Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa

Wiremu Tamihana, 1865

Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa was born around 1805 and was of Ngati Haua of the Tainui confederation. As a young man he took part in several war expeditions. Through the influence of A.N. Brown, a Church Missionary Society missionary at Matamata, he quickly learned to read and write in Maori.

After his father died in 1838 he became an influential chief of his tribe, and later resisted pressure to continue fighting with neighbouring tribes. He practised Christian beliefs, within a traditional Maori framework.

In 1838 he began building a new village at Te Tapiri. The rules of the settlement followed the Ten Commandments, and by 1839 about 300 people lived there. The church at Te Tapiri was said to hold 1000 people. A number of Waikato chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, but Tamihana and several others did not, although they were not hostile towards settlers.

In the early 1850s Tamihana established another Christian settlement at Peria. It included a post office, school house and flour mill, and it was administered by a runanga (tribal committee or council). It soon became busy and prosperous. John Gorst, the Waikato Civil Commissioner, was particularly impressed with Ngati Haua social and political organisation, which he attributed to Tamihana's influence.

Like many other Maori, Tamihana became concerned at growing European encroachment, land sales and the government's failure to support Maori social and political structures. He believed that a pan-tribal movement – uniting all tribes – would not only protect against European settlement, but also develop its own system of laws and maintain peace among the tribes. Tamihana took a leading role in forming the King movement and the election of Potatau Te Wherowhero as the first Maori King. Accordingly, he became known as 'Kingmaker'. When Te Wherowhero was confirmed as king in May 1859, Tamihana placed a Bible over his head. This became a ritual, which Tamihana's descendants still perform.

Tamihana became deeply involved in the King movement, and he helped set up a Maori-language newspaper, Te Hokioi. When war broke out in Taranaki in 1860 he acted as mediator. But the government remained suspicious of his motives and hostile to the Kingitanga. Some Waikato warriors fought alongside the Taranaki rebels, although Tamihana and others tried to dissuade them. Governor Browne seized on this to accuse Waikato of violating the Treaty of Waitangi and to demand their submission. In reply, Tamihana wrote that the King movement did not conflict with the British Queen's authority: King and Queen could exist together, with God over both.

In 1863 Governor Grey ordered a British army to cross the Mangatawhiri River and invade the lands of the Kingitanga. A number of hard-fought battles followed as the skillfully prepared Maori defensive lines were overwhelmed or outflanked. Fighting did not end until the Waikato tribes withdrew into Ngati Maniapoto territory, which became known as the King Country. The conflict then moved to Tauranga. Tamihana took a leading role in seeking redress in the wake of the war and the massive land loss that followed. He died in 1866.

Tamihana was a remarkable man, whose vision of peace and prosperity for his people was disrupted by a conflict not of his own making.