Story: Kīngitanga – the Māori King movement

Kīngitanga parliament, Maungakawa

Kīngitanga parliament, Maungakawa

King Tāwhiao established the Kauhanganui (Kīngitanga parliament) at Maungakawa, north of present-day Cambridge in Waikato, in 1890. This 1890s photograph shows the parliament's wharenui. The Kauhanganui administered a bank with its own currency, a police force and a newspaper, Te Paki o Matariki (the girdle of the Pleiades). The wharenui with its carvings and Tāwhiao's crown and throne were destroyed by a farmer's burn-off in 1908.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Brian Mayo Collection (PAColl-0940)
Reference: PAColl-0940-1

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Rahui Papa and Paul Meredith, 'Kīngitanga – the Māori King movement - Tāwhiao, 1860–1894', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/37864/kingitanga-parliament-maungakawa (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Rahui Papa and Paul Meredith, published 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 2 Mar 2023