Tene Waitere (c. 1853–1931) was a New Zealand

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 ...

carver from the Rotorua district. He identified with the

Ngāti Tarāwhai Ngāti Tarāwhai is a Māori iwi of the Rotorua area of New Zealand, and a member of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. The iwi's rohe (tribal area) covers the western shore of Lake Ōkataina. The tribe's carving has been noted historically ...

and

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 ...

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. ...

. His mother was Ani Pape, the daughter of Te Rāhui, a Ngāti Tarāwhai leader. As a young girl, she was captured by

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 ...

during an attack on

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 ...

in 1823 and taken as a slave to Northland, where she was forced to marry a Waitere. Tene Waitere was born probably in 1853 or 1854 at Mangamuka. When Tene was a few years old an uncle brought him, his elder sister Mereana Waitere and their mother to Ruatō, on Lake Rotoiti. There he was trained as a carver by

Wero Tāroi Wero Tāroi ( 1810–1880), also known as Wero Mahikore and Karu, was a notable New Zealand Māori carver of the Ngāti Tarāwhai iwi. He was born at Lake Ōkataina, in the Rotorua district in New Zealand, and active from about 1860. Wero's ...

and

Ānaha Te Rāhui Ānaha Kēpa Te Rāhui (1822 – 30 September 1913) also known as Ānaha Mātao, was a notable Māori tribal leader, carver and assessor of New Zealand. In the 1860s, he led the Ngāti Tarāwhai iwi during the New Zealand Wars. He was born a ...

. He married Ruihi Te Ngahue of

Tūhourangi Tūhourangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand with a rohe centered on Lake Tarawera, Lake Rotomahana, Lake Okaro, Lake Okareka, Lake Rotokākahi, Lake Tikitapu and Lake Rotorua. It is part of the Te Arawa tribal confederation. Their marae include ...

and they had one child, a daughter Tuhipō. One of Tuhipō's children was Rangitiaria Dennan, better known as Guide Rangi. Eramiha Neke Kapua, another carver, was Waitere's nephew, son of his sister Mereana. Some of Waitere's carvings included Tiki-a-Tamamutu, Hinemihi, the Kearoa whakawae (door jam) and Rauru, and in the 1900s worked on the

Whakarewarewa Whakarewarewa (reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning "The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao", often abbreviated to Whaka by locals) is a Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupō Volcanic ...

model village near

References

1850s births 1931 deaths New Zealand Māori carvers People from the Hokianga Te Arawa people Ngāti Tarāwhai people Spanish flu monuments and memorials {{NewZealand-artist-stub