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Tuaia, Pene Taka

by Alister Matheson

Biography

Ko Pene Taka Tuaia he kaihautū nō Ngāti Rangi hapū o Ngāti Ranginui o Tauranga mai i te tau 1850 tae noa ki tōna matenga i te tau 1889. I te wā i tūtaki ai rāua ko Rūtene H. G. Robley o te tira hōia e kīia nei ko te 68th (Durham Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot i te tau 1864, ka whakaaro te Pākehā rā neke atu i te 50 ngā tau o Pene Taka. I uru atu a ia ki ngā pakanga katoa o ngā 30 tau o mua atu, arā, ki te urutomo a Ngāpuhi i te tekau tau mai i 1830, ā, ki a Te Arawa mai i 1835 atu ki 1845.

Ko Pene Taka te tohunga nāna i hanga ngā rua me ngā maioro o te pā o Ngāi Te Rangi i Pukehinahina; ko 'The Gate Pā' ki te Pākehā. Ko tēnei te pā rongonui i huakina e ngā hōia o Peretānia (Great Britain) i te tau 1864. Kātahi rātou ka taiaritia. Ko te kōrero i akona a Pene Taka hei tohunga pūkenga ki te hanga pā awakeri whawhai pū i a ia i ngā whawhai i Te Tai Tokerau i ngā tau 1845 ki 1846. Ki te kōrero a Robley, i pakanga rawa a Pene Taka ki a Hōne Heke, ēngari nō muri iho ka whakahoa atu a Pene Taka ki a ia. I ngā tau mai i 1856 ki 1859 e noho raruraru ana ōna whenua o Ōhuki i Tauranga. Ka hangaia e ngā kaiātete ō rātou pā maioro. Ko Rāwiri Puhirake, ko Rāwiri Tuaia ki ētahi, tētahi o ngā hoa tauwhāinga, hei whanaunga ki a Pene Taka. Kāore e kore he uaratanga mōna i roto i ngā mōhiotanga hanga pā o Pene Taka.

Ko Pene Taka tētahi o ngā rangatira o Tauranga nāna i tautoko te Kīngitanga i a rātou e pakanga ana ki te kāwanatanga i te tau 1863. Nā te minita rā, nā Parāone (A. N. Brown) i whakatūpato atu, ka murua ō rātou whenua e te kāwanatanga mehemea ka whai wāhi rātou ki taua riri. Nō te tononga a te kāwanatanga he hōia ki Tauranga i te tau 1864, tere tonu te hoki o ngā toa o Ngāi Te Rangi ki te wawao i ō rātou whenua. Ka hangaia e rātou ō rātou pā kia tino pakari ngā maioro. Ko te āhua nei ko Pene te tohunga nāna i tātai aua pā tae atu hoki ki tōna pā tonu i a Pōterīwhi. He tūranga teitei tō tēnei pā i runga tonu ake i te taha rāwhiti e tata ana ki te pūwaha o te awa o Wairoa. I reira ka huihui a Ngāi Te Rangi; kātahi ka whakatauria e rātou ētahi ture hei whakahaere i te whanonga o ngā hoa tauwhāinga, mō te wā ka tū te riri i waenga i a rāua. Nō te 28 o Maehe ka tukuna atu he tauira ki a Rūtene Kānara H. H. Greer, te rangatira o te ope Pākehā me te tono anō kia haere atu ki te huaki i a rātou. Kīhai a Greer i aro atu ki te wero rā, nō reira ka neke atu a Rāwiri Puhirake me Ngāi Te Rangi ki te hanga pā i tētahi wāhi tū pakari i te hiwi o Pukehinahina, kia tata atu ai rātou ki te hōpuni o ngā ope hōia a te kāwanatanga. Nō muri iho ka tapaina taua pā ko 'The Gate Pā' nō te mea i hangaia ki te taha tonu o te kēti o te ara ki te mīhana o te Rōpū Hāhi Mihinare (Church Missionary Society).

He tino mūrere te hanganga a Pene Taka taua pā rā, otirā, te pakari o ngā maioro, he huhua ngā rua hei hunanga mō te hunga mau pū. Nō te 29 o Āperira 1864, ka taiparatia rātou mō te katoa o taua rā e ngā pū nunui a ngā hōia o Peretānia, ēngari, he ruarua nei o ngā kaiwawao i whara nō te mea i roto kē rātou i ngā rua e whakamarumaru ana. Nō te taiaputanga a ngā hōia ka puhipuhitia mai e Ngāi Te Rangi i ō rātou rua whakarurunga, ka hinga te maha. Ko te putanga tērā o te oho mauri ki ngā hōia, ā, i roto i tō rātou pōkaikahatanga, ka huri, ka oma. Nā tōna punenga ki te waihanga pā mō tēnei tūmomo pakanga i toa ai te Māori i taua rā, ā, i aituā ai ngā hōia o Peretānia.

Nō taua pō ka whakarērea e Ngāi Te Rangi taua pā rā; ko ētahi i whakatā poto nei ki Pōterīwhi, i mua i tō rātou wehenga atu. Nō muri tonu iho ka hinga a Pōterīwhi ki ngā hōia, ka wāwāhia. Ka hangaia e ngā Pākehā he pā puninga mō rātou ki reira. E hia kē nei ngā whakamātauranga a te ope o Peretānia kia kōrerorero tahi rātou ko Ngāi Te Rangi, ēngari kīhai i momoho. Nō te 21 o Hune ka tīmata anō te pakanga. Ko te mutunga iho ko te hinganga o Ngāi Te Rangi. Ko Te Ranga te parekura, ā, ko Rāwiri Puhirake, te tino rangatira, i hinga. Kotahi marama i muri mai ka hauraro ā-rōpū a Ngāi Te Rangi ki a Greer, te kaingārahu o ngā hōia i Tauranga. Ko te matua nui tonu i whai iho i te 25 o Hūrae. I taua rā anō ka tuhia e Robley te whakaahua o Pene Taka, e mau ana i te pōtae Pākehā e kīia nei he 'forage cap', ā, ka kitea anō hoki te tau o tōna moko.

Nō muri i te pakanga ka noho a Pene Taka me Ngāti Rangi ki Papawhare, i te taha rāwhiti e tata ana ki te pūwaha o te awa o Wairoa. He mira parāoa nei i rāwāhi atu o tō rātou kāinga; ko Ngāti Rangi ngā kaiwhakahaere o taua mira i hangaia rā i te tekau tau mai i 1850. Ko Robley tētahi o ngā hōia i noho ki Tauranga mō tētahi wā, tae noa ki te tau 1866. Ki tāna he tino rata ngā whakaaro o Pene Taka i taua wā ki ngā hōia, ā, e puku mahi ana hoki ki te mahi i āna māra kai i ngā whenua i tukuna atu e te kāwanatanga ki a ia.

I roto i ngā tau e rua i muri mai i te pakanga i Te Ranga ka huri a Ngāti Rangi rātou ko ētahi o te mira parāoa, me Pirirākau o Te Puna (kāore nei i hauraro i te tau 1864) ki te hāhi Pai Mārire. I te tīmatanga e noho mārie ana rātou i ō rātou papakāinga i te taha o te ngahere i te rohe o Whakamārama. Ko te wāhi i noho ai a Ngāti Rangi ko Te Irihanga. Kīhai rātou i wero i te kāwanatanga. Ka haere te wā ka pupū ake te māngeongeo ki ngā hapū nō rātou ngā whenua i raupatutia rā e te kāwanatanga. Ko tō rātou huringa atu tēnā ki te auwaha i ngā tāngata rūri a te kāwanatanga. Ka puta te whakahau kia mau hereheretia a Pene Taka me te hunga nāna i whakapōrearea ngā kairūri. I Hānuere me Pēpuere o 1867 he rīriri te mahi a ngā hōia ki ngā hapū pōrearea nei. Ka peia te iwi nei ki te ngahere, kātahi ka tahuna ō rātou whare, ā, ka takakinohia te nuinga o ā rātou māra kai, e ngā hōia. Nō te pokapūtanga o Maehe, ka riro ērā o Ngāti Rangi e noho noa ana te mahi i te taha raro o Wairoa awa ki tuawhenua. Ko te nuinga o ngā toa o te ope Hauhau nō Te Pirirākau. Ko te whakaaro nā rātou i huaki a Rotorua, ēngari kīhai i riro. I ngā rā whakamutunga o Āperira ka hoki ake rātou ki te rohe o Whakamārama. I noho tautohetohe tonu ngā kaingārahu Hauhau nei a Pene Taka rāua ko Rāwiri Tata (o Te Pirirākau), ā, kore rawa i tuku i a rāua kia hauraro ki te kāwanatanga. Ko te kī a Pene Taka ko te take i rewa ai te rau o te patu he hiahia nōna ki te ngaki i te mate o Rāwiri Puhirake, i hinga rā ki Te Ranga.

Ahakoa te putaputa o te rongo kōrero whakaoho i te noho, kīhai i tū he pakanga ki te rohe o Tauranga, ā tae noa ki te tau 1870. Ki ngā āpiha a te kāwanatanga he Pirirākau katoa te hunga Hauhau rā, a Pene Taka rātou ko Rāwiri Tata mā. Ko te mahi a aua hapū rā he pānui i ō rātou whakaaro e pā ana ki ō rātou whenua i raupatutia e te kāwanatanga. E hia kē nei ngā wāwāhitanga o te tohu a ngā kairūri i Minden; ka aukatia ngā mahi rori a te kāwanatanga; me te whakaohiti anō ka whakamuia e rātou ngā Pākehā e kī ana he whakaaetanga ā-pukapuka ā rātou ki aua whenua. Ki a Pene Taka mā hoki, kei raro kē rātou i te mana o te Kīngitanga, nō reira e tika ana tā rātou āta whakahē i te kaha o te nohonoho mai a te tangata whai ki ō rātou whenua. Ko te kēhi a Pene Taka ki a J. T. Gellibrand i te tau 1877 tētahi o aua tautohenga pēnei. Ēngari, nō te māramatanga o tana take ki a Gellibrand ka ngāwari te ngākau o Pene Taka. Ko tana tonotanga atu tēnei kia haere ake tērā ki Ōmokoroa noho ai. Heoi anō, ko te hua o taua kēhi ko te whakaoho i te noho a te iwi i taua takiwā. Na, i te 21 o Hune 1879, tūtaki a Pene Taka rātou ko Rāwiri Tangitū me ētahi atu o ngā rangatira o Te Pirirākau ki te minita mō ngā take Māori, ki a Hōne Hīhana (John Sheehan), i te hui ki Whareroa i Tauranga. I reira ka whakaaetia mā te Pāremata e wānanga, e kōkiri ā rātou nawe kia tatū tōtika ai. Ahakoa rā hei whakaatu e takarita tonu ana rātou he wā tēnā ka tautohe, he wā tēnā ka tautohe anō.

I ōna tau whakamutunga ka tukuna e te kāwanatanga e £20 hei penihana ā-tau mō Pene Taka Tuaia. Nāna i arataki tōna iwi i roto i ā rātou mahi ahu whenua, mahi hokohoko hoki. I mate a ia i Te Puna i te 3 o Hūrae 1889. Ka mahue iho i a ia tōna hoa wahine a Umukaraka. Nō muri noa mai, nō te Hune o 1911 ka mate te pouaru rā ki Te Wairoa.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Cowan, J. The New Zealand wars. Vol. 2, The Hauhau wars, 1864–72. Wellington, 1923

    Obit. Bay of Plenty Times. 4 July 1889


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Alister Matheson. 'Tuaia, Pene Taka', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990, updated o Hepetema, 2020. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/1t107/tuaia-pene-taka (accessed 29 March 2024)