He rangatira a Haerehuka nō Ngāti Whakaue o Te Arawa; he pūkorero, he tohunga kaititotito. Ko Ōhinemutu tōna kāinga noho. Ko Huka anō tētehi o ōna īngoa. He uri tōna pāpā, a Taiki Haerehuka nā Taua. Kei te ngaro te īngoa o tōna whaea. Na, ko te wahine a te Taua nei i kahakina e Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Taupō. Ko Taua me tāna ope i muri e whai atu ana. Nō te pānga, ka mate i a Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Kei te awa o Waikato, e tata atu ana ki Ōrākei Kōrako, ko Ngā Tāheke a Haerehuka. I reira, hei whakamanawa i ana toa, ka tohu a Taua ki tētahi toka. Ahakoa ngaro ai i te wai i ētehi wā, taihoa ake ka whakaea anō. Kīhai i pukea e te wai, ka oti atu. Ko te rironga mai o tana wahine te hua. Nā tēnei i tangohia ai e rātau ko ōna uri ko Haerehuka hei īngoa mō rātau.

Ko Haerehuka tētehi o ngā rangatira Māori, i whakawhiwhia ki te rawa mō ā rātau muka, e te kaihokohoko rā e Piripi Tāpihana (Phillip Tapsell) o Maketū wāhi, i te takutai o Te Moana-a-Toi-te-huatahi (Bay of Plenty). Ka oti ngā whakarite mō te tuatahi o ngā muka harakeke, ka tukuna anō e Te Tāpihana he rawa ki a ia, i runga i te whakaaro mā te tuarua o ngā mahinga muka harakeke ēnei e utu. E ai ki tētehi kōrero, kāore i rite i a Haerehuka te utu ētehi rawa i hokona ki a ia. Ka whakamutua e Te Tāpihana te hoko taonga ki a ia, kia ea rā anō ngā pū e ono. Ka wānanga a Haerehuka me whakamutu te hāro muka mā Te Tāpihana. E kī ana ētehi atu kōrero, nā ngā mahi tonu a tōna iwi i tino whakatakariri ai a Haerehuka. I a ia e ngaro ana ka tohaina e rātau ngā rawa, ā, kīhai he mea kotahi i toe mai māna. He hāparu urupā nā rātau tētehi anō o ōna riri. Ahakoa rā, i te tau 1835, ka taka i a Haerehuka tōna iwi ki roto i te mura o te pakanga. Tekau tau te roa o tēnei whawhai.

I te rā whānau o Te Karaiti i te tau 1835, ka haere a Haerehuka ki Parahaki, he kāinga nō Ngāti Rangiwewehi e pātata ana ki Rotorua. I reira a Te Hunga o Ngāti Hauā e toro atu ana i tāna tamāhine. Ko Te Hunga he whanaunga ki a Te Waharoa, te rangatira mana whakahirahira o Ngāti Hauā ki Matamata. I a Haerehuka e takatū ana ki te mihi ki a Te Hunga, ka karawhiua e ia te rahirahinga o Te Hunga ki tana pātītī, mate tonu atu. Ki ētehi kōrero, ehara kē nā Haerehuka ake te karawhiu nāna i patu kia mate. Kātahi ka haria atu te tinana o Te Hunga e Haerehuka me tana ope ki Te Waerenga, i te tai whakararo o Rotorua. I tōna hokinga atu ki Ōhinemutu, ka riri mai ētehi o tōna iwi ki tana mahi. Hei whakaatu i tō rātau tautoko i a ia, i tahuri ētehi ki te kai i a Te Hunga. Tē taea i nāianei te karo i tā Haerehuka i hiahia ai, arā, kia tū he riri ki waenga i a Ngāti Whakaue me Ngāti Hauā.

I ngā rangi o muri mai i te patunga, ka takatū te rahi o Rotorua ki te kohi kai, ki te whakakaha hoki i ō rātau waonga. Ka whakakaongia e Te Waharoa tāna ope taua, o Ngāti Hauā, o Ngāti Maniapoto, o Waikato; kātahi, ka haere ki te whakapā atu ki ōna whakauru o Ngāi Te Rangi i Tauranga. Ko Te Arawa i takahui ki Maketū. Ēngari, nā te kaha mātau o te whakatakoto tikanga a Te Waharoa, ka pōhēhē a Te Arawa ka tīmata mai te pakanga ki Rotorua, ka hoki. Tokoiti nei te ope kaitiaki i mahue ki te pā i Maketū. Nō te 28 o Maehe 1836, ka taiapuhia a Maketū e Te Waharoa, ka horo. Ki tā te kōrero, ko te whaea rātau ko ngā tuāhine tokorua o Haerehuka i hinga ki reira.

Nō te 5 o Mei, ka pāhorotia e Te Arawa te pā o Ngāi Te Rangi a Te Tūmū. Kīhai i mōhiotia mehemea a Haerehuka i whawhai i Te Tūmū, i Mātaipuku ki Ōhinemutu rānei. Nō te marama o Ākuhata te whawhai i Mātaipuku. Ko te wā tērā i whakaekea ai e Te Waharoa te rohe o Rotorua, ā, kīhai i tutuki. I mua i tōna hokinga ki Matamata, ka hoepapatia e Te Waharoa te mīhana i Te Koutu. I te whakamutunga o te tekau tau atu i 1830, ā, ka taka atu ki tua o 1840, e whawhai tonu ana a Te Arawa rāua ko Ngāi Te Rangi.

Nō te Hepetema o 1845, ka mau te rongo. E whā rau o Te Arawa me Haerehuka i huihui tahi me Ngāi Te Rangi ki Tauranga. I haria mai he kōhatu rahi i Maunganui kia takoto ki te wāhi i hohouhia ai te rongo. I ngā kōrero ā whare, kīhai i oti te whakatau nō wai te moutere o Mōtītī. I te tau 1852, ka kī a Haerehuka, ko ōna tūpuna te tuatahi ki Mōtītī. Tērā anō tētehi rangatira nō Te Arawa anō ko Tohi Te Ururangi te īngoa. Nāna i hāparu ngā kōiwi o ngā tūpuna o Te Amohau i Mōtītī. Nā tēnei i tūhono ai a Haerehuka ki te tautoko i tōna pākanga kiritahi i a Te Amohau. Nā Hōri Tūpaea o Ngāi Te Rangi i kokoraho a Mōtītī, ā, nō muri mai ka nohoia e ia. Heoti, nā te tokoiti o Te Arawa i tautāwhi i a Tohi Te Ururangi, kāore i pakangatia.

I te hohounga o te rongo, tērā pea i hoki a Haerehuka ki Ōhinemutu noho ai. I 1848, i kī te mihinare rā, a Parāone (A. N. Brown), arā a Haerehuka i te pā o Ōtūmoetai i Tauranga e whakamātau ana ki te hoko pū, hoko paura hoki hei kakari māna i a Ēpeha pā i Taupō. Nā te awe o ētehi o ngā rangatira i kore ai i eke tōna hiahia. Ki a Parāone, mehemea i tukuna ki tā Haerehuka i hiahia ai, ka uea anō e ia te iwi Māori ki te mura o te ahi. Nā tōna hononga pākūwhā ki a Ngāti Rangitihi o Tarawera, i uru atu ai a ia ki tā rātau tohe ki a Tūhourangi, i te tau 1853. Ko Ō-tū-kapua-rangi me Te Tarata (Pink and White Terraces) i Rotomahana te take o te riri. I te pakanga i Tawanui, tata tonu a Haerehuka te patua, ā, iti nei te wā i mau hereheretia ai ia e Tūhourangi.

I ngā pakanga o te tekau tau atu i 1860, i whai a Haerehuka i te nuinga o Te Arawa ki te āwhina i te kāwanatanga. I te Maehe o 1865, ko ia tētehi o ngā rangatira nā rātau te pitihana ki te kāwanatanga. Ko tā rātau, mehemea ka tonoa ngā toa o Te Arawa ki tētehi wāhi kē whawhai ai, me tuku mai e te kāwanatanga he ope hōia hei tiaki i ā rātau wāhine me ā rātau tamariki.

I te mea kāore i tāia ngā īngoa o ngā wāhine a Haerehuka, kāore e taea te whakahua. Tokorua ana tamariki e mōhiotia ana; ko tana tama ko Rakitū, ko tana tamāhine ko Pipi Haerehuka. He īngoa anō nō te tamāhine a Te Ārani. Kāore i te mōhiotia te wā i mate ai a Haerehuka me tōna wāhi tanu rānei.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Steven Oliver. 'Haerehuka', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/1h3/haerehuka (accessed 20 April 2024)