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Te Kooti was one of the most significant Māori leaders of the 19th century. For nearly four years he waged a guerrilla war unlike any previous conflict in the New Zealand Wars. His influence continues to be felt in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast, where his Ringatū faith remains strong.
Pai Marire (goodness and peace) was one of several Maori Christian faiths to emerge in the 19th century. Like many others, it was closely tied to issues of land and politics.
A civil war erupted on the East Coast in the winter of 1865 when Hauhau evangelists ignored a warning not to enter Ngāti Porou territory.
Chatham Island would be home for Te Kooti and his fellow prisoners for two years from 1866.
From 1864, a new round of fighting in the New Zealand Wars was sparked by Maori religious movements.
In July 1868 Major Reginald Biggs sent three Māori emissaries to Whareongaonga. Te Kooti and his followers were told to surrender all their weapons and ‘await the decision of the government as to their future’.
Shortly before midnight on 9 November 1868 Te Kooti and around 100 men moved on Matawhero. By dawn nearly 60 people from Matawhero and the adjacent kāinga had been killed.
An attack by a combined Ngāti Porou-government force saw Te Kooti retreat inland to the ancient hilltop pā of Ngātapa.
Te Kooti was invited to the King Country only if he came in peace. He responded defiantly that he was coming to ‘assume himself the supreme authority which he coming direct from God was entitled to.’
On 25 September Te Kooti was defeated by a combined force of Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa at Te Ponanga, near Tokaanu.
A blunder by colonial troops at Ōpepe in 1869 led to a surprise attack by forces of the Māori prophet and rebel Te Kooti.
This article about Te Kooti's experiences on Chatham Island appeared in the Nelson newspaper, The Colonist, on 1 October 1869
The schooner Rifleman.
This is the seal of the Ringatū Church founded by Te Kooti
Te Pōrere redoubt was 'reconstructed' by the Historic Places Trust around 1960
'Te Kooti's little spree, as told by extracts from telegrams and the daily papers'.
Weapons carried by Te Kooti and Peka Makarini.
'Hauhau' prisoners on Napier foreshore, 1866.
Captain Mair's Flying Column, 1870.