Tara Te Irirangi (1780s–1852) also known as Te Tara ki Moehau or Ōtara Te Irirangi, was paramount chief of

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori people, Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, New Zealand, Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective ...

or Ngāti Tai, a Māori tribe of the eastern

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

region of New Zealand , encompassing parts of the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Wairoa River (Auckland), Wairoa Valley, as well as

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies ...

Maraetai Maraetai is a coastal town to the east of Auckland in New Zealand, on the Pōhutukawa Coast. Part of the traditional rohe of Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki, the area developed into a coastal holiday community in the early 20th Century. Geography Maraet ...

and Howick. Te Irirangi was the great-grandson of Te Wana, a leading rangatira and well-known warrior of Ngāi Tai, who, during his life, strengthened Ngāi Tai control over the Maraetai-Wairoa area. Tara Te Irirangi died in 1852, after falling ill, his daughter Ngeungeu having been kidnapped by Nga Puhi who sided with the crown to arrange a marriage to a Scotsman losing her Mother tongue as arranged by the crown, extradited her from her father, he passed away at the mouth of the Wairoa River. He was interred in his waka in the Ngāi Tai burial swamps within the west bank of the river.

Early leadership

Prior to his time as ariki (paramount chief), Te Irirangi looked over neighbouring Ngāi Tai settlements, including Te Puke ō Tara ( Ōtara Hill) and Te Wai ō Tara ( Ōtara Creek). Te Irirangi first achieved recognition during his youth in the late warfare of the late 18th-century as a toa rangatira (leading warrior), and from the early 1800s he was the commander in chief of the warriors of Ngāi Tai. In 1807, Tara Te Irirangi led Ngāi Tai and Ngāti Tai warriors south, to support their

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

relatives of

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

at Te Mangeo, in a battle known as Te Hingakākā, best remembered as "the largest battle ever fought on New Zealand soil".

Musket Wars

Tara Te Irirangi was the paramount chief during the early years of Pākehā settlement in the Tāmaki region, and also during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...

of the 1820s. One notable incident involving Te Irirangi occurred in 1821 during the Musket Wars, when a

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 ...

detachment led by Patuone, a Ngāti Hao chief, arrived in Maraetai with the intention of attacking Ngāi Tai. Upon meeting with Te Irirangi, it was discovered that through intermarriages with

Ngāti Huarere Ngāti Huarere is a Māori iwi. It descends from Huarere, who arrived via the '' Arawa'' in the 14th century. History Ngāti Huarere was established by Huarere, the third son of Tuhoromatakakā in the mid to late 14th century. Tuhoromatakakā ...

, both groups shared

whakapapa Genealogy is a fundamental principle in Māori culture, termed specifically in this context as ''whakapapa'' (, , lit. 'layering'). Reciting one's '' whakapapa'' proclaims one's identity among the Māori, places oneself in a wider context, and ...

from their

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

ancestors. Once learning this connection, Patuone forbade his people from attacking. Ngāi Tai was later attacked by a Parawhau war party led by Te Tirarau, targeting Te Tōtara Pā during which Tara Te Irirangi was away procuring muskets. Following this invasion, many women and children were captured and taken north, including two of Te Irirangi's daughters – Te Whakakōhu and Ngeungeu. While in the Bay of islands, Ngeungeu married Thomas Maxwell, a well-known trader in the area. They later lived on Waiheke Island, prior to Maxwell's death in April 1842.

Land sales

Te Irirangi did not sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi, however this did not mean that he did not desire relationships with European settlers. In fact, prior to the signing of Te Tiriti, Te Irirangi, as a Ngāi Tai rangatira, was involved in land transactions relating to Motutapu and other inner-Gulf islands. On 11 January 1840, Te Irirangi was one of six chiefs involved in the sale of the islands of Motutapu, Hurakia ( Rakino), Otata, and Motu Horopapa ( Noises), to Thomas Maxwell, a prominent Scottish trader and boat builder in the Hauraki Gulf area, and Te Irirangi's son in law. Te Irirangi was not fairly compensated for this sale, and refused to relinquish part of Motutapu, nor Hurakia or Otata, until payment was received. This did not occur, and Tara Te Irirangi was not compensated until awarded a Crown Grant in 1845. In 1844, Te Irirangi, alongside his nephew Wātene Te Makuru, made the first land sale to settlers in the area, approximately 2500 acres opposite

Village, to the Cleghorn and Goodfellow families.

Family and descendants

Tara Te Irirangi had at least one sister, named Te Rangitakerehau, who married Te Wharerau of Ngāti Tāwhaki & Te Urikaraka. He also had at least three children, two daughters, named Te Whakakōhu and Ngeungeu, and one son, named Honetana. Te Whakakōhu married Tirarau, while Ngeungeu married Thomas Maxwell. Following the death of Tara Te Irirangi and other rangatira, Honetana Te Irirangi, alongside others, maintained leadership of Ngāi Tai throughout the Waikato Wars, and passed away in the 1870s. Descendants of Tara Te Irirangi include Rachael Ngeungeu Te Irirangi Beamish (1893–1997), a Ngāi Tai and Ngāti Paoa community leader and early member of the

Māori Women's Welfare League The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori people, Māori women and children. It held its first conference in Wellington, New Zealand, Wellington in Sept ...

Legacy

Multiple sites in the Auckland region are named after Tara Te Irirangi, these include: *

(suburb in South Auckland) * Irirangi Road,

Greenlane Greenlane is a Auckland isthmus, central isthmus suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is bounded by Epsom to the west, Newmarket to the north, Remuera to the east and One Tree Hill to the south. The Greenlane shops are situated at the interse ...

(renamed from 'Prospect Road' in 1938) * Te Irirangi Drive, Auckland (an arterial road opened in 1999, formerly known as the East Tamaki Central Arterial Route Transport (ETCART)) * Following the creation of the Auckland Super City in 2010, the Local Government Commission named the ward of Howick, Pakuranga, and Botany, 'Te Irirangi', due to the historical significance of Tara Te Irirangi within the

East Auckland East Auckland () is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Settled in the 14th century, the area is part of the traditional lands of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The area was developed into farmland in the ...

area. Backlash from the community occurred immediately, and the ward has since been renamed 'Howick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tara Te Irirangi 1780s births 19th century in New Zealand 19th-century Māori tribal leaders 1852 deaths People from Auckland Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki people Year of birth uncertain 19th-century monarchs in Oceania History of Auckland