Henare Matua

The Ngati Kahungunu chief Henare Matua  first came into contact with Europeans in the 1840s, when he arranged some land leases for European squatters. Although he signed the Waipukurau land deed in 1851, he later opposed the sale of further land.

Although Matua had an early link with the King Movement, and opposed land sales, in the 1860's he supported the government against the Hauhau – members of the Pai Marire religion who opposed the sale of land to Europeans. However, he did not become directly involved in the fighting.

By 1871 Matua was calling for government and private land purchases in Hawke’s Bay to be reversed, claiming they were tainted by fraud or sharp dealing. He soon became a key figure in the Repudiation movement, based in Hawke's Bay. The movement grew out of a widespread Maori dissatisfaction with many land transactions.

Matua also regarded the Native Land Court as little more than an agent for land purchasers. He demanded that tribal runanga (committees) control title approvals and land alienation. Partly as a result of his campaign, the government set up a commission of inquiry in 1873. Matua presented a long list of grievances to the commission, but no land was restored to Maori.

Matua continued to build the Repudiation movement, however, supported by a number of other tribes and some influential Europeans. He consistently stressed that compensation would be achieved by lawful means and not through violence. Even though they were never given any legal authority, local Hawke’s Bay runanga were, by 1875, settling a wide range of disputes. They were also challenging the authority of the Native Land Court.

Matua remained an energetic advocate for his people. But the Repudiation movement and the runanga began to dwindle after the mid-1870s because of inadequate funds and a lack of success against the government's inflexibility. Matua died in Hastings in 1894.

• See also: biography of Henare Matua on the DNZB website