Mokomoko and Völkner - capital punishment

Mokomoko, 17 May 1866

The Te Whakatohea chief Mokomoko was one of five Maori executed on 17 May 1866 for being implicated in the murder of the missionary Carl Völkner at Opotiki in 1865. The government punished Te Whakatohea further for Völkner's death by confiscating much of Te Whakatohea's land.

Völkner's death had occurred during what some described as the 'Hauhau disturbances'. Völkner was considered to be a government spy, and ignoring warnings from Te Whakatohea to stay away in March 1865, he was seized at Opotiki and later taken to a tree and hanged. Mokomoko denied responsibility for the killing. He claimed that he went away after the decision was made to kill Völkner and was not present at the death. His descendants claim that earlier he had tried to help Völkner escape.

Mokomoko surrendered in October 1865 and was tried in Auckland on 27 March 1866. Witnesses identified Mokomoko in the procession that took Völkner to his execution, and some said Mokomoko had carried the rope with which Völkner was hanged. The rope was to be crucial in Mokomoko's conviction. No witness, however, claimed that Mokomoko was one of those most involved in the killing.

According to Te Whakatohea the rope had belonged to Mokomoko, but it had been taken from him. In the end his rope was deemed sufficient evidence to make him an accessory to Völkner's murder. Heremita Kahupaea, Hakaraia Te Rahui, Horomona Propiti and Mikaere Kirimangu joined Mokomoko on the scaffold on 17 May 1866. Mokomoko's last words were 'E mate hara kore ana ahau. Tena koutou Pakeha. Hei aha.' (I die an innocent man. Farewell Pakeha. So be it.)

His song, 'Tangohia mai te taura i taku kaki kia waiata au i taku waiata' (Take the rope from my neck that I may sing my song), became an important expression of Te Whakatohea's anger at what had happened to Mokomoko and his co-accused.

In 1993, the justice minister, Doug Graham, made an official visit to Opotoki to apologise to Te Whakatohea and the descendants of Mokomoko.