Wiremu Neera Te Awaitaia (c.1796 – 27 April 1866) 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 ...

chief 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 ...

during first contact with European traders, the 1820s

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 ...

up to the 1860s

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

. Born in or around 1796 into the

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 ...

Tribe of Ngāti Māhanga, he has been described as a "friend of

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

and a Chief of great influence" in the region of

Raglan, New Zealand Raglan ( or ) is a small beachside town located west of Hamilton, New Zealand on New Zealand State Highway 23, State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches. History The Ngāti Māhanga iwi occupied the ar ...

. He witnessed the coming of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

to Māoridom (specifically the

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

missionaries to Raglan,

James and Mary Wallis James and Mary Wallis were Wesleyanism, Wesleyan missionaries and the first European Settlers in Raglan, New Zealand. Early years and journey to New Zealand Born on 18 April 1809 in Blackwall, London, James Wallis felt the call to ministry a ...

) in the mid-1830s, the sale of native land to the first European settlers, and the signing of 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 ...

in the 1840s. Te Awaitaia also witnessed 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 ...

in the 1850s, and the

in the 1860s. He died on 27 April 1866. The name "Wiremu Neera" is the Māori phonetic rendering of the English name "William Naylor", which Te Awaitaia (his original name) took for himself to mark his conversion to Christianity in 1836. The monument that stands in Raglan, erected in his honor (on the western side of the

harbour A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be Mooring, moored. The t ...

by the camping ground), spells his name as "Wiremu Nero Te Awaitaia" – other renderings of Naylor are Near, and Naera.

Early years and intertribal conflict

Ngāti Māhanga, the tribe into which Te Awaitaia was born, was influential in the Waipa Valley and Waitetuna areas near Raglan. At some point early in Te Awaitaia's lifetime, his tribe is thought to have driven the

Ngāti Koata Ngāti Koata or Ngāti Kōata is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, originating on the west coast of Waikato, but now mainly at the northern tip of South Island. Ngāti Koata whakapapa back to Koata who lived near Kāwhia in the 17th century. She ha ...

from their lands near Whai-ngaroa (Raglan) Harbour. After this, the N Mahanga tribe became a member of the Waikato confederacy, which had been formed in response to the increasing influence and aggression of

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 ...

Kawhia 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, Ne ...

, which was led by the famous Chief of notorious and violent reputation,

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 ...

. Te Rauparaha was driven south away from his lands by the Waikato Confederacy and subsequently took control of much of the lower North Island of New Zealand and also carried out various other infamous invasions. Te Awaitaia took a decisive part in the battle that drove Te Rauparaha south from Kawhia, heroically defeating one of the opposition leaders with an axe (teahatehwa), and obtaining much

mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

from the battle. He then led a party of 370 warriors that subsequently harried Rauparaha on his flight southwards. Te Awaitaia was also involved in the

Battle of Motunui A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, which was a famous defeat of the Waikato Tribes. He was famous for his skillful use of his ''taiaha'' (''see image'') A ''taiaha'' is a long weapon of hard wood, with one end carved and often decorated with dogs' hair. and was a Chief of great influence in the Waikato by the time of the arrival of the first (Methodist) missionaries in the mid-1830s.

References

External links

* ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', web
DNZB26
* ''Encyclopedia of New Zealand'', 1966, web
Teara66
{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Awaitaia, Wiremu Neera Signatories of the Treaty of Waitangi New Zealand Māori soldiers Year of birth uncertain 1866 deaths Ngāti Māhanga people Waikato Tainui people People from Waikato