MEN OF MARK AMONG THE MAORIS

NZ Truth, Issue 71, 27 October 1906, Page 7

MEN OF MARK AMONG THE MAORIS

In a catalogued distribution^ of the Maori tribes m 'the year 1840, from which we date . our legal settlement of fcne -Auckland Province, it will be found that, from Matamata on the Thames to the West Coast was under the sway or guidance of Te Waliaroa, the Ngatihaua leader. The chief was the son of Taiporutu, who in«the act of attacking a pah was killed m the Waharoa, which | means "principal gateway." His widow, be- { ing soon after confined of a son', .named him TEWAHAROA7; \- j m commemoration of his fafciier's mighty deeds. -. "■' ■ ': j When but two years of age^Te Waharoa ' was carried away a. captive to Rotorua, but when he had grown to manhood, about the year 1795, he was allowed to return to the territory of his tribe, then established on the Maungakawa Range, which overlooks the Waikato River, near the Cambridge of to-day, and from which m a northerly direction the heads of the Piakb River, the Waitoa, and the Thames flow down the extensive 5 valley called after the latter. ■*. . * * Located on these streams and fi?mly fijied were V ''*■•• : . '-■■■ ■' THE NGATIMARU AND THEIR ;■ " KINDRED. . To dislodge them was the aim and object of Te Waharoa, with the intention of possessing himself of the rich lands on the upper portions of the rivers named, as well as securing a part of the east coast of Tauranga, which he purposed securing by conquest, or by negotiation with Ngaiterangi, then occupying it. One great aim of this ambitious chief was to obtain firearms from the Pakeha flax-buyers, as, to the Maori mind, firearms were the only effectual barrier to death or slavery. ••- ••- . Te Waharoa is described as having' been ACTIVE, SUBTLE, AND FEROCIOUS, ';' distinguished for address and reckless bravery m single combat. Though tainted with

slavery m childhood, he obtained, without dispute, the leadership of his tribe. He allied himself with Ngaiterangi, and with fcheir assistance inflicted severe loss upon Ngatiniaru. It has been asserted that Te Waharoa's schemes drove Rauparahu from his home. Of this more another time. * * * In 1823; when Hongiwas on the warpath, a party led by Tareha besieged Te Waharoa a.t Mata Mata, but that wily, chief, being well provisioned, kept within his pah until, when the Ngapuhi became over-confident, hie rushed out upon them, slew several m close combat, and , ". CRUCIFIED SEVERAL PRISONERS, on the posts of his pah, beneath the grin- • ning heads which disfigured rather than adorned the posts. Then he issued a challenge to Tareha, who is described as haviiig been a man of immense stature. "I hear you fight with' the 'long-handted' tomahawk; so do I. Meet me." . But Tareha was not taking any more; ■* He -and his -men withdrew. A personal combat with Te Waha-. roa was not what Tareha desired. . • >, * '■;■■* ' .->•■•"* " The career of Te faaharoa was not such; as accorded with the wishes of the missionaries; m fact, he undid a lot of. the good which they had accomplished. He is ..described as being as ■ . - ■• FEROCIOUS AS HONGI, , / .. but more. astute, and he got the credit of " being , able to obtain power without the "crushing Superiority of firearms," '' ■ ' " «■ ■ ♦ * .• . ■ While Waharoa was young Ngatimaru' held Mata Mala, bub he expelled them from it. His own strpnghold had been Maungakawa, near the sources of the Piako. Between Maungakawa and Tauranga, ' Mata Mata was held by the Ngatimaru, whose territory extended by the P!ako swamp to the Waikato River, where Cambridge and Hamilton now are. Much of this country they appeared -to have occupied m peace after their first flight from Hongi, bufc m course " of. time strife arose between them and the Ngatihaua, Until the year 1825 the Ngatimaru leader, Takurua, held his ground, although his tribe had been ver.y much reduced by the massacre at the Totara pah at the Thames. ' . *. # * Te Waharoa proposed terms of 'friendship, and joint occupation at Mata Mata. They were accepted, and, according to Rusden, the tribe for two -years lived like Romans and Sabines. Then the Maori Romulus profited by the murder of his rival, which ib was believed he contrived. He was on a journey to Tciuranga when, at midnight, the Ngatihaua treacherously rose and MURDERED THE NGATIMARU TATIUS, and most of his people at Mata Mata. * * * By these means Te Waharoa gained the control of the Upper Waiho, or as it is now known, Tb" Thames. Yet he was worried ; to see tbo Ngatimaru gathered at so. many strong 3 pahs, especially Haowhauua on tho

TE WAHAROA. AN AMBITIOUS AND REVENGEFUL WARRIOR. , ♦ • NO. IV. ,/ „-. • (BY "OLD CHUM.")

Horotiu or Waikato River, near Cambridge. H«re were assembled many who had fled from tbo massacre at Mauinaina and Makaio. In 1828 Te Waharoa lost the support, which ho might have expected from the. Ngatiraukawa. In that year they yielded to Rauparaha's eloquence, and large numbers migrated to share his fortunes m the South. * * * • Haowhenua ("Hao," gathering as m a net, "Whenua" the land) was not only a stronghold of the jSTgatimaru. It intercepted Waharoa's communication with the Waikato ppopie under Te Whero Whero, whose alliance Waharoa valued highly. He invited the co-operation of the Waikato and Ngatimaniapoto tribes, m 1830. With _iyfohundred warriors they joined him at Maungatautari, where his force of his own:' people and numerous Ngaterangi allies from; Taimnga amounted to several hundred.' The Ngatimaru, the Ngatipaoa and their; friends, gathered together to meet, what historian Rusd^erf called , : THE COMING; STORM. They ■marched tp .battle at Taumatwiwi, ;| were beaten and. followed to .Haowhenua. j The victors, their victory notwithstanding,! suffered severely. But, for the courage a«d' skill of Te Waharoa they would have beenj boaten. ,He was shot m. tho hand and: wounded by a tomahawk. ; j ■ ■ * * * .".'.! He put his brains to work, and devised, a plan for obtaining possession of Haojv-' henua without further • loss. He found himself m the position of a conqueror, he held the battle-field and had possession of* the , ■ ' . ••■■',■ : -"' : ■ BODIES OF HIS DEAD ENEMIES. He found, however, that his men were j and his enemies entrenched m strong fortifications. -We. are.- told that m the stillness of the night he sent a herald to announce that during four days the enemy might retire unmolested, ' but that, if they would not 'do so on the fifth day,. Haowheuua and all therein would be destroyed.

"No answer was returned, but during the interval a multitude of all ages and sexes | issued from the pah, and marched m close order along- the road by Mata Mata to the Thames." Slaves availed themselves of the downfall of their Ngatimaru masters, and. by night deserted to the ranks of the 1 conqueror. Such was the Ngatihaua fcra- | dition, and one commentator says the trad ition is m keeping with the facts elicited ; forty years after the . event. The spirit is I the same, though the mode m which the wounded warrior sounded the enemy was not identical with the details of the eviidence, nor was the evacuation of Haowhenua proved to have been effected with the dramatic rapidity implied m the popular belief.; "This is the illustration of the growth of a myth founded on truth and heighten- , cd m poetic effect, ra/ther than perverted, while crystallised m oral tradition." ... * ■ * . * * Quoting from.Rusden. In 1871, when English; rule had been set up m the land, and judges of the Native Lands Courts pronounced upon Maori titles, THE PAKEHA MAORI, JUDGE F. E. ■' ! MANNING, • • •• : with Judge Munro, delivered a decision upon tribal, titles, accruing from the battle of Taumatawiwi, .tho 'retreat of the Ngatimaru (cal]ed m tub judgment .Mar.u-tuahu)i and the extent to which the claims of the. Ngatihaua encroached upon the tornler domain • of their enemies. * * * That Ngatihaua asserted a right to the. Aroha, a tract of land on both sides of the Waiho Hirer. The tract m dispute was about 200,000 acres. The Ngatihaua claimed by conquest and. the terms of the evacuation of Haowhenua, followed by sufficient occupation to establish a right. ! Tho Ngatimaru denied the defeat of their forefathers, and declared that the terms of ' the evacuation gave no title to the Aroha, which had been m their possession subsequently. For both claims there was colorable evidence,, for after tho expulsion of the Ngatimaru from Haowhenua, the Aroha was comparatively tractless. Witnesses on both sides admitted that the space which intervened between the abodes of { .THE HOSTILE TRIBES WAS UNSAFE,! und that the Aroha was more often traversed by war parties than occupied in' peace. ** ' * Te Waharoa himself was said to have gone m person to take formal possession of Aroha, and allotted, with his chiefs, vthe eelwiers and the lands to their people. If he had devoted his attention to the north it was thought that he would have put (be matter; beyond doubt, but war with the Arawa m the south engrossed his attention j an 3 filled m his time. As it was, he left a lawsuit to his descendants.

Wifon (he Court sat m 1871, Ngatihaua chiefs who fom'hi at Taumataviwi gave evidence. At night, they said, Waharoa BURNED HIS OWN DEAD to prevent their bodies from falling into the hands of their enemies, and was proceeding to attack Haowhenua m the morning, when a humble deputation of. unarmed Ngatimaru besought an audience. Amongst them were TAHAROKTJ AND TUPUA, OP HIGH RANK. * * # "If you had beaten me," said Waharoa, you would have taken my land. As you are beaten my land returns lo me, and you must go back to the Thames." "How," asked Taharoku, "am I to get away ?" "You shSll be led out," was the brief reply. The laconic question asked by Taharoku was understood on both sides. How could hundreds of women and children pass safely through a hostile country? One

to Atfßl \tfHtoPtiftr MEETING itOt?SEi witness said that Tupua, who was distantly related .t-tOi/Wahatba^- seeing' the btitningj bodies of. Ngatihaua (which, if he had befen a conqueror,, Tupua would have joined m eating)', gruffly said to Waharoa, "Why do you spoil my provisions?"

■#".."* * Peace was agreed upon. By the Ngatimaru account they retired m three months. The Ngatihaua witnesses stated that the evacuation was completed m three weeks.

A NgatihauV ■'6hlef|- i PqKerahe'ke,'-'a"riS "tyro'- | chief women 'accompanied their enemies. •• GOOD FAITH WAS KEPT, ;■' ■ j and m; three. separate bands; hp the -Wai-'' fcato, the Waiho,;;and"; the :Pe&ko Rivers,; the Ngatimaru retired without molestation. The death of Hongi, who had slaughtered the Ngatimaru at Totara, relieved them from fear of the Ngapuhi, amongst • whorathe missionaries were obtaining much influence. »■ ■■•■■• "■;*. ■■#:■ * • Amidst the conflicting evidence as to the Aroha land,' the Court determined that the Ngatimaru were» never dispossessed to such an extent, and the Ngatihaua never occupied m such, a manner as to.fgive the latter a. good claim. ,On the eoutrary, it walfrheld that the Ngatimaru had -for, twelve ydafs after, the battle . of Taurnatawiwi made m- '■ cursions into Ngatihaua. territory;; #rid .thus rendered it iniposgible for the. Ngfitihaua to occupy permanently 'the disputed "land. The diversion' of "the •: •■ ' ; i S: : ) ':■• .•■'■'•'•■ . SAVAGE ABILITI^' OF \yAHAROA to his southern wars' saved; the Arbba dis- ; trict for one- or two. generations? of the i Ngatimaru. The , death of Hongi had relieved them from the fear of- the'Ngapuhi. But decimation, continues Rusden, as rapid as" that of the tjomahawk or the miisket was to follow the advent of . qe^ . enemies. Ten years after the. „v ' ' '"'-'.'' BATTLE;^ TAIIM^TAWIWI / ..,[ the sovereignty of ..the ..Queen was-, proclaimed. Though Justice was the object of England,, the. destruction of ..the tribes has ; been more rapid vimier her s'ivay than under the internecine strifo of former years. (In 1880 the' coveted Aroha block was "parcelled out for sale 'to English' settlers, so saith Rusden.) ■ ' * • # *, In February; 1835, the Rev 1 : H. Williams passed across the Waikato River, where fcri- ' bal war had broken out. Everywhere he preached ho had large audiences. He went m January, 1836, \vith his well-earned reputation as v peacemaker to see Waharoa. The chief was not" at Mata Mata. Williams heard there of the murder of Waharoa's relative at Rotorua, and travelled to Tupuna, at Tauranga. Ho found Waharoa there, but could make no impression upon him. He passed on to Rotorua to try his powers upon the Arawa. All were civil. The missionaries, Chapman, Pilley, and Knight, were well treated at the Rotovua abode. Williams reprehended the Maoris for having permitted' so foul a deed— THE MURDER OP WAHAROA'S • RELATIVE— to occur amongst them. They seemed to admit their fault, but to bo careless about the future, though professing no desire for war. Williams returned sadly to his home at the Bay of Islands. The foul deed done at Rotorua was one of the worst types of MAORI FEROCITY. * * * Tapsell, the trader at Maketu, had given i

merchandise to Ihn Arawa, m payment for flaS contracted lor. Huka. an inferior chief, laboring under some slight afc the time received no payment from Tapsoll, to whom he made complaint. Tapsell said that he hiid paid all that he had promised, and :. would give no more. Enraged at. his own relatives, who had pocketed all the payment, Huka resolved to plunge them into I war. Afc Rotorua lived Hunga, a cousin of Te Waharoa. On Christmas Day, 1835, Huka paddled across the lake with a tew companions, and was hospitably received by Hunga, at his Wnarc. In the act of salutation—rubbing noses— - HUNGA WAS KILLED, by a cowardly blow on the back of the head. . • * * » ■ The Arawas took no trouble m the matter ; they did not punish Huka, or apologise for his act. The criminal had known that Maori usage admitted neither of apology by his tribe, nor its acceptance by Te Waharoa. War and the shedding of blood was the necessary, p&ymeht. I The Aravfa hacked the body, of': HuUga- into pieces, which were sent •tP • their .various tribesmen to. show tho ( new? "p)ia4e-. of politics upon which they had( : .en6i9^d>;by; reason of . the act of Huka. -v. * . ■ * ■ Mr;>^%pnjan)-'vfche missionary, obtained the .'■''- -■'■• HEAD OF Tijfe ; MURDERED MAN. and ga^ie; it to 1^ Telativeis,; Te Waharoa 6enU£l|nj& .word that he would, burn his ho,^-raj>wnr X T^i the ; Arawa .he sent no m^a^g&v. -J^^OL&t time ;Rev. W. ManseTKpl^ioine^^^^rown,' it .' t Mala , Mata. All^piSw'/that^wTOaroa would' avenge' him-eelf;-Mt^e '^^^.;both the missionaries and his etaemißs v a& td'the manner. After affecting consideration from Mr. Brown, he r refused to allow. Jiim to visit Mr. Ohap"hiaii; at Rotortlai vAI He told him to go to Malcetu, and jhwite Mr. Chapman there. i'Many Maoris-wtfuJd go there also, stf that -WAttaroa would jftnly have the guilty to ideal with at Rotorua. -. .-,• . • . . ..■■■ ' ;■-•■ •-••' ' .--* j-joao *.■ ...'- ...» ' . ■;■■.• •'■. > . --" In' March, 1836|iiwith lOOOmen Waharoa passed Tauranga on his way to Ma^atu. A few .Arawas webfcQsttayJaid, slain, and eaten, the entreaties of the Tauranga missionaries, Messrs.! -Wilson and Slad£ / ■•: . • *. •■■'■■■ * : '' '■•'•■ On v March J e pah at Maketu was stormed. Tapsw. ; .the trader, .' who had three stations on/mb coast and one at Mata Mata; was not ; Mile i d, but his dwelling, and

over a hundred tons of flax '''■ ' WERE GIVEN TO THE FLAMES. 'f-v..' :'■•■■ * 1 * *■ — '. . At the intercession of the missionaries Tapsell and his Maori wife were allowed by Te Waharoa to depart m safety; 'The fiendish conquerors, - drunk with blood, re fused all remonstrances from" the mission- . aries. Te Waharoa as usual-led the storming party, and had first cut at the palisade lashings. He went home ift triumph, and savagely told Missionary Brown, "If you arie angry with me,.,L w il;L; : kiU ; . and eat all; the, missionaries."'^'v^^' I ; ." ; '■• „J.s:! v ^l..i- f ,v:,>* ". ■ \ ■ I Some^eeks^a^erj'ythe Araw£ retaliated, , by stopmingj with ;much loss, the ?J?umu pahT occupi^iby. Waha,roa's frienjcUi; ";• : TJio; close;-^ Te Waharoa's' career, was at hand. : > I FouTf./nipnths after he had led ; the storming J paYtj-r at MaketuV' though over 60- years 1 ago', with a select band- of warriors at Patatere,'; find m Auguiffcy 5 1836, ap-' peared before the great pah at Ohinemuta, [ but he failed to capture the place, which so annoye^Hiii&f that he. challenged the chief who caused the/ blunder ; which ended m failure. ; ;:i •■'■■'•'"''•'•• ■■„'■ THE ;J'IGIJSP"'WITH ; LONG TOMAHAWKS had ppWtfffelibe'd wh&n|fche-6ufrounding chiefs burst rfd between vth|_;;coirteStants. After feasfirig : for sevet-al" days;, Waharoa returned hon&; with the preserved heads of his viei/hns.' ' . .»?"■' ' Chapman and Wilson visited the deserteel camp- at thp end of the month., and 3es--cribed it as "a valley of bones, the bones of men still groen with flesh hideous to look upon." Fighting was afterwards carried on- between the tribes but the conversion of some of the people to Christianity retarded war. At Tauranga WaharOa was seized with erysipelas. The missionaries Wilson and Brown visited him, but found hrn unplacable. He was carried to Maia Mata,' and died there m 18?9. He left a son WIItEMU TANUAHADA TE WAHAROA, known as the King Maker, perhaps the most brainy of. Maori men of Mark, and of whom 'next issue. Ta.psell, the trader, died at Maketu, i» 1870 m peace, aged ninety-six yeare. (To be Continued.)