Te Whatanui

Te Whatanui achieved fame not only as a military leader but also as a diplomat who sought to establish peace between the various tribes of the region during the 1820s and 1830s. His peacemaking efforts are rare examples of humanity and integrity from a period of our history which is characterised by bloodshed and treachery.

Te Whatanui was born about 1770. He belonged to an aristocratic branch of the Ngati Raukawa tribe, whose homeland was situated in the Mangatautari district of Waikato (near the present town of Cambridge). This tribe was descended from the Polynesian voyagers who came to New Zealand in the “Tanui” canoe about 600 years ago and derived their name from a famous ancestor named Raukawa. Through his grandfather Te Rangipumamao, he was also descended from the crew of the “Te Arawa” canoe. He spent much of his early life in the Waihaha district on the western shore of Lake Taupo. He soon gained a reputation as a warrior of courage and a leader of men and by 1820 was acknowledged as one of the most influential chiefs of the Ngati Raukawa.

In the 1820s and 1830s when northern tribes acquired firearms from the Europeans trading in the Bay of Islands, the tribes of Waikato soon realised that their survival depended on obtaining firearms also. Te Rauparaha and his Ngati Toa moved south to Kapiti where they obtained a supply from whalers and traders. Te Rauparaha urged his cousin Te Whatanui to accompany him but Te Whatanui declined as he had decided to move to Hawke’s Bay. He had some success there in the beginning but the local Ngati Kahungunu obtained reinforcements from Nga Puhi allies in Northland who arrived and drove the Ngati Raukawa back to Taupo and Waikato.

In 1826 Te Whatunui visited Te Rauparaha at Kapiti and was offered the territory between Otaki and Rangitikei which Te Rauparaha had wrested from the Muauopoko and Ngati Apa. Te Rauparaha hated the Muauopoko because they had treacherously killed two of his children and several of his close relatives. However Te Whatanui befriended the Muauopoko and assured them he would maintain peace with them. He returned to Waikato and persuaded 800 of his people to move – this was in 1829 or 1830 and was known as the great migration. The main body came down the western side of Lake Taupo, down the Turakina River to the coast and along the beach to Kapiti. A group of about 20 warriors armed with muskets travelled inland from the Rangitikei River and journeyed down the Oroua and Manawatu Rivers in canoes captured from the Ngati Apa and Rangitane, leaving a trail of death and destruction. This incensed the Ngati Apa and Rangitane who gathered together a band of warriors including some Muauopoko and set out to seek revenge. They gathered at the island pa of Hotuiti in the Hotuiti swamp to the east of the present town of Foxton and not far from the (present) Shannon bridge. Here they left their wives and children and travelled on south.

Meanwhile news of these activities reached Te Whatanui who was in the Otaki district. He quickly gathered together a small band of warriors and travelled up the beach to the Manawatu River. Proceeding up the river he discovered Hotuiti Pa and its occupants. He entered the pa and captured the women taking care not to harm any of them. One woman escaped and fled to Horowhenua where she found her relatives who immediately returned to the Manawatu to rescue their families. As the warriors neared the pa Te Whatanui released Konihi, the wife of Taiweherua, the Muauopoko chief with whom Te Whatanui had previously made peace. Konihi told her husband that Te Whatanui came in peace. They were suspicious and wished to attack. Before they could do so Te Whatanui crossed the river in a canoe to speak to them. He came alone and unarmed.

The courage of this act greatly impressed the assembled war party and Te Whatanui was greeted with the exclamation “Manawaroa” (stout-hearted or brave hearted). Te Awe Awe (a chief of the Rangitane) then demonstrated his desire to make peace by breaking his tokotoko (long wooden club or quarter staff) across his knee and casting the broken weapon at the feet of Te Whatanui. Other chiefs followed his example. The meeting of these two parties is generally known as “the peacemaking at Karikari” and the date of the event was probably 1830. Following this peacemaking, the women who had been captured at Hotuiti by Te Whatanui were restored to their husbands and arrangements were made for Ngati Raukawa to release women who had been captured by the war party which had raided Oroua and Manawatu on its way south to Kapiti. These women were returned to Ngati Apa and Rangitane thereby establishing friendly relations with these people and upholding the peace of Te Whatanui.

This incident took place in our district but it must be realised that Te Whatanui did not abandon his military activities after he migrated to the coast. He remained the warrior chief of Ngati Raukawa and continued to lead his people into battle against those who incurred his wrath. In 1838 he raided a pa in the Wanganui district to avenge the death of a party of Ngati Raukawa some years earlier. In 1834 he made forays into Hawke’s Bay. He did his best to protect the Muauopoko from the Ngati Toa but the wily Te Rangihaeata travelled inland from Kapiti and attacked them at Papaitonga, killing 600 of them.

In 1839 Rev. Octavius Hadfield came to settle in the district. Te Whatanui and his family were early converts. The village at Horowhenua became a meeting place for Maoris who wished to learn the skills of reading, writing and Bible study. Edward Jerningham Wakefield visited the village in 1842 and was most impressed. He said “Whatanui was, perhaps, one of the native chiefs who best appreciated the value of the White man’s presence and brotherhood. He had adopted the Christian faith very warmly; but without in the least injuring his authority, for either he himself or his second son always read the prayers and enforced the performance of the Christian observances…….”

The Muauopoko people told Rev. Samuel Williams in 1847 “It was not the Missionaries but Te Whatanui who first brought us the glad tidings of salvation. Te Rauparaha would have killed us all, but Whatanui protected and saved us; that old man must have seen Jesus Christ, he was to us so good and kind”.

Te Whatanui died in the year 1849 and was buried at Otaki but his bones were later exhumed and carried north to the land of his ancestors. His final resting place is said to be at Waihaha on the western shore of Lake Taupo.

(Extracts from notes kindly supplied by Mr. Ian Matheson.)

Referencing:

When referencing this article please use the following:

Pioneers of Foxton : Book One. p3-5. [Foxton, N.Z.] : Foxton Historical Society, 1988.

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