A NATIVE WARRIOR PASSES THE CENTURY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 79, 24 June 1927, Page 13

A NATIVE WARRIOR PASSES THE CENTURY

MIKA KAWAHENA A FRIEND OF TE KOOTI DIES AT 101 YEARS (Special to THE SUN.) GISBORNE, To-day. An old follower of the famous Te £ooti, Mika Kawahena, died at WhataUitu on Wednesday evening. Mika had belonged to the Whatatutu district in the early days, and at an early a£e joined up with Te Kooti, taking part in his many battles in various parts of the North Island, and being deported with him to the Chatham Islands in the sixties. Mika is reported to have actually assisted Te Kooti in overpowering the guard at the islands, and in seizing the ‘ Rifleman,” in which they made the return voyage to New Zealand, landing at Whareongaonga about three years after their deportation. He remained with Te Kooti subsequently, and was prominent in the East Coast campaign. During one of the later skirmishes at Ngatapu, it is believed, Mika was wounded in the thigh. * When hostilities concluded he returned to Whatatutu and settled down there to a peaceful life. Although he was reputed to have attained the great age of 101 years, Mika was always a powerful man. and enjoyed good health until a few weeks before his death.