1966 Death of Māori King Koroki

Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was the fifth Māori monarch to head the Kīngitanga movement that began in 1858 in response to European colonisation.

Born at Waahi, Huntly, in 1909, he was the eldest son of Te Rata, the fourth Maori king. When his father died in 1933 he did not want to become king. There was some support for appointing Te Puea Hērangi as the first Maori queen. But when Koroki questioned his own ability to be king at his father’s funeral, the visiting chiefs agreed that he should succeed Te Rata.

Koroki’s reign was a difficult one. He believed that the poverty of his people made supporting a king difficult. Some Maori leaders, including the eminent Āpirana Ngata, questioned his position and title, opposing any leadership that challenged the sovereignty of Parliament. The government’s position was similar, and in 1939 it refused to exempt him from registering under the social security regulations. Many supporters of the Kīngitanga viewed this as disrespectful, and the movement boycotted the celebrations of the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1940. 

From the late 1950s Koroki’s health deteriorated and he avoided public life. Te Puea Hērangi increasingly took his eldest daughter, Piki Mahuta, around the country to represent the Kīngitanga at functions and ceremonies. When Koroki died at Ngāruawāhia in 1966, Piki was chosen as the first Maori queen. She was crowned as Te Arikinui Te Ātairangikaahu a few hours before her father’s burial on 23 May 1966.