More Info →4th Dec 1872.

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Wednesday Dec. 4th 1872

Present: His Honour Judge Rogan

Present: His Honour Smith

Interpreter: T Young

Clerk: M Grey

Assessor: H Tautari

Court opened at 10. a.m.

(Watini Te Whiwhi) There is one of the green stones we got at Porirua called Tuhiwai & in the possession of Hohepa. It represented their mana over the land. It was taken from Ngaitahu; it was taken by Rangihaeita from Panewai.

We went to Kaiapoi and went into the Ngaitahu Pah. We went again into the Pah in the morning. We were treacherously attacked. Pehi, Pokaitara & other chiefs of Ngatiawa and Ngatitoa were murdered. We came back again to Kapiti.

A brig came there - Cowell was on board (now of Waikato). 70 of us went on board. Rauparaha, Rangihaeita & their chiefs were there. Rauparaha asked Cowell to speak to the Captain to let the vessel fetch Tamaiharanui. The Captain consented and the vessel went to Akaroa.

When they arrived a person was sent to ask Tamaiharanui to come on board. He came with 20 others. They were caught and thrown down the hold. Ngatitoa went ashore in the boats to fight the Ngaitahu's. They attacked the Pah and took it. It was named Onawe. They then came back to Kapiti.

Tamaiharanui was put into a canoe and brought to Otaki. He was killed next morning. I have omitted something about the fight of Waiorua. After the fight we went to Rangitikie. We took a Pah called Awamatemate. We killed ten people. The chiefs Rangihauku and Kopeka were killed. All the rest of the chiefs made their escape (Hakeke and others).

We came back from Rangitikie to Manawatu. We went up the river as far as Karetana and we found natives there who had escaped from Waiorua. We killed them. They were Rangitani's and Ngaraou from Waitotara. 40 were killed. We spared the life of a Ngarawou chief called Koukou, and we went back to Kapiti and Rauparaha began to think about Ngatiraukawa and Ngatiawa.

He proposed to them to go in a war party to Whanganui in revenge for a defeat that Raukawa had suffered at Makokoti. A chiefteness called Hikitana was killed there. We went up to Whanganui and surrounded the Pah Putikiroharanui. After two days they came outside to fight us. We defeated them and killed some. Two days afterwards they bolted - some to the hills and others were taken across the river and killed by the Ngatiawa. Parematau a chiefteness of Whanganui was killed. We came away after this.

Heu Heu's party who were joined by the Whanganui's came down. Te Oroa went from Kapiti to Whanganui. He was caught killed baked and eaten in revenge for Parematau.

I shall now speak of our going to Wairarapa to make peace. 20 Ngatikahungu's came to Kapiti to make peace. I was requested by Rauparaha to go to Wairarapa to make peace. After I went, Rauparaha called the Range Tararua, the back bone of Rangihaeita, to prevent any tribes interfering with Wairarapa people. Peace was not made with the people in their district on account of the murders committed at Te Wi and Ohau.

When I returned all the Chiefs of Ngatikahungu accompanied me to Kapiti. The chief who continued to live with the Ngatitoa and Rauparaha was Weretakairangi. The chiefs lived here for a year and then went home in a canoe called Mataketake which Rauparaha provided.

He said to them when you reach Wairarapa be on your guard. The reason was because a Muaupoko had been killed after the peace at Horowhenua. Taheke was his name. A chief named Tuhaingane a Ngatiawa came up to Horowhenua and said to the Muaupoko you can occupy your land without molestation. No one can over ride my mana.

They then occupied Papaitonga and Horowhenua. It was heard that Muaupoko had come out from the hills to Papaitongo and Horowhenua. They were attacked by Rauparaha and Rangihaeita. Taherere and other chiefs of Muaupoko were killed. One of his (Taherere) female relatives composed a lament for him.

Tuhaingane was annoyed because Rauparaha had interfered with what they had done with the Muaupoko and in return they interfered with Rauparaha's peace making in Wairarapa. A war party of Ngatiawa set out for Wairarapa and killed Te Maare. Rauparaha had asked Te Maare to come back quickly but he stopped and was killed. This commenced the fighting at Wairarapa. Ngatiraukawa also went to fight Ngatikahungu on account of Kikohoterangi.

I am going back to when Ngatiawa arrived here. The Ngatitama came to Waikanae and then came back to take possession of Otaki, Ohau and other places. They lived a year and a half there and subdivided the land. It might have been in the year 1827. The Ngatitoa then came to Otaki and fought against Ngatiawa. Rauparaha did not wish them to live at these places. Ngatitama then went to Kapiti to live. They abandoned these places for good.

Whatanui Te Heu Heu and a party came down to see Rauparaha at this time, and fetched Ngatikahungu who lived at Wellington Heads to Porirua and Kapiti. Afterwards one of our people named Karewa was murdered by Ngatitama. They then commenced fighting. Rauparaha did not wish to fight. We attacked and killed Ahetaka a chief and took the Pah called Mainene. This was on Kapiti.

There was another fight and we took the Pah. It was called Taipiro. Arare was the battle. Ngatitama collected in two Pahs, Kahikatea, and Oteho, were the names. We attacked the Kahikatea and it was nearly captured when Pehitaka's daughter came to us and saw Rangihaeita, Rauparaha, and Topeora. Rauparaha told me to go into the Pah and stop the fighting. I went in and the fighting ceased and the war party outside dispersed. Ngatitama after this left Kapiti and went to Wellington.

After this another party of Raukawa arrived. There were 30 of them. The chiefs were Ahukaramu, Kuruho, Tuhainuku and others. When they arrived at Kapiti, Waitohi, Rauparaha's sister spoke to them. All the Ngatitoa agreed that the Raukawa should come and live there as Waitohi had said. They wanted them to come on account of the murders at Te Wi and Ohau. Then Rauparaha gave the land to Ahukaramu, Kuruho, and Tuhainuku. This land was between Otaki on one side and Wangaehu on the other. Ngatiawa at this time had possession of land about Ohau, Horowhenua and Otaki.

When Ahukaramu and his people had appointed a day to return to Maungatautau, all the Ngatitoa came to Ohau to say good bye to them. They were told not to stay away long but to come back as soon as possible. After that we came down from there to Otaki where the Ngatiawa were living.

Rauparaha, Hiko, Tumia, addressed Ngatiawa and told them to go away as they wanted all the land between Manawatu to be kept for Ngatiraukawa. Ngatiapa had cut up all the land. A chief of Ngatiawa Taingarara; there is a piece of land called after his belly. Ngatiawa agreed to leave all the land between Otaki and Wangaehu to the Raukawa. They agreed to abandon the land they occupied for the Ngatiraukawa. They then gave Rauparaha some food (Porpoises).

After this we returned to Kapiti, and in March we came to build a Pah for Ngatirauka [sic] at Otaki. In the following summer the Ngatiraukawa arrived and went straight off to Kapiti. They lived there for a year and a half.

A year after their arrival Rangihaeita and they went to Papaitonga and Horowhenua and killed some of the Muaupoko. They attacked Papaitonga and killed Takare and Paipai. At Horowhenua they killed Rautakitahi and others. There was a Ngatiraukawa living with Muaupoko. Te Pukeroa was his name. He ran away to Otaki.

Raukawa accompanied by Rangihaeita and Rauparaha came ashore at Otaki. We then fixed that boundary at Otaki as between Ngatiraukawa on the North side and Rauparaha on the South. Two years after all the Taranaki tribes came down; they came down and cut boundaries all over this District. They did not even wait when they came to Ohau for Raukawa to give them food - they helped themselves. After this Ngatiraukawa retired to Otaki leaving their houses and food as they were.

Taranaki tribes then went to a place on the N bank of Otaki, the seaward of where the township is. Whakaheke went to Waitohu to see after his store of potatoes. He found Tawake in the hole where he kept his potatoes. This man was a Taranaki so he killed him. The Taranaki tribes attacked Ngatiraukawa and they fought at the place where Dodds house now stands at Otaki. The latter beat them and hung two of those they killed in the trees. The Ngatiawa were defeated at Waikanae and the fighting went on.

Court rose for 1/2 hour at 12.15

(note in the margin -Te whiwhi)

(Watini): In the fighting that took place neither party could be said to have gained the victory. After the fighting had taken place Ngatiawa went to Waikanae and Raukawa went back to Ohau.

The space of five years Rauparaha was constantly killing the original proprietors of this Country. The first was when Taheke was killed then Wairarua - Toherere - Paipai, Tokare, Te Rautakitahi. After this Watanui's mana was over the land at Horowhenua and over Muaupoko. That was all Rauparaha did. He did not kill any more after Watanui's mana was established over them. Watanui and Ngatiraukawa fought against the five tribes after they (Raukawa) came here. The five tribes never gave any land to the Ngatiraukawa.

Watanui never gave the Muaupoko's any land at Horowhenua. As far as he was concerned the Muaupoko had no mana or authority over him. They were nobody. Ngatiapa Rangitani or Muaupoko never got satisfaction for their defeat at Waiorua (Kapiti). They never got satisfaction for the death of Rangihiwinui nor for the defeat at Pikitara, nor for the taking of their Pah (Awamate). The Awamate and Pikitara were the last Rauparaha captured from those tribes. The fact of the tribes not having taken satisfaction shows they were beaten and had no mana. I don’t know or ever heard that Muaupoko gave Watanui any land. According to Maori and Pakeha custom the land goes into the possession of those who gain the victory.

(Note in margin: Hoani Meihana)

Some of the evidence I have given I have heard from my parents but the most is facts that have come within my own knowledge. I swear we were always attacked by the tribes at night, the only fair attack was at Waiorua. We stopped on the other side of Waitotara and offered fight to the Whanganui's and they gave way to us and we came through. I came down to Whanganui; went back to Waitotara and then came on again. Whanganui commenced first, we accepted the challenge and they could not stand against us. They challenged us but were not able to cope with us.

We did not actually fight with the Whanganui's then. We were at Whanganui before Iria and other chiefs of Ngatiapa had come up. The fires we saw were at the first. All the fires we saw we put them out. We saw none afterwards. There are only ashes of those fires left. The place of residence (at this time)of the Muaupoko was in the mountain. I could not see their fires from where I was. Whenever they came into the open I was there and caught them and put their fires out. I saw a fire on the coast. I went there and killed Takare where they were when their fires were not seen on the coast, I dont know. I did not actually kill him on the beach but inland. I killed him and Paipai at Papaitonga. Rautakitahi was killed at Horowhenua. When Takere was killed the bulk of Muaupoko ran away to the mountains.

Takare and Rautakitahi were killed the same day at Horowhenua. The greater part of Muaupoko were at Toi. I knew they had Pahs at Namuiti and Moanakarahu. Rautakitahi was killed at a place on the opposite side of the lake to Toi. We had no canoes to take us to the Pahs therefore did not attack but those who were in the Pahs ran away into the bush. I don’t admit that these were fighting Pahs. They were islands in the lake and not fortified merely heaps of rubbish about the size of this place.

The Ngatirauka [sic] man who I stated ran away was not a prisoner of Muaupoko - he lived with them as a friend. I don’t know why he was a friend of theirs. I was one of the party on the occasion of Takere. Paipai and Rautakitahi was killed.

I did not know of any peace making between Watanui and Muaupoko at the time of the killing of these people. It was a much later period than this when I heard of Watanui's kindness towards them not his peace making. I swear most solemnly I know nothing of the peace making between Watanui & Muaupoko. All that I know is that it was the kindness of Watanui not a peace making. As for what Piripi Rangiatahua said in Wellington regarding peace making he used a wrong word. It was his own composition. I never heard of any peace making between Rangihaeita and Muaupoko. I don’t wish you to think I'm concealing anything but I never heard it. No one ever heard of the sticks being broken between Rangihaeita and Muaupoko. I only heard of a peace making from Kara.....ia. Rangihaeita was a near relative of mine, so was Rauparaha.

How is it I never heard it from them? I may have been at Kapiti. I may have been in Mana or middle Island which may have prevented my hearing of this peace making. We never killed anyone on the hills. We laid snares at Horowhenua and Papaitonga. If they came there they were caught. We never sent any notification to the five tribes that we were going to kill them. Neither did you when you made the treacherous attacks on Rauparaha.

I stated correctly we were fighting for 5 years with these tribes and they sought satisfaction for their losses. I swear you made no attack on us during those five years. There were 30 of the Ngatitoa killed at Te Wi. It was a murder. You killed 100 Ngatitoa at Waikanae. There were 70 Ngatitoa killed by you at Waimapehi.

I did not hear that you killed 20 of Ngatitoa at Pukerua. I don’t know anything about 10 of us being killed at Anaputa. I heard Kakanui Hemara were killed by you at Kukutawaki. I heard you killed Rangitaieki a chief of Ngatitoa and other tribes at Ohau. I have no knowledge of the defeat of Ngatitoa and Ngatitama or of the 200 persons killed at Wharepapa and Tarata. I heard you defeated Ngatiaura Ngatitiama and Ngahitoa at Huariki. I heard 10 chiefs were killed. I never heard of 10 Ngatitoa's being killed by you at Poutu and I know nothing about it. I heard you spared Tahiariki a chief of Ngatitoa at Poutu. I never heard Paraone Tohanino went to ask for the release of Tohiariki. I have no knowledge of your gaining a victory over us at Tawharerata or Poutu.

I don’t know any chief named Urumairanga. he does not belong to Ngatitoa, Ngatiawa or Ngatiraukawa. I only know Wharepouri as a chief of Ngatiawa. Pehi went to England to get guns on account of his four sons killed at Waimea. They were killed by Rangitani, Ngatiapa and Muaupoko. These four sons were chiefs. The song my mother composed cursing the Muaupoko was on account of the murder of the Rauparaha's party at Te Wi.

We choose to live at Kapiti because we could get shell fish as a relish for our fern root. I never heard of an attack made on Tekorehu's party by Muaupoko at Horowhenua.

The Judge stated on the rising of the Court at 3 p.m. that the Court would resume its sitting at 5. p.m. to hear the succession claim "Te Paretao"

Court opened at 5.P.M.

The Assessor and claimant not being present the court adjourned until 10 a.m. Thursday 5th Dec 1872

Identification

Date

December 4, 1872