  over  the  body  before  going  into  action. 


220  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

Kahu  o  te  Kangi,  a  chief  of  Ngatikahungungu, 
made  slaves  of  them.  Te  Kahu  soon  found 
that  he  was  being  cheated  by  his  slaves.  The 
birds  they  caught  were  given  to  a  chief  of 
another  tribe.  Finding  they  were  not  to  be 
trusted,  he  ill-treated  and  killed  them. 

Then  Ngaetuhoe,  a  tribe  of  the  Uriwera,  took 
compassion  on  the  miserable  remnant  of  Ngati- 
manawa,  and  brought  them  away  to  Maunga- 
pohatu,  and  they  had  some  old  kumara  pits 
given  them  to  live  in.  While  they  lived  in  this 
abject  condition  at  Maungapohatu,  the  Ngati- 
manawa  sent  Kato  and  others  to  Kihi  to  sue 
for  peace.  Their  petition  was  granted,  and 
terms  were  fixed.  The  next  day  another 
section  of  Ngatipukeko  sent  for  Kato  and  his 
friends,  to  hear  and  discuss  the  terms  named; 
this,  however,  was  only  a  ruse,  for  as  soon  as 
Kato  and  his  companions  appeared,  some  of 
whom  were  related  to  Ngatiwhare,  they  killed 
and  ate  them.  Therefore,  for  ever  after  that 
treacherous  hapu  of  Ngatipukeko  was  called 
Ngatikohuru  (hapu  of  murderers). 

Now,  when  Ngatipukeko  had  conquered 
Ngatimanawa,  Ngatiwhare  became  afraid  of 
their  inflamed  and  bloodthirsty  demeanour,  and 
quietly  withdrew  to  the  mountains,  and  there 
remained  until  intelligence  was  received  of  the 
murder  of  their  friends  by  Ngatikohuru.  Then, 
from  being  friendly  from  a  distance,  they 
changed  and  became  active  enemies  to  Ngati- 
pukeko, although  closely  related  to  them,  and 
revenge  in  some  way  was  determined  upon. 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  221 

The  opportunity  was  not  long  in  coming.  News 
was  received  that  Ngatipukeko  were  sending  a 
deputation  of  chiefs  to  the  Uriwera  at 
Euatahuna;  instantly  Ngatiwhare  dispatched 
Karia,  their  chief,  to  Euatahuna,  there  to 
persuade  the  Uriwera  chief,  Eangikawhetu,  to 
kill  the  deputation  when  it  should  arrive. 
Eangikawhetu  assented  to  Karia 's  proposal, 
and  tried  to  carry  it  out.  His  success  was  only 
partial,  for  Mokai  and  Kuraroa  escaped. 
This  affair  created  a  further  complication  in 
the  political  outlook,  and  for  a  long  time  Ngati- 
pukeko were  embroiled  with  the  Uriwera  tribe. 
At  this  time  Ngatipukeko  had  possession  of 
the  right  bank  of  Eangitaika  from  Waiohau  to 
Te  Whaiti,  where  they  lived  many  years  undis- 
turbed, and  then  they  returned  under  Kihi  to 
Whakatane.  From  Whakatane  they  went  to 
Te  Awa  o  te  Atua  and  lived  a  while,  and  there 
they  saw  Captain  Cook's  ship  pass  by.  They 
went  off  to  the  vessel  and  saw  the  people  on 
board  of  her.*  Again  they  returned  to  Whaka- 
tane, where  a  deputation  from  Ngatimanawa 
and  Ngatiwhare  sued  for  peace  and  to  be 
permitted  to  return  to  their  homes  at  Te 
Whaiti,  and  Ngatipukeko  allowed  them  to  go 
there.  

*The  tradition  says  that  they  saw  Cook's  people  balancing  poles 
on  their  chins.  The  poles  were  balanced  vertically,  one  end  in  the 
air,  the  other  on  the  chin.  I  have  heard  this  tradition  more  than 
once  from  old  chiefs  now  deceased,  not  one  of  whom  could  give 
me  any  explanation.  Could  it  have  been  that  Cook  and  his  officers 
were  seen  taking  the  sun  with  old-fashioned  elongated  quadrants  f 
or  were  the  marines  seen  in  profile  with  their  arms  at  the  'carry,' 
and  that  thus  an  impression  was  produced  on  the  Maoris  ?  or  were 
the  men  really  amusing  themselves  in  the  manner  described! 
Doubtless  the  long  voyage  necessitated  some  amusements,  and  perhaps, 
this  curious  one  was  extemporised. 


222  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

A  MAORI  DUEL. 

When  the  chief  Matua  was  murdered,  as  I 
have  said,  while  eel-catching  at  Waiirohia,  he 
left  a  little  son  named  Tama  te  Eangi,  who  grew 
up  to  be  a  man  imbued  with  the  strongest  hatred 
of  his  father's  murderers.  This  feeling  had 
been  carefully  instilled  into  him  by  his  widowed 
mother  from  earliest  childhood,  by  songs  and 
hakas,  and  by  the  persistent  character  of 
remarks  which  were  specially  directed  against 
Potaua,  and  she  took  care  to  have  Tama  te 
Eangi  carefully  trained  to  the  use  of  arms. 

Potaua  heard  what  the  widow  had  done,  and 
he  feared  to  approach  Te  Tirina  country,  where 
she  lived.  At  length  he  came  to  Puketapu,  a 
pa  on  the  Eangitaiki,  by  the  racecourse  at  Te 
Teko.  He  was  encouraged  to  venture  there  by 
the  presence  of  Harehare  and  two  other 
chiefs,  with  whom  he  thought  he  should  be  safe 
from  insult  and  attack. 

Tama  te  Eangi  heard  that  Potaua  had  come 
to  Puketapu,  in  the  Pahipoto  country,  and  when 
he  heard  it  he  said  to  his  people  at  Whakatane 
that  he  would  go  and  see  him. 

Taking  two  companions  he  went,  and  at  night 
he  camped  in  the  fern,  a  mile  or  two  from  Puke- 
tapu pa.  He  informed  the  chiefs  of  the  pa  by 
a  messenger  that  he  had  come,  and  they  invited 
him  to  the  pa  for  the  night. 

Tama  te  Eangi  replied  that  they  would  see 
him  come  to  their  pa  by  the  light  of  the  day. 

The  next  morning  Tama  was  seen 
approaching,  and  the  whole  population  turned 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  223 

out  to  see  what  he  would  do.  He  came  and 
walked  up  the  narrow  roadway  into  the  public 
place  of  the  pa,  all  people  respectfully  making 
way  for  him  and  his  companions.  Here  on  an 
arena  already  formed  and  guarded  stood 
Potaua.  The  chiefs  of  the  pa  were  standing  at 
the  further  end  of  the  space,  beyond  Potaua. 
Tama  te  Bangi  entered  the  arena  at  once,  and 
advanced  confidently  upon  his  enemy,  who  had 
a  presentiment  that  his  hour  had  come.  This 
unnerved  him,  and  the  young  man's  vigour  and 
skill  overcame  him,  and  he  fell,  slain  by  the 
avenger  of  blood,  in  the  presence  of  all  the 
people. 

Hatua,  the  father  of  the  late  Eangitukehu, 
leaped  forward,  and  by  his  great  influence 
saved  the  other  Ngatimanawa  visitors,  who,  in 
the  excitement  of  the  moment,  would  have  been 
killed  on  the  spot  by  the  people  of  his  tribe. 

ANOTHER  MAOEI  DUEL. 

It  was  in  the  lake  country  that  Eke,  a 
faithless  fair  eloped  to  the  forest  with  Utu,  a 
middle-aged  chief  of  considerable  authority  and 
weighty  connections.  The  feeling  of  the  tribe 
was  very  much  roused  against  Utu,  for  Tua, 
the  injured  husband,  was  a  popular  man,  and 
one  of  their  best  fighting  chiefs,  whereas  Utu 
had  never  distinguished  himself  in  any  way, 
excepting  on  the  present  occasion,  which  had 
proved  him  oblivious  to  the  obligations  due  to 
a  friend  and  neighbour.  The  truant  pair 
journeyed  to  other  parts,  and  remained  away 


224  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

until  Utu,  tired  of  his  toy,  and  wearied  of  the 
exile,  determined  to  go  home  and  face  the 
consequences.  So  one  morning  an  affair  of 
honour  came  off  on  the  sands  of  Euapeka  Bay, 
at  Ohinemutu.  Utu,  accompanied  by  his  friend, 
Ana,  were  there  on  one  side,  and  Tua,  with  four 
other  principals,  were  there  on  the  other  side. 
Ana  was  not  a  principal,  and  was  not  there  to 
fight,  but  the  four  men  who  were  with  Tua  had 
each  of  them  come  to  get  satisfaction  as  near 
relations  to  the  husband,  or  to  the  wife,  for  the 
Maoris  were  communistic  in  their  customs. 
Any  of  these  principals  could  have  taken  Tua's 
children  from  him,  and  they  were  equally 
entitled  to  avenge  his  honour,  for  was  it  not 
their  honour  also? 

Utu  sat  before  these  five  adversaries  on  the 
sand,  unarmed,  provided  only  with  a  short 
stick  called  a  karo,  with  which  to  ward  off  any 
spears  thrown  at  him,  or  blows  from  other 
weapons  that  might  be  used.  Had  he  been  a 
slave  he  would  not  have  been  allowed  to  have 
even  a  karo,  but  must  have  defended  himself 
with  his  hands  and  arms.  Utu 's  karo  had  been 
well  karakia-ed  by  the  priest. 

All  being  ready  the  duel  began.  Tua 
remained  inactive  while  each  of  the  four  men 
who  had  accompanied  him  advanced  in  turn  and 
threw  a  spear  at  Utu,  who  managed  to  karo, 
ward  off,  the  four  darts  without  hurt  to  himself. 
The  rights  of  the  four  were  now  exhausted. 
The  Atua  having  caused  their  attacks  to  fail, 
they  could  not  be  repeated  without  danger  to 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  225 

themselves ;  any  one  of  them  who,  contrary  to 
all  canons  human  and  divine,  should  renew  his 
attack,  would  be  liable  in  himself  or  his  family 
to  misfortune  (aitua)  by  sickness,  accident,  or 
otherwise.  Even  against  a  slave  attack  could 
not  be  renewed.  These  assailants  had  had 
every  chance.  The  choice  of  weapons  and  how 
to  use  them  had  been  theirs.  They  had  chosen 
spears.  The  weight  of  the  weapon  and  the 
distance  at  which  to  throw  it  had  been  at  their 
option.  Any  one  of  them  for  that  matter  might 
have  walked  up  to  Utu  as  he  sat  and  speared 
him  on  the  spot  at  short  point,  had  he  been  able, 
but  they  were  too  experienced  to  attempt  it. 
Utu  would  have  defended  himself  easily  in  that 
case.  Rising  at  the  right  moment,  and 
advancing  a  pace,  he  would  have  fixed  his 
opponent's  eye,  and  by  a  dexterous  movement 
of  his  right  hand  would  have  seized  and  averted 
the  thrust — thus  to  disarm  an  enemy  to  one  who 
knew  how  was  as  simple  as  shaking  hands  with 
a  friend. 

As  we  have  disposed  of  the  four  in  theory 
and  practice,  let  us  return  to  Tua,  whom  we  left 
looking  on,  apparently  almost  an  indifferent 
spectator.  The  four  had  failed,  and  this 
seemed  suddenly  to  rouse  his  feelings,  for  he 
went  off  into  a  dance  wholly  scornful  in  gesture 
of  his  friends,  and  somewhat  defiant  of  his 
enemies,  treating  all  to  an  exhibition  of  agility 
as  he  darted  from  place  to  place,  and  skill  in 
brandishing  his  weapon,  and  riveting  attention, 
his  own  the  while  being  fixed  in  semi-challenge 

16 


226  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

to  the  bunglers,  and  thus  he  gained  his  point 
of  vantage,  and  wheeling,  struck  the  unsus- 
pecting Ana,  whom  nobody  wished  to  hurt,  and 
thus  the  duel  ended  as  comnmnistically  as  it 
had  begun.  I  should  say  that  Hea,  a  brother  of 
Tua,  being  of  a  utilitarian  disposition,  had 
refrained  from  exercising  his  right  at  the 
encounter.  The  satisfaction  he  required  was  a 
bit  of  land.  Utu  recognised  the  claim,  and  gave 
him  a  nice  little  town  site  overlooking  the  lake. 

MAORI  COMMUNISM. 

As  in  his  private  warfare,  so  in  his  general 
life.  The  Maori  was  a  thorough  communist. 
But  through  the  warp  of  his  communism  woofs 
of  chieftainship  and  priestcraft  were  woven  into  • 
a  texture  strong  enough  to  answer  all  the 
requirements  of  his  simple  civilisation.  Where 
communal  usage  did  not  reach  the  case  the 
chief's  was  the  executive  governing  power  that 
dealt  with  it.  Thus,  communal  usage  might 
require  a  muru,*  and  it  would  be  made 
accordingly  by  persons  having  the  right.  If  a 
man's  wife  went  wrong  her  people  would  muru 
him  for  not  taking  better  care  of  her,  this  was 
usage ;  but  if  the  chief  ordered  a  muru  it  would 
be  for  reasons  known  to  himself,  presumably 
for  the  benefit  of  the  tribe.  If  a  man  gave  much 
trouble  the  chief  might  have  him  muru-ed,  or  he 
might  take  his  wife  from  him.  If  he  mis- 
conducted himself  in  war,  the  chief  might  strike 

*To  muru  a  man  was  to  strip  him  of  his  personal  property  or 
some  of  it,  or  communist  property  in  which  he  had  an  interest  might 
be  muru-ed. 


ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE  227 

him  with  his  weapon.  As  a  rule,  however,  these 
manifestations  of  authority  were  seldom 
needed,  and  very  seldom  exercised.  The  chief- 
tainship of  the  tribe  was  an  hereditary  office, 
passing  from  father  to  son  by  the  law  of  primo- 
geniture; if  the  regular  successor  lacked  the 
mental  vigour  and  force  necessary  to  the 
position,  then  another  member  of  the  hereditary 
family  would  be  put  in  his  place.  The  chief 
generally  consulted  advisers,  or  was  supported 
by  a  council.  In  any  case  the  chief  could  not 
run  counter  to  the  will  of  the  people. 

The  priest  performed  many  religious  offices 
for  the  community.  Questions  of  tapu  were  in 
his  keeping.  At  times  of  sickness  his  aid  was 
invoked.  At  births  he  was  not  absent,  and  at 
baptisms  his  presence  was  necessary.  He 
advised  the  chiefs  as  to  the  will  of  the  gods,  and 
the  greatest  weight  was  attached  to  his  utter- 
ances on  such  occasions.  He  always  received 
fees  in  the  form  of  presents.  As  a  rule  he 
supported  the  governing  power.  If  the  priest 
(tohunga)  stood  high  in  his  profession,  and  was 
sent  for  from  a  distance  to  perform  an 
important  function,  his  fee  would  be  commen- 
surate to  the  event.  He  did  not  neglect  the 
requirements  of  the  humble  members  of  the 
community.  The  widow  with  her  small  offering 
received  his  conscientious  attention.  Her 
child's  illness  was  diagnosed  and  prescribed  for 
and  karakia-ed  the  same  as  for  a  more  pros- 
perous person.  The  priest's  office  was  hereditary. 


228  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

Although  the  chief  carried  himself  with  an 
air  of  authority,  and  the  priest  wore  an 
appearance  of  superiority,  each  was  subtly 
influenced  by  the  communism  of  the  body  of 
which  he  formed  a  part.  The  former  felt  the 
pulse  of  the  people  before  taking  a  step;  the 
latter  did  not  disregard  their  feelings  and 
prejudices.  Each  lived  in  the  same  way  as  the 
people  around  him.  Sometimes,  however,  a 
chief  rose  by  violence  or  intrigue  to  such  a 
commanding  position  among  other  tribes  that 
his  own  tribe  acquired  perfect  confidence  in  his 
judgment  and  ability,  and  followed  him 
implicitly.  Such  men  were  Tuwhakairiora,  the 
first  Te  Waharoa,  Te  Eauparaha,  and  Hongi 
Hika. 

As  I  have  said,  the  Maori  was  a  communist. 
Excepting  perhaps  a  patch  of  land  he  might 
own  privately,  and  his  weapons  and  ornaments, 
the  only  thing  he  could  draw  the  line  at,  and 
safely  say,  "This  is  mine,"  was  his  wife,  who, 
before  she  blended  her  life  with  his,  had  been 
from  earliest  youth  in  principle  and  practice 
also  a  communist  of  the  free  love  kind,  not  that 
much  love  had  been  involved,  only  that 
"through  some  shades  of  earthly  feeling," 
she  had  tripped  from  pleasure  to  pleasure,  not 
waiting  to  be  wooed,  and  shedding  in  lieu  of  the 
"meek  and  vestal  fires,"  "a  glow  so  warm  and 
yet  so  shadowy,  too,"  upon  her  associates,  "as 
made  the  very  darkness  there  more  sought  after 
than  light  elsewhere."  May  I  be  pardoned  for 
adapting  the  lines  of  the  poet  to  my  subject, 
who  was  neither  a  Delilah  nor  a  Messalina,  but 


Waka  Nene. 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  229 

a  simple  Eve  of  nature,  against  whom.,  in  her 
own  people's  eyes  there  was  no  law  nor  fault 
to  find — kahore  he  ture.  But  when  she  became 
a  wife  she  rose  to  a  higher  sphere.  Her  animal 
habits  changed  as  if  by  magic.  Her  commun- 
istic shell  was  cast,  and  she  emerged  an 
individual,  a  faithful  Maori  matron,  with  all 
the  rights  and  obligations  pertaining  to  her  new 
condition. 

But  to  return  to  our  Maori  communist.  He 
could  not  even  claim  his  own  children  exclus- 
ively. For  his  brother,  if  childless,  might,  and 
most  likely  would,  come  and  take  one  of  them 
away  and  adopt  it,  and  his  sister  might  take 
another;  so  also  his  wife's  sister  might  assert 
a  similar  right,  but  they  could  not  among  them 
deprive  him  of  all  his  children.  Communism 
stepped  in  at  that  point  and  took  his  part,  for 
was  he  not  as  well  entitled  as  they  to  share  in 
the  offspring? 

The  house  he  lived  in  was  called  a  wharepuni 
(living  close  together  house).  It  contained  but 
one  room,  in  which  both  sexes,  old  and  young, 
married  and  single,  lived  together  night  and 
day,  and,  according  to  size,  it  accommodated 
from  say  a  dozen  to  four  times  that  number  of 
persons.*  Again,  when  he  went  to  cultivate 

*More  than  fifty  years  ago  the  missionaries  strongly  discoun- 
tenanced the  wharepuni  system  amongst  their  converts.  The  Maoris, 
however,  as  was  quite  natural,  could  not  understand  their  objection. 
Even  their  most  devoted  teachers  were  unable  to  appreciate  it  at 
first.  But  time  has  worked  a  change.  Missionary  perseverance,  and 
the  example  of  European  civilisation  have  swept  away  the  old 
Maori  wharepuni.  Each  little  family  has  now  its  own  separate 
whare,  and  these  are  generally  partitioned.  The  wharepuni  of  the 
present  generation  is  a  sort  of  town  hall,  in  which  strangers  are 
lodged  when  visiting  the  tribe,  and  does  not  represent  the  old 
communism  of  the  past. 


230  ANCIENT   MAOKI   LIFE 

the  soil,  he  did  not  go  by  himself,  taking 
perhaps  his  son  or  sons,  as  a  European  would. 
No,  when  he  went  he  went  with  the  commune. 
It  was  not  his  motion,  but  the  motion  of  a  body 
of  people,  whom  the  chief  apparently  led,  while 
instinctively  following  the  democratic  desire. 
Men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  all  went 
together,  as  to  a  picnic,  cheerful,  happy  and 
contented,  and  it  was  a  pleasant  sight  to  see 
them  ranged  in  rows,  and  digging  with  their 
ko-es  (wooden  Maori  spades),  as  they  rose  and 
fell,  and  their  limbs  and  bodies  swayed 
rhythmically  to  the  working  of  the  ko,  and  the 
chorus  of  an  ancient  hymn,  invoking  a  blessing 
on  the  fruit  of  their  labour.  Still  a  large  yield 
was  not  always  a  benefit,  for  it  would  sometimes 
induce  friends  and  relations  to  come  from  a 
distance  and  eat  the  commune  out  of  house  and 
home. 

In  the  same  way  our  communist  was  quite 
unable  to  keep  any  new  thing,  especially  in  the 
way  of  clothing.  Did  he  sell  a  pig,  and  get  a 
blanket  in  payment,  his  father  presently  paid 
him  a  visit,  and  was  seen  returning  with  the 
blanket  draped  round  his  person,  and  if  he  sold 
some  kits  or  corn  for  a  shirt,  a  pair  of  trousers, 
and  a  hat,  his  cousin  would  come  from  five  or 
six  miles  away,  and  the  hat  would  be  given  to 
him.  Of  course,  the  custom  cut  both  ways,  for 
when  reduced  in  circumstances  he,  too,  made 
calls  upon  his  friends  at  auspicious  times.  But 
the  system  he  lived  under  discouraged  individ- 
ual effort,  and  those  who  tried  individually 


ANCIENT   MAOEI  LIFE  231 

to  better  themselves  under  it  sooner  or  later 
gave  up  the  attempt,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
example  of  the  early  settlers  had  fully 
influenced  another  generation,  stimulating  it  to 
further  action,  and  the  Native  Land  Courts  had 
individualised  their  holdings,  that  the  ice  was 
broken,  and  the  communistic  element  in  their 
system  of  civilisation  that  had  stunted  enter- 
prise and  retarded  material  interests  was 
greatly  diminished,  though  not  entirely 
removed. 

But  when  it  came  to  fighting,  the  Maori's 
communism  helped  him.  When  summoned  to 
do  battle  for  the  commonwealth  he  instantly 
obeyed  without  conscription  or  recruiting,  and 
with  no  swearing  in,  no  shirking,  no  grumbling, 
he  appeared  at  his  post  a  trained  soldier,  active, 
willing  and  determined,  in  an  army  where 
courts-martial  were  unnecessary  and  unknown. 
He  was  animated  by  a  living  principle,  he 
thought  not  of  himself,  but  the  body  he  belonged 
to  was  ever  in  his  mind.  The  spirit  that  was  in 
him  inspired  the  whole,  giving  fierceness  to  the 
war  dance,  zest  to  the  tuki*  of  the  war  canoe, 
and  proved  a  powerful  factor  in  war. 

Communism  in  war  did  not  extend  to  the 
department  of  the  Commander-in-Chief.  The 

*To  tuki  was  to  give  time  to  rowers  in  a  canoe.  T«  tuki  a 
war  canoe  required  tact  and  skill.  The  chiefs  prided  themselves 
upon  the  proper  performance  of  this  function.  Passing  to  and  fro 
upon  the  narrow  thwarts  between  the  rows  of  rowers  (itself  an 
acrobatic  feat),  the  kai-tuki  gave  the  time  and  inspired  the  crew  by 
words,  exclamations,  short  speeches,  snatches  of  song,  all  delivered 
to  time,  with  gesture,  attitude,  and  motions  of  his  weapon,  also  in 
time.  In  very  large  canoes  there  were  sometimes  two  kai-tukis,  the 
senior  of  whom  promenaded  the  after  part  of  the  vessel,  while  tke 
•ther  occupied  the  fore  part. 


232  ANCIENT  MAOKI  LIFE 

General  was  free  to  do  his  own  thinking,  and  to 
issue  his  own  orders,  and  implicit  obedience 
was  rendered  to  him. 

With  certain  exceptions  the  Maori  held  his 
land  as  a  member  of  the  tribe.  In  the  matter 
of  this,  his  real  estate,  the  communistic  element 
in  his  system  of  civilisation  was  well  developed, 
and  with  the  exception  of  slaves  and  refugees 
there  was  not  a  landless  person  in  the  com- 
munity. As  time  advanced,  and  posterity 
increased,  lands  that  had  belonged  to  one  passed 
into  the  possession  of  many  persons,  for  after 
several  generations  there  would  be  a  hapu, 
where  one  man  had  settled.  This  tendency  was 
counteracted  on  the  other  hand  by  acts  of 
partition  or  individualisation  within  the  tribal 
boundaries;  fresh  boundaries  would  follow; 
moreover  sales  of  land  for  valuable  consider- 
ation were  by  no  means  unknown.  The  subject 
of  ancient  land  tenure  amongst  the  Maoris  is 
interesting  and  instructive,  and  would  in  itself 
fill  a  small  volume  if  treated  exhaustively. 
Their  claims  were  often  singularly  complex,  and 
very  far-reaching.  Thus  Ngaiterangi,  in  the 
early  days,  claimed  and  obtained  payment  for 
Tawhitirahi  pa  when  a  European  bought  the 
land  there,  and  this  notwithstanding  they  had 
not  ventured  to  occupy  it  for  three  hundred 
years,  and  the  natives  living  near  the  place 
approved  of  the  claim;  but  not  until  they  had 
been  paid  for  the  full  value  of  the  land. 

A  slave  was  the  property  of  the  person  who 
captured  him  in  war.  A  master  could  kill  his 


ANCIENT   MAOBI  LIFE  233 

slave.  A  husband  could  beat  his  wife.  A  man 
might  have  more  than  one  wife.  The  women 
worked  more  than  the  men,  and  had  to  do  the 
more  laborious  work,  such  as  carrying  heavy 
burdens,  which  the  men  never  did,  for  they  had 
tapued  their  backs.  When  Christianity 
diminished  the  power  of  the  priests,  they  did 
not  strive  against  the  innovation.  Many  of 
them  became  converted,  and  the  others 
appeared  to  accept  without  question  the  change 
in  the  mind  of  the  commune. 

TUWHAKAIEIORA  TRIBE. 

This  is  a  section  of  Ngatiporou  tribe  whose 
country  extends  from  a  point  a  little  south  of 
the  East  Cape  to  Potikirua,  west  of  Point  Lottin 
a  few  miles.  From  these  points  their  boun- 
daries running  inland  converge  rapidly  towards 
each  other  until  they  meet.  Their  territory, 
therefore,  is  triangular  in  form.  We  have  seen 
how  this  country  was  occupied  by  the  abor- 
igines, and  how  Ngaetuari  came  from  Whan- 
gara  and  conquered  and  settled  upon  the 
greater  portion  of  it,  and  it  will  be  remembered 
that  the  Ngaetuari  were  Hawaikians  of 
Takitumu  canoe. 

About  sixty  years  after  the  Ngaetuari  had 
settled  themselves,  Tuwhakairiora  appeared  on 
the  scene  and  altered  the  face  of  affairs  in  that 
district  to  such  an  extent  that  the  tribe  living 
there  now  owes  its  origin  to  him,  and  bears  his 
name.  Tuwhakairiora  was  also  of  Takitumu 
extraction,  and  it  is  of  the  rather  remarkable 


234  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

Takitumuan  movement  that  was  made  under 
him  that  I  would  tell.  But  first  I  will  briefly 
•outline  the  Takitumuan  prelude  to  our  story 
from  the  landing  at  Whangara  to  the  time  of 
our  hero. 

We  have  seen  that  Paikea,  the  captain  of 
Takitumu,  settled  the  immigrants  at  Whangara, 
after  which  he  sailed  for  Hawaiki  in  another 
canoe,  and  so  disappears  from  our  view.  About 
one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after  Paikea 's 
time,  the  chiefs  of  the  colony  at  Whangara  were 
the  brothers  Pororangi  and  Tahu.  The  latter 
went  south  to  Kaikoura,  but  Pororangi,  from 
whom  the  Ngatiporou  are  named,  lived  and  died 
at  Whangara. 

When  Pororangi  died,  Tahu  returned  from 
Kaikoura  to  mourn  for  hm,  bringing  a  number 
of  slaves  with  him.  He  married  his  brother's 
widow,  and  the  issue  of  the  union  was  Ruanuku, 
a  son,  to  whom  Tahu  gave  the  party  of  slaves ; 
which  party  became  a  tribe,  bearing  the  name 
of  Euanuku,  their  master.  After  some  years, 
'Tahu  returned  to  the  other  island,  taking  his 
son  with  him,  and  thus  these  two  are  removed 
from  the  scene ;  but  the  Ngatiruanuku  were  left 
behind,  to  play  an  important  part  in  it. 

Pororangi  had  two  sons,  Hau  and  Ue.  The 
latter  took  the  country  southward  from 
Turanga.  The  former  and  his  descendants 
went  northward,  settling  from  time  to  time  in 
various  places,  nor  stopped  until  they  had 
claimed  the  land  as  far  as  Taumata  Apanui, 
near  Torere.  Here,  however,  the  tide  of  success 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  235 

was  met  and  rolled  back  by  the  Whanau  Apanui, 
a  tribe  of  Hawaiki-Awa  descent.  About  two 
hundred  and  seventy  years  after  the  colony  had 
been  planted  at  Whangara,  Poromata,  a  descen- 
dant of  Hau,  took  an  active  part  in  the  move- 
ment northward,  and  settled  at  Whareponga, 
where  Ngatiruanuku,  who  had  become  a 
numerous  tribe,  had  arrived  before  him,  and 
here  they  all  lived  for  a  time,  beside  the  abor- 
iginal Uepohatu  tribe,  of  whom  I  have  already 
made  mention. 

Now,  Poromata  was  not  a  young  man.  He 
had  several  grown-up  sons  and  daughters,  who, 
like  himself  were  of  a  tyrannical  disposition. 
They  despised  and  oppressed  the  Ngatiruanuku 
as  if  they  had  been  the  slaves  brought  from 
Kaikoura,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  before; 
and,  ignoring  the  fact  that  they  were  but  a  few 
individuals  surrounded  by  a  numerous  people, 
they  plundered  the  best  of  everything  the 
Ngatiruanuku  produced,  and  forcibly  took  their 
women  from  them,  and  they  were  particularly 
fond  of  seizing  the  best  fish  from  the  Euanuku 
canoes  when  they  returned  from  fishing  out  at 
sea.  At  length  Ngatiruanuku,  goaded  beyond 
endurance,  conspired  to  slay  the  old  man  and 
his  sons,  and  they,  by  surprise,  attacked  them 
while  fishing,  and  killed  them  all  except  one 
son,  who  escaped,  and  nothing  more  is  heard  of 
him  in  this  story. 

At  this  time  Haukotore,  a  brother  of  Poro- 
mata, lived  near  by  at  Matakukai.  He  was 
related  to  Ngatiruanuku  by  marriage,  and  was 


236  ANCIENT   MAORI   LIFE 

on  better  terms  with  them  than  his  brother  had 
been.  He  did  not  attempt  to  avenge  the  death 
of  his  brother,  or  seek  assistance  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  neither  did  he  retire  from  among  his 
brother's  murderers.  His  behaviour  was 
altogether  pusillanimous,  as  for  many  years  he 
remained  on  sufferance  in  the  presence  of  his 
natural  foes,  even  after  they  had  refused  his 
request  to  be  permitted  to  establish  a  tapu 
where  his  brother  had  been  slain. 

Very  different  was  the  spirit  that  animated 
Atakura,the  youngest  of  Poromata's  daughters. 
She  was  at  Whareponga  when  her  father  and 
brothers  were  killed,  and  was  spared  by  Ngati- 
ruanuku.  Her  anger,  however,  was  not 
appeased  by  their  forbearance.  All  the  thirst 
for  revenge  that  was  lacking  in  her  soulless 
uncle  was,  as  it  were,  added  to  her  own  thirst, 
and  concentrated  in  her  burning  breast.  She 
left  Whareponga  immediately,  and  went  to 
Uawa,  where  she  married  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  raising  up  a  son  to  avenge  the 
murder.  Thence  she  and  her  husband,  whose 
name  was  Ngatihau,  went  to  Opotiki,  to  which 
place  he  belonged,  and  there  a  son  was  born 
whom  they  named  Tuwhakairiora,  from  the  odd 
circumstance  that  an  uncle  of  his  at  Waiapu  had 
lately  been  buried  alive  (or  rather  put  in  a 
trough  made  for  the  purpose,  and  placed  up  in 
a  tree,  for  that  was  a  mode  of  sepulture) .  From 
his  birth  Tuwhakairiora  was  consecrated  to  the 
office  of  an  avenger  of  blood.  Atakura  and  her 
husband  lived  at  Opotiki  many  years,  and  had 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  237 

a  family  of  several  children.  It  was  there  that 
Tuwhakairiora  received  the  education  necessary 
to  a  chief,  and  the  military  training  that  should 
fit  him  for  the  part  that  he  was  destined  to 
perform.  He  was  not  like  other  young  chiefs, 
for  all  knew,  and  he  knew,  that  he  had  a  mission 
to  which  he  had  been  dedicated  from  the  womb, 
and  it  was  proverbial  how  his  lusty  embyronic 
struggles  had  been  welcomed  by  his  mother  as 
a  token  of  manhood  and  power  to  slay  her 
father's  murderers. 

Thus  it  was  that  our  young  chief,  when  he 
came  to  a  man's  estate,  was  the  centre  to  whom 
a  wide  circle  of  adventurous  spirits  looked  and 
longed  for  warlike  excitement.  Nor  did  he  fail 
to  take  advantage  of  this  feeling,  by  visiting 
from  tribe  to  tribe  and  increasing  his  prestige 
and  popularity.  At  length  he  determined  to 
take  action.  For  this  purpose  he  moved  with 
his  parents  to  Te  Kaha,  Oreti,  and  Whanga- 
paraoa,  living  at  each  place  awhile,  ingratiating 
themselves  with  the  inhabitants,  and  drawing 
recruits  to  their  cause.  From  the  place  last 
named  his  parents  passed  on  to  Kawakawa, 
leaving  the  rest  of  the  party  at  Whangaparaoa, 
where  Kahupakari,  Atakura's  first  cousin, 
received  them  joyfully  and  gave  her  several 
hundred  acres  of  land  to  live  on.  Kahupakari 's 
father  had  taken  part  in  the  Ngaetuere  conquest 
sixty  years  before. 

Shortly  after  this,  Tuwhakairiora  followed 
his  parents  to  Kawakawa,  travelling  by  himself. 
On  this  journey  he  saw  Euataupare  for  the  first 


238  ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE 

time,  and  married  her  at  Wharekahika  in  tHe 
masterful  manner  already  described.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  the  principal  chief  of  that 
district,  which  was  peopled  at  that  time  by 
aboriginal  tribes.  Our  hero  required  something 
then  to  soothe  his  feelings,  for  he  had  just 
hurried  away  then  through  wounded  pride  from 
Whangaparaoa,  where  he  had  met  his  match  in 
a  young  woman  of  rank  named  Hinerupe,  to- 
wards whom  he  had  conducted  himself  in  a 
plantation  where  they  were  working  with  a 
freedom  so  unbecoming  that  she  met  him  with 
her  wooden  spade,  and  hit  him  a  blow  on  the 
jaw  that  sent  him  off.  The  plantation  is  called 
Kauae  (jaw)  to  this  day. 

From  Kawakawa  Tuwhakairiora  made  an 
excursion  to  the  East  Cape,  whence  for  the  first 
time  he  viewed  the  Ngatiruanuku  country,  and 
doubtless  thought  upon  his  mission  and 
revolved  in  his  mind  the  task  before  him.  But 
he  was  not  to  get  vengeance  yet,  nor  indeed  for 
many  years.  Although  he  knew  it  not,  he  was 
even  then  in  a  path  that  would  lead  to  a  train 
of  events  fated  to  alter  his  position,  and  change 
him  from  a  wayfaring  adventurer  to  the  war- 
like head  of  a  powerful  tribe.  He  turned  and 
retraced  his  steps.  He  was  alone  and  his  dog 
followed  him.  Passing  near  Hekawa  pa,  two 
men,  Wahia  and  Whata  appeared,  and  killed 
his  dog.  He  slew  them  both,  then,  putting  his 
dead  dog  on  his  back,  he  went  on  his  way ;  but 
was  presently  overtaken  by  a  number  of  men 
from  Hekawa.  He  turned  and  killed  Pito,  the 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  2391 

foremost,  but  others  pressed  on,  and  after 
slaying  several,  he  took  refuge  on  a  mound  that 
is  an  island  at  high  water.  The  people  of 
Hekawa  surrounded  the  little  mound  and  kept 
him  there.  In  this  position  he  was  seen  by  his 
younger  brother,  Hukarere,  and  recognised  by 
his  red  dogskin  mat.  His  brother,  who  was 
fishing  in  a  canoe,  came  instantly  to  the  rescue. 
Tuwhakairiora  descended  the  hill,  cut  his  way 
through  his  enemies,  killing  Waipao,  and 
escaped  to  the  canoe.  That  place  is  still  called 
Waipao.  Thus  Hukarere  saved  his  brother's- 
life,  and  thus  Tuwhakairiora  became  incensed 
against  the  Ngaetuere,  and  he  determined  to- 
make  war  upon  them.  He  sent,  therefore  to  his 
followers  to  muster  and  to  come  to  him,  and 
they  quickly  responded,  especially  at  Opotikir 
where  he  was  so  well  known  and  admired.  It 
was  with  these  troops  that  he  conquered  the 
Ngaetuere. 

Now  we  have  seen  that  Ngaetuere  were  a 
tribe  of  Takitumu  descent  who,  sixty  years 
before,  had  driven  out  the  aboriginal  Ngaokor 
who  were  of  Toi  extraction.  More  than  thirty 
years  before  that  time  the  Ngaoko  had  emerged 
from  the  mountain  forest  of  Tututohara  and 
destroyed  the  aboriginal  tribe  named  Eua- 
waipu,  that  occupied  the  coast  from  Pukeamaru 
to  Maraehara,  and  killed  their  chief,  whose 
name  was  Tamatea  Arabia.  Tamatea  Upoko, 
the  daughter  of  this  chief,  escaped  with  other 
refugees  to  Whangara,  where  Ngatiporou,  of 
Takitumu,  received  and  sheltered  them. 


240  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

Tamatea  Upoko  married  Uekaihau,  of  Ngati- 
porou,  and  in  due  course  three  sons  of  that 
marriage,  Uetaha,  Tamokoro  and  Tahania, 
grew  up.  The  Buawaipu  element  had,  mean- 
while, so  strengthened  itself  among  the  N^ati- 
porou,  that  the  three  brothers  named  were  able 
to  raise  an  army  of  Ngatiporou  and  half-caste 
Euawaipu-Ngatiporou  sufficiently  numerous  to 
justify  them  in  attacking  Ngaoko,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  revenge  and  to  regain  the  lost  territory. 
They  set  out,  and  on  their  march  were 
attacked  at  Uawa  (Tologa  Bay),  by  Te  Aetanga 
Hauiti,  who  failed  to  bar  their  passage.  Again 
at  Tawhiti  mountain  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Wahineiti,  and  again  they  forced  their  way 
against  those  who  would  have  stopped  them.. 
After  this  they  marched  unmolested  through 
the  Waiapu  country,  belonging  to  the 
Wahineiti,*  an  aboriginal  tribe  who  were  a 
section  of  Te  Iwi  Pohatu  a  Maui.  Having 
passed  the  East  Cape  the  army,  whom  from  this 
time  I  shall  speak  of  as  Ngaetuere,  travelled 
through  Horoera  and  Hekawa  without  meeting 
a  soul,  the  Ngaoko  had  evidently  fallen  back  to 
some  vantage  ground  to  await  their  attack. 
When  they  arrived  at  Kawakawa,  they  found 
the  Ngaoko  posted  in  two  pas,  one  at  Karaka- 
tuwhero,  the  other,  Tihi  o  Manono,  at  Kopua- 
ponamu,  was  the  largest  they  had.  A  scouting 
party  of  the  invaders  fell  in  with  a  similar 
party  of  the  people  of  the  place,  and  cut  them 

*The  Wahineiti  of  Waiapu  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the 
Wahineiti  of  Waipiro.  The  latter  was  a  small  tribe  of  Pororangi 
origin.  The  former  was  a  section  of  the  aborigines. 


Wood  Pigeon. 


ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE  241 

off,  killing  the  chief,  Tuteuruao.  Then  the 
Ngaoko  came  out  of  their  pas  in  full  force, 
and  attacked  Ngatuere  in  the  open  field,  when 
the  latter  by  stratagem  led  Ngaoko  into 
Awatere  Gorge,  and,  getting  them  at  a  disad- 
vantage, inflicted  severe  loss  upon  them,  and 
killed  their  chief,  Tangikaroro.  At  the  next 
engagement  Ngaoko  were  again  defeated,  and 
another  chief  named  Rakaimokonui  fell.  At 
the  third  battle  Ngaoko  were  completely 
worsted,  and  fled  for  the  first  time  before  their 
enemies.  On  this  occasion  the  chiefs  Manoho 
and  Te  Awhenga  were  slain.  On  the  same  day 
the  great  pa  Tihi  o  Manono  was  taken  by 
assault.  Ngaoko  rallied,  however,  at  the  pa  at 
Karakatuwhero,  and  finally  at  Tarapahure, 
another  pa  at  Pukeamaru,  but  the  three 
brothers  pursued  them  and  took  these  pas  also, 
and  this  completed  the  conquest  of  the  tribe  and 
country.  The  remnant  of  the  Ngaoko  became 
slaves  called  Ngatirakaimatapu ;  but  they  inter- 
married with  the  conquerors,  and  became 
absorbed  by  them. 

This,  then,  was  the  tribe  of  Ngaetuere,  against 
whom  Tuwhakairiora  was  about  to  declare  war. 
After  a  lapse  of  sixty  years,  the  component 
parts  of  the  tribe  had  consolidated  into  a  homo- 
geneous whole,  of  which  the  elements  were 
probably  half  aboriginal  and  half  immigrant  in 
character.  And  the  force,  chiefly  Whakatohea, 
that  was  coming  against  them,  and  destined  to 
overthrow  and  absorb  them — what  was  it?  We 
have  already  seen  that  the  people  it  was  drawn 

IT 


242  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

from  were  a  tribe  of  aborigines  with  but  a  strain 
of  immigrant  blood  in  its  veins,  and  this  is  the 
material,  united  and  cemented  together  by  time, 
of  which  the  Tuwhakairiora  tribe  is  formed. 
From  that  time,  more  than  three  hundred  years 
ago,  the  tribe  has  always  been  ruled  by  chiefs 
of  the  same  distinguished  Ngatiporou  family. 

Tuwhakairiora  crossed  the  Awatere  with  his 
forces,  and  engaged  and  utterly  defeated  the 
Ngaetuere  at  Hekawa.  Then  he  established 
himself  at  Kawakawa,  and  built  a  pa  called 
Okauwharetoa  at  Awatere.  Some  of  the  Ngae- 
tuere were  now  subject  to  him,  but  others  were 
not.  About  this  time  some  Ngaetumoana  people 
killed  Te  Eangihekeiho  of  Ngaetuiti,  of  which 
tribe  was  Euataupare,  Tuwhakairiora 's  wife; 
this  was  a  sufficient  excuse  for  Tuwhakairiora 
to  wage  war  against  them.  He  fought  them 
at  the  battle  of  Whanakaimaro,  at  Matakawa, 
and  destroyed  the  tribe,  driving  the  remnant 
off  westward  towards  Whangaparaoa.  Thus 
one  tribe  of  aborgines  disappeared  from  the 
district.  Then  another  tribe  of  aborigines 
became  uneasy  at  the  presence  of  the  invaders, 
and  insulted  them.  These  were  the  Pararake. 
War  followed,  and  the  battle  of  Pipiwhakau 
was  fought,  where  the  aboriginal  chief  Whaka- 
puru  te  Bangi  was  slain,  and  his  tribe  was 
defeated  and  driven  to  Whangaparaoa.  The 
aboriginal  Ngaetuiti  were  allowed  to  remain 
intact  because  the  conqueror  had  married  into 
their  tribe  when  he  came  from  Opotiki,  but 
they  fell  into  a  very  subordinate  position; 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  243 

nevertheless,  at  their  desire  some  of  the 
Pararake  were  allowed  to  remain  in  the  district. 
It  happened  that  Tuwhakairiora  was  taking 
a  wife  to  himself  at  Wharekahika,  his  brother 
Hukarere  was  similarly  engaged  at  Whanga- 
paraoa.  He  married  Hinerupe,  who  had  used 
her  spade  so  well,  the  granddaughter  of  Tama- 
koro,  one  of  the  three  brothers  who  led  Ngae- 
tuere  from  Whangara  against  Ngaoko.  At  the 
time  of  the  marriage  Uetaha,  her  father,  was 
the  chief  of  a  large  section  of  Ngaetuere.  This 
alliance  favoured  the  designs  of  Tuwhakairiora 
by  neutralising  at  the  time  of  active  hostilities 
a  great  number  of  the  Ngaetuere.  It  enabled 
him  to  conquer  the  tribe  in  detail,  instead  of 
having  them  all  against  him  at  one  time.  Not 
that  Tuwhakairiora  acted  treacherously 
towards  the  Tamakoro  section  of  Ngaetuiti. 
The  trouble  that  came  they  brought  upon  them- 
selves. The  half-brothers  of  Hinerupe  were 
jealous  of  some  advantages  granted  to  her  by 
Tuwhakairiora,  who  was  her  brother-in-law, 
and  they  cursed  her;  this,  of  course  could  not 
be  overlooked,  and  action  was  determined  upon. 
Tuwhakairiora  sent  to  friends  he  had  made  at 
Waiapu  and  Uawa,  asking  them  to  come  and 
assist  him  in  the  forthcoming  struggle,  and  in 
response  the  chiefs  Umuariki  and  Kautaharua 
appeared  with  their  respective  followings.  In 
this  manner  a  considerable  force  was  collected, 
and  the  campaign  of  "Waihakia  took  place, 
resulting  in  the  entire  defeat  of  the  Tamakoro 
party,  whom  the  conqueror  reduced  to  a  state 


244  ANCIENT  MAOBI  LIFE 

not  exactly  of  slavery,  but  of  very  great 
subordination. 

I  have  now  told  how  the  tribe  of  Tuwhakai- 
riora  was  planted  and  grew  up  on  the  soil 
where  it  flourishes  at  the  present  time.  The 
war  had  commenced  with  an  attack  made  upon 
Tuwhakairiora  while  he  was  visiting  his  cousin 
Kahupakiri  at  Kawakawa.  The  descendants  of 
the  people  who  made  that  attack  are  now  incor- 
porated in  the  general  tribe  of  Tuwhakairiora, 
under  the  name  of  Te  Wakeoneone. 

Many  years  had  elapsed  before  these 
conquests  were  all  completed,  and  affairs 
connected  with  them  consolidated  sufficiently  to 
permit  Tuwhakairiora  to  turn  his  hand  to  that 
to  which  he  had  been  ordained.  At  length,  how- 
ever, a  time  arrived  when  he*  felt  able  to 
discharge  the  duty  imposed,  and  preparations 
were  accordingly  made  to  assemble  a  force  to 
chastise  the  murderers  of  his  grandfather. 
From  Opotiki,  where  he  was  so  popular,  he 
easily  obtained  as  many  men  as  he  wanted. 
With  these  added  to  his  own  troops,  he  set  sail 
in  a  fleet  of  canoes  for  the  country  of  Ngati- 
ruanuku,  where  one  morning  before  daybreak 
he  surpised  and  carried  by  assault  Tonganiu,  a 
pa,  and  killed  Kahutapu,  the  chief  of  that 
place.  Then  he  fought  the  battle  of  Hikutawa- 
tawa  in  the  open,  and  took  two  other  pas  called 
Ureparaheka  and  another.  Many  were  killed  in 
these  pas,  the  people  who  escaped  fled  inland, 
leaving  all  their  land  and  property  to  the 
victors.  Tuwhakairiora  then  considered  that 


ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  245 

ample  revenge  had  been  obtained,  and  he 
returned  home  to  Kawakawa,  leaving  his  great- 
uncle  Haukotore  and  other  relations,  who  had 
continued  to  live  there  after  the  murder,  in  full 
possession  of  the  land. 

Mate,  the  sister  of  Atakura,  heard  at 
Turanga  of  Tuwhakairiora 's  campaign,  and 
that  two  or  three  pas  had  fallen,  and  said, ' '  My 
sister's  side  has  been  avenged,  but  mine  is  not 
avenged, ' '  and  she  sent  for  Pakanui,  her  grand- 
son, to  return  from  a  war  he  was  prosecuting 
in  the  south,  and  directed  him  to  wage  war 
against  the  remaining  portion  of  Ngatiruanuku, 
and  against  their  allies,  the  Wahineiti  of  Poro- 
rangi,  who  lived  at  Waipiro. 

Pakanui  obeyed  his  grandmother,  and  fitted 
out  a  number  of  canoes  for  an  expedition,  and 
for  want  of  warriors  he  manned  them  with  a 
force  so  inadequate  to  the  object  intended,  that 
he  devised  the  extraordinary  ruse  of  taking  the 
women  and  children  in  the  canoes,  in  order  to 
deceive  Ngatiruanuku  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
flotilla,  and  for  the  rest  he  hoped  that  some 
accident  might  befriend  him.  When  Pakanui 
and  his  party  arrived  at  Waipiro,  they  landed 
there  and  camped  on  the  shore.  To  all 
appearance  they  were  travellers  en  route-,  the 
presence  of  the  women  and  children  quite  put 
the  people  there  off  their  guard;  but  the 
strangers  could  not  remain  there  indefinitely; 
their  chief  knew  this,  and  was  puzzled  what 
action  next  to  take.  He  could  not  send  for 
Tuwhakairiora's  assistance,  for  his  enterprise 


246  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE  fr 

was  a  sort  of  set-off  against  what  that  chief  had 
done.  He  could  not  attack  the  enemy  openly 
without  courting  defeat,  while  to  return  home 
would  be  to  make  himself  a  laughing  stock,  and 
nothing  had  happened,  or  was  likely  to  happen, 
to  assist  him.  In  this  dilemma  he  racked  his 
brains,  and  an  idea  occurred  to  him,  upon  which, 
for  want  of  a  better,  he  determined  to  act.  He 
told  each  man  to  make  a  hand  net,  such  as  was 
used  for  catching  small  fish  among  the  rocks  on 
the  seashore;  with  the  help  of  the  women  this 
task  was  soon  accomplished.  Then  he 
distributed  his  men  along  the  shore  in  open 
order,  a  little  time  before  the  right  time  of  tide 
for  fishing,  and  they  were  all  engaged  in  fishing 
at  the  many  little  channels  in  the  rocks  through 
which  the  tide  flowed,  some  of  them  made 
artificially,  and  each  belonging  to  some  man  in 
the  neighbouring  pa.* 

The  owners  of  these  fishing  channels  did  not 
admire  the  freedom  of  the  strangers,  and  they 
mustered  to  occupy  their  private  fishing  ground. 
At  the  right  time  of  tide  they  presented  them- 
selves in  a  body,  each  man  with  his  hand  net, 
and  their  chief  Eangirakaikura  at  their  head. 
The  chief  found  that  Pakanui  had  appropriated 
his  stream,  for  Paka  had  noted  beforehand 
which  was  the  chief's  stream,  and  said  to  him, 

*In  many  parts  of  the  East  Coast,  south  of  Hick's  Bay,  a 
limestone  formation  prevails,  the  strata  of  which,  tilted  at  a  high 
angle,  ran  in  parellel  lines  from  the  land  to  the  sea.  At  the  coast 
these  lines  of  rocks  are  cut  off  by  the  waves,  and  because  their 
cleavage  is  at  right  angles  with  their  strata,  a  serrated  and  Suted 
shore  line  filled  with  parallel  channels  running  from  high  water 
mark  to  low  water,  is  formed.  Up  these  channels  the  kehe  fish 
passes  in  search  of  food  with  the  flood,  and  returns  to  the  sea 
with  ebb  tide. 


,  ANCIENT   MAOEI   LIFE  247 

"And  where  am  I  to  fish?"  Paka  promptly 
drew  his  net  out  of  the  water,  and  replied, 
"Fish  here,"  and  he  stood  beside  Eangi  as  he 
fished.  This  little  pantomime  was  enacted  all 
along  the  line,  until  Pakanui  saw  all  his  men 
distributed  like  Thugs,  each  man  standing  close 
to  a  man  of  the  other  side,  apparently  looking 
at  the  fishing,  really  awaiting  the  pre-arranged 
signal  that  Paka  was  to  make,  the  tide  mean- 
while washing  high  over  their  feet.  Suddenly 
the  signal  was  given;  then  each  man  of  Paka's 
side  simultaneously  drew  a  mere,  attached  to 
his  foot  under  water,  and  throwing  his  net  over 
the  head  of  his  enemy,  entangled  him  in  it,  while 
he  killed  him  with  the  mere.  In  this  manner 
Pakanui 's  party  killed  one  hundred  fighting 
men,  including  the  chief,  and  struck  such  a 
terror  into  the  remainder  of  the  enemy  that 
Pakanui  was  able  to  follow  up  the  success  effect- 
ively. This  affair  is  known  as  Te  Ika  Kora- 
parua,  which  may  be  freely  rendered, l  i  Two  fish 
in  one  net : ' '  the  kehe  and  the  man.  It  took  place 
near  Tangitu  stream,  between  Akuaku  and 
Whareponga.  The  Ngatiruanuku  fled  inland, 
whither  they  were  followed  and  finally 
destroyed.  Thus  Mate  was  avenged  for  the 
death  of  Poromata,  her  father,  by  the  extinction 
of  the  remnant  of  Euanuku  people  whom 
Tuwhakairiora  had  spared,  but  the  Wahineiti 
tribe  remained  in  full  force  south  of  Waipiro 
stream,  being  too  numerous  for  Pakanui  to 
venture  to  disturb  them.  However,  he  settled 
on  the  land  he  had  conquered,  and  lived  there 


248  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

several  years,  at  the  end  of  which  he  was  com- 
pelled by  the  hostility  of  the  Wahineiti  to 
obtain  the  aid  of  Tuwhakairiora,  who  came  with 
a  strong  force  and  crushed  the  Wahineiti  at  the 
battle  of  Borohukatai,  fought  on  Waipiro  beach 
(so  named  because  the  brains  of  men  were 
mingled  there  with  the  froth  of  the  tide),  and  by 
taking  their  three  pas,  Poroporo,  Turanga- 
moahu  and  Maungakowhai.  At  the  end  of  the 
war  Tuwhakairiora  returned  home,  whence  he 
sent  Iritekura,  his  niece,  to  occupy  the  con- 
quered territory.  She  went  with  her  family 
to  Waipiro  about  three  hundred  and  thirty 
years  ago.  She  lived  and  died  there,  and  her 
descendants  who  bear  her  name,  live  there  at 
the  present  day. 

But  Iritekura,  who  founded  the  tribe  of  that 
name,  is  not  the  only  Maori  woman  whose  name 
figures  in  the  history  of  her  race. 

It  was  a  woman,  Torere,  who  swam  ashore 
from  Tainui  canoe,  and  founded  the  Ngaitai 
tribe. 

It  was  the  woman,  Muriwai,  who  led  the  Nga- 
tiawa  to  Whakatane  in  Mataatua  canoe. 

It  was  a  woman,  Atakura,  that  caused  several 
pas  to  be  destroyed  out  of  revenge. 

It  was  a  woman,  Mate,  that  caused  a  tribe  to 
be  annihilated  from  feelings  of  revenge. 

It  was  a  woman,  Hinewaha,  whose  thirst  for 
revenge  enabled  her  to  raise  the  Ngatitematera 
at  the  Thames,  and  incite  them  to  make  war  on 
Ngamarama  at  Katikati,  because  her  brothers 
had  been  slain  in  battle  by  the  latter. 


ANCIENT  MAOEI  LIFE  249 

It  was  a  woman,  Ruataupare,  who  invaded 
the  Wahineiti  at  Tokomaru,  and  took  that 
country  from  them,  and  founded  a  tribe  that 
bears  her  name  now. 

It  was  a  woman,  Moenga,  who  led  the 
Amazons  at  the  battle  of  Mangatara,  and 
routed  the  enemy. 

But  if  there  have  been  women  political, 
women  revengeful,  and  military  women, 
amongst  the  Maoris,  there  have  also  been 
merciful  women,  and  women  of  a  peaceful 
disposition. 

Of  such  was  the  woman  Kurauhirangi,  who 
intervened  on  the  field  of  battle  and  made 
peace  between  Te  Roroterangi  and  Ngaeterangi 
at  Maketu,  and  terminated  a  war  that  had  lasted 
many  years,  and  had  probably  cost  thousands 
of  lives,  for  great  efforts  had  been  made  by 
many  tribes  to  recover  that  place  from  Ngaete- 
rangi. 

When  Te  Rohu,  a  chief  of  Hauraki,  influenced 
by  revenge,  took  the  large  pa  at  Tauranga 
called  Te  Papa,  and  slew  its  unfortunate 
people,  it  was  a  woman,  one  of  his  wives  (whose 
name  I  regret  I  have  mislaid),  who  persuaded 
him  to  relinquish  his  intention  to  destroy 
Otumoetai,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  the  utu 
obtained.  She  saved  the  lives  in  that  large  pa 
of  perhaps  two  thousand  persons,  and  returned 
home  with  her  husband. 

Now  observe  the  sequel.  It  happened  within 
a  short  time  after,  that  Te  Waharoa  urged 
Ngaeterangi  to  help  him  in  the  approaching 


250  ANCIENT    MAORI   LIFE 

campaign  against  the  Hauraki  tribes  at  Hao- 
whenua.  They  responded  to  the  call,  and  sent 
a  contingent  of  about  two  hundred  men,  who  all 
returned  home  without  fighting  because  they 
had  received  a  message  from  that  woman  before 
the  battle  of  Taumatawiwi  asking  if  they 
remembered  Otumoetai.* 

Lastly,  it  was  a  woman,  Mapihiterangi,  who 
stopped  the  chronic  state  of  warfare  between 
Ngaeterangi  and  the  remnant  of  Ngatiranginui. 
She  was  a  Ngaeterangi  woman  of  rank,  who, 
unknown  to  her  own  tribe,  passed  over  to  the 
enemy's  tribe,  and  married  its  guerilla  chief. 

And  it  was  quite  a  common  thing  in  ancient 
Maori  life  and  history  for  women  of  rank  to 
sacrifice  their  own  feelings  and  all  they  held 
dear,  and  marry  stranger  chiefs  of  other  tribes, 
from  whom  in  times  of  public  emergency 
assistance  was  required. 


*The  return  home  of  Ngaeterangi  without  fighting  at  Taumata- 
wiwi, is  not  mentioned  in  the  story  of  Te  Waharoa.  I  had  heard 
of  that  return  at  the  time  I  wrote  that  book,  from  a  man  who  was 
a  slave  in  the  Haowhenua  pa.  All  he  could  say  was  that  Ngaete- 
rangi had  turned  back  at  Horetiu  River,  without  crossing  it,  and 
therefore,  without  reaching  the  field  of  Taumatawiwi.  I  hesitated, 
however,  to  attach  historical  weight  to  an  improbable  and  inexplicable 
story.  I  have  since  learned  from  Ngaeterangi  chiefs  now  deceased, 
that  the  story  of  the  slave  was  correct,  and  that  the  woman's 
message  was  the  cause  of  the  extraordinary  proceeding. 


THE  HAWAIKI  MAORI  IMMIGRATION. 


SUPPLEMENTARY   CHAPTER. 

In  concluding  these  "  Sketches  of  Ancient 
Maori  Life  and  History, ' '  let  me  say  that  since 
the  foregoing  pages  were  written  a  memor- 
andum on  the  coming  of  the  canoes  has  been 
found  by  my  brother,  Captain  C.  J.  Wilson, 
amongst  some  family  papers  in  his  possession, 
which  is  in  our  late  father's  well-known 
handwriting,  and  is  initialed  by  him.  The 
paper  is  undated,  but  for  reasons  it  is 
unnecessary  to  trouble  the  reader  with  I  think 
it  was  written  some  time  between  the  middle  of 
1836  and  the  end  of  1841.  In  addition  to  some 
things  already  mentioned,  it  gives  the  following 
information : — 

First,  certain  details  of  the  struggle  that  led 
to  the  emigration  from  Hawaiki  are  treated; 
but  as  these  are  not  within  the  sphere  of  our 
inquiry,  we  need  not  enter  upon  them  now. 

Then  the  Pukeko  is  named  among  the  living 
things  that  were  brought  in  the  canoes  from 
Hawaiki.* 

We  are  told  that  the  canoes  left  Hawaiki 
"lashed  together  in  one  long  line." 

*I  did  not  enumerate  the  Pukeko  in  a  former  chapter  among 
the  things  brought  from  Hawaiki,  not  because  I  had  not  heard  of  it, 
but  because  my  information  was  received  from  a  source  that  did 
not  appear  to  be  sufficiently  reliable. 

251 


252  ANCIENT    MAOBI   LIFE 

The  names  of  seven  or  more  canoes  are 
given,  six  of  which  landed  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty. 
These,  with  four  Ngapuhi  canoes — of  which  I 
have  since  been  informed  by  a  chief  of  that 
tribe — make  the  number  of  the  fleet  up  to 
twenty-two  canoes.  The  following  is  a  list  of 
the  fleet  and  the  place  of  landing  of  each  canoe 
in  so  far  as  I  can  furnish  the  same.  The  eleven 
canoes  whose  names  have  been  already  given 
are  placed  last  on  the  list.  The  exploring 
canoe  Matawhaorua  is  omitted  because  she  did 
not  bring  immigrants  to  Aotearoa : — 

Names  of  Canoes.  Places  of  Landing.  Remarks. 

1.  Nukutere  near  Marahea,  East         Ngatihau 

Coast 

2.  Rakautapu  Whakatane 

3.  Akeake  Whakatane 

4.  Awarua  Matata 

5.  Te  Ru  Matata 

6.  Wakatane  Whakapaukorero,    west 

of  Matata 

7.  Pakihikura  Ohiwa  Ngariki  tribe 

8.  Ruakaramea  Mangonui  Ngapubi  {tribe 

9.  Waipapa  Oruru  Ngapubi 

10.  Puhitaniwha  Ngapuhi  derive  their 

name     from     this 
canoe 

11.  Mamamaru  Ngapubi 

12.  Kurabaupo  Ngatiwhatua 

13.  Mahuhu  Ngapnhi 

14.  Arawa  Maketu  Many  Arawa  tribes 

15.  Whatu  Banganuku          Wairarapa  Waitaha    Turauta,  a 

section  of  the  Arawa 

16.  Taimii  Eawbia  Many  Tainui  tribes 

17.  Mataatna  Whakatane  Many  Ngatiawa  tribes 

18.  Takitnmu,  alias  Horo-    Whangara  Many  Takitumu  tribes 

uta 

19.  Pungarangi  Rurima  and  Wairarapa   Nelson  natives 

20.  Aotea  Aotea  West  Coast  natives 

21.  Rangimatoru  Ohiwa  Ngatirangi 

22.  Tokomaru  Tokomaru  and  Mokau     Atiawa     and     Ngati 

maru,  of  West  Coast 

From  Ohiwa  Pakihikura  canoe  went  to 
Opotiki.  The  bar  at  the  mouth  of  Opotiki  river 


ANCIENT   MAORI  LIFE  253 

was  named  after  her,  and  still  bears  her  name 
in  the  abbreviated  form  of  Pakihi.  The 
Ngariki  people  who  formed  her  crew  landed  on 
the  flat  at  Opotiki  and  lived  there.  They  and 
their  descendants  occupied  the  seaboard  in  that 
part  until  they  had  made  themselves  so 
obnoxious  to  the  aborigines,  that  the  latter 
emerged  from  the  forest-clad  mountains  of  the 
interior  and  swept  them  out  of  the  Opotiki 
valley.  The  remnant  of  the  Ngariki  fled  east- 
ward, and  their  descendants  may  be  found  at 
the  present  time  living  amongst  the  compatriot 
Whanau  Apanui  tribe. 

It  is  more  than  twenty-eight  years  since  I 
heard  of  Ngariki  and  their  troubles;  but  I 
refrained  from  mentioning  them  in  the  previous 
pages  simply  because  I  was  unable  to  find  a 
niche  for  them  in  the  historical  arrangement  of 
these  sketches  (and  I  may  also  say  that  I  have 
been  unable  to  include  the  Panenehu  in  the 
scheme) ;  but  now  the  difficulty,  so  far  as 
Ngariki  are  concerned,  is  removed  by  my 
father's  memorandum,  written  perhaps  twice 
twenty-eight  years  ago,  and  I  am  glad  to  fill  up 
the  blank  by  placing  them  amongst  the  HawaiH- 
Maori  tribes. 

While  searching  my  papers  for  particulars 
of  the  Ngariki- Whakatohea  war,  I  came  upon 
a  note  of  my  own  that  had  been  overlooked 
when  I  remarked  upon  the  paucity  of  infor- 
mation in  connection  with  Kangimatoru  canoe. 
I  find  by  the  note  that  Bangi  was  the  captain 
of  Eangimatoru.  The  canoe  terminated  her 


254  ANCIENT  MAORI  LIFE 

voyage  from  Hawaiki  at  Ohiwa,  thence  she 
went  to  Opotiki.  Her  passengers  ascended  the 
Otara  branch  of  the  river  at  Opotiki,  and  settled 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Opotiki  gorge,  and  they 
hunted  in  the  valley  of  the  Pakihi  stream. 
Unlike  the  Ngariki,  who  behaved  treacherously, 
these  immigrants  lived  at  peace  with  the  abor- 
iginal Whakatohea,  and  ultimately  became 
incorporated  with  them.  They  are  now  known 
as  the  Ngatirangi,  a  sub-section,  or  pori,  of  the 
Whakatohea  tribe. 

The  Ngatihau  settled  when  they  came  in 
Nukutere  canoe  at  Marahea,  between  Tokomaru 
and  Anaura,  from  whence  they  hived  off  as  they 
increased  in  number,  and  made  an  additional 
home  for  the  tribe  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper 
Whanganui  River. 

At  Mangonui  a  stone  marks  the  spot  where 
Te  Euakaramea  finished  her  voyage  from 
Hawaiki. 

Some  of  the  descendants  of  the  immigrants 
who  came  in  Tainui  penetrated  as  far  as 
Taupo,  Moawhango  and  the  Upper  Eangitikei, 
and  settled  there.  They  were  called  Ngatihotu 
after  Hotunui,  the  captain  of  Tainui,  and  were 
living  at  the  places  named  one  hundred  and 
eighty  years  after  the  arrival  of  their  ancestors  ' 
canoe  at  Kawhia.  It  was  at  that  time  that  the 
Ngatihotu  were  invaded  by  sections  of  the 
Arawa,  and  driven  out  of  Taupo;  but  they 
maintained  their  position  on  the  watersheds  of 
the  Moawhango  and  Bangitikei  rivers  until  they 
were  displaced  and  finally  destroyed  by  bands 


ANCIENT   MAOKI  LIFE  255 

of  adventurers  of  Takitumu  extraction;  this 
happened  about  three  hundred  years  ago.  The 
Hawaikians  struggled  with  each  other  for 
possession  in  remote  parts,  just  as  Europeans 
contended  against  one  another  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries  for  dominion 
in  America  and  the  Indies. 

The  Tainui  tribes  did  not  take  possession  of 
the  Lower  Thames  Valley  until  more  than  one 
hundred  years  after  they  had  occupied  the 
Taupo  district,  although  the  former  was  nearer 
and  more  suitable  to  their  requirements.  From 
this  we  may  infer  that  while  the  Tainui  were 
few  the  aborigines  at  the  Thames  were  too 
numerous  to  be  attacked  by  them,  and  that 
Taupo  was  unoccupied  or  but  sparsely  settled 
by  the  ancient  inhabitants  when  the  Tainui 
people  went  there. 

I  will  now,  with  the  leave  of  my  reader,  lay 
down  my  pen,  and  would  say  that  in  making 
these  sketches  I  have  refrained  from  subor- 
dinating fact  to  effect.  I  have  endeavoured  to 
unravel  and  lay  straight  the  convolutions  of  a 
tangled  skein.  If  I  have  in  any  degree 
succeeded  in  the  task ;  if  from  heaps  of  material 
that  cumbered  the  ground  a  structure  has  been 
outlined  that  shall  bear  the  test  of  time  and  bear 
being  added  to,  then  I  shall  have  accomplished 
that  which  I  desired,  notwithstanding  the  errors 
and  imperfections  of  the  record;  the  distant 
retrospect  will  be  in  a  measure  cleared,  and 
some  points  will  be  fixed  in  the  ancient  history 
of  New  Zealand. 


CHBISTCHUBOH  : 
WHITOOMBE  AKD  TOMBS  LIMITED. 

1907 


ITCSB  LIBRARY 


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