A PAGE OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 78, 31 March 1873, Page 4

A PAGE OF NEW ZEALAND HISTORY.

At the unveiliDg of the monument to Tamati Waka Nene, at the Bay of Islands, on the 18th inst., the Governor having been welcomed by an aged Maori, read the following address, -which was translated by Mr Williams, R.M. : — Salutations to you, O Ngapuhi. You know that lhe Queen has appointed me to leave New Zealand, and to be the Governor of another part of her dominions; and it is therefore that I have come to bid farewell to her loyal and faithful people, the *Ngapubi. Your name is known by the Queen as that of a tribe which has been loyal and true, and which remains so; and it is known that as you are so will your children be. I have received letters, which are now translated into your language, expressing the pleasure with which the Queen has heard of your doings with regard to the burial of the soldiers who fell at Ohaewai; and before that I had received others expressive of sorrow for the death of Tamati Waka Nene. And now lam about, as representative' of the Queen, to perform a duty which is both sorrowful and pleasiDg; — sorrowful, because the chief whom we all honored is not here; and pleasing because it is a proof that his memory lives among us though his body is gone. It is the custom of the Europeans that wheu a monument to a great chief is erected ifc shall ;be proclaimed to the world by being publicly uncovered by some high ia authority, and this unveiling of tbe monument of Tamati Waka I am glad lo be able to perform as my last public act in "the colony of New Zealand. And now let us speak of the chief to whom we bave erected this monument, He was born of a brave and wise race. His father, Tapua, was renowned in war, and commanded the tribes about Hokianga in their fights; but of him it was said that he never commenced warfare without having a just cause. Tapua left two sons, Eru Patuone and Tamati Waka, and on the latter devolved the power of his father; like him he exercised ifc with justice, and displayed great discretion in reconciling the various Ngapuhi tribes in their disputes about land. At an early period he embraced Christianity, and showed himself to be the protector of the weak and an upholder of right. Very many years before Europeans were numerous in this country, he took their part at Tauranga and elsewhere, and it was through his influence that the treaty of Waitangi was signed in 18_-0. His advice was sought after by fche different Govenors, and he always tendered tbafc which was correct. When Heke cut down the flagstaff afc Kororareka for the first time, ifc was Tamati Waka who interfered in favour of peace, and got matters arranged; bufc when Heke. persisted in his hostile course, Tamati Waka Nene did nofc. hesitate, though Heke was his relation. He had tendered his allegiance, and did good in the field. You will have heard the advice he gave afc Okaihau, and how bravely he acted then; how he and and his men repulsed Heke's attack upon them at Ohaeawai; liow, at Ruapekapeka, it was his counsel which was followed; and how he was the first man in that pa afc its capture. It was after this that by his means peace was concluded: — and one touching incident shows, the disinterestedness of the chief whose memory we celebrate. Having received a grant from the Queen for his services, he gave : ,the i immediate use of it in order to build a flour-

mill for Heke to enable him to live in peace; and tbese were his words fo Heke: — " I do this to convince you Ahat I am your friend, and was so when I took up arms against you. Is it not a good thing to have white men here to teach us how to grow wheat, and to have mills, and to live in peace with the Europeans and among ourselves ? ' Again listen to bis words uttered at the Kohimaraaaara conference: 'I am not accepting the pakeha for myself alone, but for the whole of us * * * Let me tell you, ye assembled tribes, I havo but one Governor. When the G-overnor came, here be brough the word of God by which we live, and it is through tbat word that we are able to meet this day under one roof. Therefore I say that I know no sovereign but the Queen, and I shall never know any other.' And right well did T amati Waka Nene adhere to his declaration. You, his people, loved nnd honored him, and we, the Europeans, did the same. Ngapuhi, I have not much more to say to you. lam leaving ycur country, but I carry away with me tbe remembrance of your unswerving loyalty, and of fhe hearty welcome with which you have ever greeted me. In future days, when I am at a distance, tbe memory of tbe visits I have paid to your country, and of you, the people inhabiting it, will constantly recur to my mind. I can only exhort you to continue in the path you are now treading, to maintain your friendly relations with the Europeans, and to educate your children so as to fit them for the battle of life. Finally, I pray tbat tbe blessings of the Almighty may be showered upon tbe faithful Ngapuhi. I now proceed to formally uncover the monument erected to the memory of the loyal chief of the Ngapuhi, Tamati Waka Nene, May his memory ever flourish!" He then uncovered the monument, which is a handsome one of Oamaru stone, surmounted by a Greek cross, and bearing the following inscription :—

I.H.S. In Memory oi TAMATI WAKA NESE, Chief of Ngapuhi, The first to welcome The Queen's Sovereignty la New Zealand, A Consistent Supporter of the Pakeha. This Stone is erected hy the Government of the Colony, Which for upwards of 31 years He faithfully upheld. • Sage in Council ; Renowned in war, He died, regretted by all the inhabitants of these Inlands, at Russell, on the 4th August, 187L