Wiremu Kingi
Encyclopedia
Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake (c. 1795 – 13 January 1882), Māori Chief of the Te Āti Awa
Tribe, was leader of the Māori forces in the First Taranaki War
.
Wiremu Kingi was involved in the major disturbances and migrations caused by the Musket Wars
. He and his father probably fought alongside Te Rauparaha
during his tribe's journey from Kawhia to Waikanae. However, he is mainly associated with Waitara
in Northern Taranaki.
In 1839 Colonel William Wakefield
toured the area and persuaded the Māori chiefs to sign various deeds that transferred ownership of most of the tribal land to the New Zealand Company
. To what extent this was deliberate fraud and to what extent it was an example of two cultures failing to understand each other is hard to say. However, the transaction was to cause a great deal of trouble and eventually led the two people to war.
Te Āti Awa initially accepted the changes brought about by the arrival of the Pākehā
and their new government. In May 1840 their chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi
and in 1843–1844 they built a large and beautiful church for the missionaries. On 31st January 1842 the whole of Northern Taranaki from Cape Egmont northwards to the Tongaporutu River was purchased by the crown from Kati Te Wherowhero, who later became the first Maori king. The deed was printed in both English and Maori. The price paid was 150 pounds , 2 horses, 2 saddles, 2 bridles and 100 blankets. The land sold to the government included all the land around Waitara which was under the mana of Te Wherowhero. However, disenchantment began when the Land Commissioner, William Spain, awarded the New Plymouth
settlers 200 km² of tribal land around New Plymouth. Wiremu Kingi wrote to Governor Robert FitzRoy
making it clear that they would not yield their tribal lands, particularly around Waitara. Their case was weakened in the minds of settlers because the bulk of the tribe were then living around Waikanae
about 250km to the south. However, despite opposition from the Government, they returned to Taranaki in 1848 and settled around Waitara.
Over the next 11 years the government and settlers made numerous attempts to acquire more of the tribal land, but were restricted to about 20 km² around New Plymouth. Wiremu Kingi remained firm in his refusal to part with any of the tribal land. Gradually relations between the two peoples deteriorated.
In 1859 a minor tribal chief, Teira, who was feuding with Kingi, made an offer of some land directly to Governor Thomas Gore Browne
. The government accepted the offer despite warnings from many influential missionaries such as Octavius Hadfield
and a previous Chief Justice, William Martin, that the purchase was illegal.
The stakes grew as Kingi refused to budge. Prominent settlers called for him to be surrounded, deported and, if he fired one shot, hanged. The Government pressed ahead and sent in surveyors, declaring that once the survey was complete, the land would be occupied by the military to prevent any Māori occupation. They were blocked by the Te Atiawa people, so the army was sent in. The first shots of the First Taranaki War
were fired on 17 March 1860. The war lasted a year and decided nothing except that the Māori were better tacticians than the Pākehā
. There followed an uneasy truce when the government agreed to re-examine the question and, three years later, Governor George Grey
renounced the purchase.
After the war Kingi withdrew inland beyond the areas influenced by the Pākehā with the people of Ngati Maru at Manutangihia, in the upper reaches of the Waitara River. After 12 years he returned to New Plymouth to make his peace with the Pākehā government and later retired to Parihaka
where he lived with the prophet Te Whiti o Rongomai
for several years. His last years were spent at Kaingaru near Waitara where he died on 13 January 1882.
In 2004, the New Plymouth District Council resolved to sell 146 ha of land at Waitara to the Crown on condition that it was used in settlement of Te Atiawa claims under the Treaty of Waitangi. Leaseholders mounted unsuccessful legal opposition in 2008 and 2011.
Te Ati Awa
Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and around 5,000 of unspecified regional location.-Geographical...
Tribe, was leader of the Māori forces in the First Taranaki War
First Taranaki War
The First Taranaki War was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from March 1860 to March 1861....
.
Wiremu Kingi was involved in the major disturbances and migrations caused by the Musket Wars
Musket Wars
The Musket Wars were a series of five hundred or more battles mainly fought between various hapū , sometimes alliances of pan-hapū groups and less often larger iwi of Māori between 1807 and 1842, in New Zealand.Northern tribes such as the rivals Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua were the first to obtain...
. He and his father probably fought alongside Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
during his tribe's journey from Kawhia to Waikanae. However, he is mainly associated with Waitara
Waitara, New Zealand
Waitara is the name of a town and a river in the northern part of the Taranaki Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Waitara is located just off State Highway 3, 15 km northeast of New Plymouth....
in Northern Taranaki.
In 1839 Colonel William Wakefield
William Wakefield
William Hayward Wakefield was an English colonel, the leader of the first colonizing expedition to New Zealand and one of the founders of Wellington. In 1826, he married Emily Sidney, a daughter of Sir John Sidney.-Early life:...
toured the area and persuaded the Māori chiefs to sign various deeds that transferred ownership of most of the tribal land to the New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
. To what extent this was deliberate fraud and to what extent it was an example of two cultures failing to understand each other is hard to say. However, the transaction was to cause a great deal of trouble and eventually led the two people to war.
Te Āti Awa initially accepted the changes brought about by the arrival of the Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
and their new government. In May 1840 their chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
and in 1843–1844 they built a large and beautiful church for the missionaries. On 31st January 1842 the whole of Northern Taranaki from Cape Egmont northwards to the Tongaporutu River was purchased by the crown from Kati Te Wherowhero, who later became the first Maori king. The deed was printed in both English and Maori. The price paid was 150 pounds , 2 horses, 2 saddles, 2 bridles and 100 blankets. The land sold to the government included all the land around Waitara which was under the mana of Te Wherowhero. However, disenchantment began when the Land Commissioner, William Spain, awarded the New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
settlers 200 km² of tribal land around New Plymouth. Wiremu Kingi wrote to Governor Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
making it clear that they would not yield their tribal lands, particularly around Waitara. Their case was weakened in the minds of settlers because the bulk of the tribe were then living around Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
about 250km to the south. However, despite opposition from the Government, they returned to Taranaki in 1848 and settled around Waitara.
Over the next 11 years the government and settlers made numerous attempts to acquire more of the tribal land, but were restricted to about 20 km² around New Plymouth. Wiremu Kingi remained firm in his refusal to part with any of the tribal land. Gradually relations between the two peoples deteriorated.
In 1859 a minor tribal chief, Teira, who was feuding with Kingi, made an offer of some land directly to Governor Thomas Gore Browne
Thomas Gore Browne
Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne KCMG CB was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda.-Early life:...
. The government accepted the offer despite warnings from many influential missionaries such as Octavius Hadfield
Octavius Hadfield
Octavius Hadfield was Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893. A missionary for thirty years, he was recognised as an authority on Maori customs and language...
and a previous Chief Justice, William Martin, that the purchase was illegal.
The stakes grew as Kingi refused to budge. Prominent settlers called for him to be surrounded, deported and, if he fired one shot, hanged. The Government pressed ahead and sent in surveyors, declaring that once the survey was complete, the land would be occupied by the military to prevent any Māori occupation. They were blocked by the Te Atiawa people, so the army was sent in. The first shots of the First Taranaki War
First Taranaki War
The First Taranaki War was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from March 1860 to March 1861....
were fired on 17 March 1860. The war lasted a year and decided nothing except that the Māori were better tacticians than the Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
. There followed an uneasy truce when the government agreed to re-examine the question and, three years later, Governor George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
renounced the purchase.
After the war Kingi withdrew inland beyond the areas influenced by the Pākehā with the people of Ngati Maru at Manutangihia, in the upper reaches of the Waitara River. After 12 years he returned to New Plymouth to make his peace with the Pākehā government and later retired to Parihaka
Parihaka
Parihaka is a small community in Taranaki Region, New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major campaign of non-violent resistance to European...
where he lived with the prophet Te Whiti o Rongomai
Te Whiti o Rongomai
Te Whiti o Rongomai III was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki region.-Biography:...
for several years. His last years were spent at Kaingaru near Waitara where he died on 13 January 1882.
In 2004, the New Plymouth District Council resolved to sell 146 ha of land at Waitara to the Crown on condition that it was used in settlement of Te Atiawa claims under the Treaty of Waitangi. Leaseholders mounted unsuccessful legal opposition in 2008 and 2011.