On 17 June 1843, 22 European settlers and four Maori were killed when
an armed party of New Zealand Company settlers clashed with Ngati Toa over the purchase of land in the Wairau valley, near modern-day Blenheim.
The news from Wairau was greeted with shock by settlers throughout the
colony. The killing of men who had surrendered was viewed as
cold-blooded murder. There were fears that these events signalled the
beginning of a widespread Maori insurrection.
In this painting by George Angus, Tamihana Te Rauparaha, in London in 1852, is shown in a formal English suit. Tamihana Te Rauparaha, also known as Katu, was the son of the great Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha and his fifth and senior wife, Te Akau of Tuhourangi.
Te Rauparaha was a Ngati Toa chief and warrior. Sometimes called the 'Napoleon of the Southern Hemisphere', he ruled the lower end of the North Island from his base at Kapiti Island for the best part of 20 years
Matene Te Whiwhi, about 1870. Henare Matene Te Whiwhi was of Ngati Raukawa and Ngati Toa. As a young man he lived through the turmoil of his people's migration to the Cook Strait region. This may have formed the major theme in his life – the preservation of peace.
