Ana Hamu was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

woman of the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

(tribe) in northern

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She was a woman of high rank. Hamu was closely related to

Eruera Maihi Patuone Eruera Maihi Patuone ( – 19 September 1872) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira (chief), the son of the Ngāti Hao chief Tapua and his wife Te Kawehau. His exact birth year is not known, but it is estimated that he was at least 108 years old ...

. Hamu was baptised on 5 October 1834 by the Revd. Henry Williams and adopted the name Ana. Hamu was the widow of Te Koki, a chief of Te Uri-o-Ngongo

Hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

. They had at least two children together, Te Ahara and Rangituke. She later became the wife of the chief Pukututu. Te Koki and Hamu gave the Church Missionary Society (CMS) permission to occupy land at

Paihia Paihia is a town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell, New Zealand, Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Wi ...

. Hamu gave her signature to the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

on 6 February 1840, and was one of only a few women to sign the treaty. She was connected with the CMS Girls' School in Paihia, where she kept the Māori children within bounds by her presence. She was believed to be approximately 60 years old when she died in 1848.

References

Signatories of the Treaty of Waitangi New Zealand Māori women Ngāpuhi people {{Māori-bio-stub