Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke was an influential northern Māori voice in favour of the Treaty of Waitangi. However, he later became a leading opponent of British rule in New Zealand.
Hone Heke
Personal details
Full Name:
Hōne Wiremu Heke Pōkai
Lifetime:
? – 1850
Biography
Events In History
11 March 1845
After hundreds of Ngāpuhi fighters led by Kawiti and Hōne Heke attacked Kororāreka (Russell), most of its inhabitants were evacuated by sea. The flagstaff on nearby Maiki Hill was cut down for the fourth and last time.
19 January 1845
The first Māori to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke Pōkai soon became disenchanted with the consequences of colonisation.
Articles
New Zealand's 19th-century wars
War changed the face of New Zealand in the 19th century. Many thousands of Māori died in the intertribal Musket Wars between the 1810s and the 1830s. There were more deaths during the New Zealand Wars of the 1840s to 1870s between some Māori and the Crown, which for many tribes had dire consequences. Read the full article
Page 2 - Pre-1860 conflicts
During the Musket Wars of the 1810s-1830s thousands of Māori fled from their traditional lands, opening large areas to potential Pākehā (European) settlement. In 1840, Europeans
A frontier of chaos?
In the years before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, relations between Māori and Europeans were marred by a number of high-profile incidents. Read the full article
Page 7 - Kororāreka
The missionaries divided the Europeans who came to New Zealand in the early 19th century into two groups: the agents of virtue (themselves) and the agents of vice (almost everyone
The Northern War
The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots marked the beginning of the wider North Island conflicts that are often referred to as the New Zealand Wars. Read the full article
Page 1 - The Northern War
The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots
Page 2 - Origins of the Northern War
Actions by the colonial government cost Bay of Islands Māori trade and other opportunities. Heke feared that chiefly authority was now subservient to that of the British
Page 3 - The sacking of Kororāreka
The sacking of Kororāreka (Russell) shook the settler population. About £50,000 worth of property was destroyed, and there was panic in Auckland. Some settlers sold their land for
Page 4 - Puketutu and Te Ahuahu
Māori learnt an important lesson at Puketutu: the British were a formidable foe in open battle. This would influence Māori tactics in future
Page 5 - Ōhaeawai
Keen to cash in on Heke’s setback at Te Ahuahu, Henry Despard assembled the largest British force yet seen in the colony and moved to attack Kawiti’s new pā at
Page 6 - The quest for peace
George Grey became governor in November 1845. When talks with the 'rebels' broke down in early December, Grey ordered Despard to move against Kawiti's new pa,
Page 7 - Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka may have been a tactical victory for the British, but many consider the outcome a draw. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with their forces largely intact, and the terms of
Page 8 - Peace breaks out
Historian James Belich contends that Grey won the propaganda war and Kawiti and Heke won the real war. Others argue that Belich's revisionism goes too far and maintain that Grey's
