Te Hapuku

Te Hapuku (?–1878), of the Ngati Kahungunu tribe Ngati Te Whatu-i-apiti, was an influential chief of Hawke's Bay. As a youth he was caught up in the wars which swept over the region, and was a prisoner of the Waikato tribe for a time.

He was a signatory to the 1835 Declaration of Independence, and as a result Major Bunbury, who took the Treaty of Waitangi to Hawke’s Bay in 1840, took care to obtain his signature. At first Te Hapuku rejected the Treaty on the basis that Nga Puhi had become "slaves" by supporting it, but he was later persuaded to sign.

In the early 1850s Te Hapuku became a firm ally of Donald McLean, the influential government land purchase commissioner. Te Hapuku helped him purchase large tracts of land in the Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay. He was eager to sell land because he hoped European settlement would bring commercial and other advantages. McLean began to treat Te Hapuku as the leading chief of the district, and Te Hapuku took on the role of a government land purchase agent. This led to growing hostility from other Hawke's Bay rangatira (chiefs) who were less keen to sell land, and who had (or claimed) at least as much status as Te Hapuku.

Te Hapuku was determined to sell land without the knowledge or consent of those who occupied or claimed rights over it. In response, armed clashes broke out in 1857-58. Peace was restored when McLean arranged an agreement in September 1858.

Te Hapuku opposed the King Movement and fought against the Hauhau and Te Kooti. But he later supported the Hawke's Bay-based Repudiation movement, which aimed to reverse purchases that were said to be fraudulent. He died in 1878.

• See also: biography of Te Hapuku on DNZB website