Te Waharoa (died September 1838) was the leader of the

Ngāti Hauā Ngāti Hauā is a Māori iwi of the eastern Waikato of New Zealand. It is part of the Tainui confederation. Its traditional area includes Matamata, Cambridge, Maungakawa, the Horotiu district along the Waikato River and the Maungatautari ...

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. ...

'' (

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 ...

tribe) of the eastern Waikato in

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 ...

in the 1820s and 1830s. His father was Tangimoana of Ngāti Hauā and his mother was Te Kahurangi. As a small child Te Waharoa lived at

Maungakawa Maungakawa is located in the Waipa District, in the present-day Te Miro settlement, northeast of the town of Cambridge, New Zealand. It was once the meeting place of the Kauhanganui, the parliament of the Kīngitanga and Waikato Tainui governmen ...

, north-east of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. A group of

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 ...

attacked Maungakawa and Te Waharoa was taken to the

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

district where he spent his childhood among Te Arawa. He returned to Ngāti Hauā when he was a young man. He took part in fights during the Musket Wars, when Ngāti Hauā supported

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 ...

and

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

tribes against

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...

and

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...

, until Ngāti Toa were driven from

Kāwhia Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton. Ka ...

in 1821. Te Waharoa became the leading chief of Ngāti Hauā. He led his tribe in preserving their territory from occupation by other tribes, including driving out Ngāti Maru in the 1820s, after they outstayed their welcome by weight of numbers, building 15 pa in Ngati Haua territory and the overtaxing of local food resources, when taking refuge from

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 ...

attacks on the Hauraki area. The final act that drove Te Waharoa to desperate measures was when Ngati Maru built Kaipaki pa very close to his own at Maungakawa. He spread the news that he was leaving the rohe for Tauranga so Ngati Maru would lower their guard. He then returned at night and launched a successful surprise attack on the much larger iwi. 200 people in Kaipaki pa were either eaten or enslaved. After expelling Ngāti Maru from Matamata ''

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

'', near the present-day settlement of

Waharoa A waharoa is an entrance gateway to a marae complex in New Zealand. Waharoa may refer to: * ''Waharoa'' (Aotea Square sculpture) (1990), a sculpture by Selwyn Muru in Aotea Square, Auckland * ''Waharoa'' (1990), a sculptural entranceway to the Auc ...

(rather than the present-day town of

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which take ...

), Te Waharoa made it his main ''pā''. He also drove Ngāti Maru from the

Horotiu Horotiu is a small township on the west bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is on the Waikato Plains north of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and south of Ngāruawāhia. From early in the 20th century it devel ...

district along the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

and the Maungatautari district. Te Waharoa maintained military and trade links with the

Ngāi Te Rangi Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tūhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east. ...

and

Ngāti Ranginui Ngāti Ranginui is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends from Waihi in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, to south of Te Puke in the south, and to Tauranga in the east. The rohe does not ext ...

tribes who lived in the

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

district, across Ngāti Hauā's eastern boundary, the

Kaimai Range The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai ...

. When the Tauranga tribes were threatened by a Ngāpuhi war party led by Te Haramiti in 1831, Te Waharoa and Ngāti Hauā went to the aid of Tupaea and the Tauranga people, and together they defeated the Ngāpuhi party. Also in December 1831 Te Wahoroa joined with a huge Waikato force estimated at 2,500 to 4,000 warriors under Te Whero whero who launched an assault on North Taranaki tribes Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutanga. In January 1832 the Waikato taua with Te Wahaoroa launched further assaults against Pukerangiora Pa which held 4,000 people. The besieged ran out of food and a large group of Taranaki children, women and older people fled at night. Most were caught by Waikato and killed, with only a few escaping. Two weeks later the men ran out of food and tried to escape at night in a sudden rush. In their weakened state they were easily overcome and many jumped over cliffs to avoid the Waikato slaughter. In all between 1,000 and 1500 people were killed. As was usual prisoner were killed and eaten with prisoners " being decapitated, disembowelled, cooked and eaten". The battle was noted for its savagery with Waikato going down to the bottom of the cliffs and killing those who had survived the leap.The Musket Wars . p242-245. When Anglican missionaries came to his region, Te Waharoa wished to have a missionary resident there and a mission station was established near Matamata ''pā'' in 1835. One of the first students at the mission school was Te Waharoa's son Tarapipipi, later known as

Wiremu Tamihana Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa ( – 27 December 1866), generally known as Wiremu Tamihana, was a leader of the Ngāti Hauā Māori iwi in nineteenth century New Zealand, and is sometimes known as the kingmaker for his role in the Māori Ki ...

. After a relative of Te Waharoa was murdered by a Te Arawa man, there were a number of skirmishes with Te Arawa in 1836. Ngāti Hauā, with support from other tribes, attacked and destroyed a Te Arawa ''pā'' and

Phillip Tapsell Phillip Tapsell, born Hans Homan Jensen Falk (1777/1791? – 6 or 7 August 1873) was a Danes, Danish mariner, whaler, and trader who settled in New Zealand. Tapsell first arrived in New Zealand at the Bay of Islands on the ''New Zealander'' on 26 ...

's trading station at

Maketu Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand. It is located roughly from Paengaroa, from Te Puke, from Tauranga, from Rotorua and from Whakatane. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow, ...

in March. Then in August Ngāti Hauā attacked

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand, tracing its descent from Whakaue Kaipapa, son of Uenuku-kopakō, and grandson of Tūhourangi. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa w ...

at Ohinemutu in Rotorua. Helead his warriors against neighbouring tribes with the fighting, which continued into 1836, extended from

. Te Waharoa fell ill in 1838. He probably had

erysipelas Erysipelas () is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin ( upper dermis), extending to the superficial lymphatic vessels within the skin, characterized by a raised, well-defined, tender, bright- red rash, ...

, which his principal wife Rangi Te Wiwini died of at the time. Te Waharoa died at Matamata in early September 1838. Te Arahi, the eldest son of Te Waharoa and Rangi Te Wiwini, became the leader of Ngāti Hauā, before his younger brother Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi rose to prominence. Tamihana was a leader in the

Māori King Movement 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 ...

, and became known as the kingmaker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Waharoa Year of birth missing 1838 deaths Ngāti Hauā people People from Matamata