E ai ki tā Te Rangikāheke i whānau ia ki Puhirua ki Te Awahou rānei i Rotorua i te tau 1815 pea. Ko tana īngoa iriiri ko Wiremu Maihi (William Marsh), ko Wī Maihi rānei. Ko Te Rangikāheke anō hoki tana matua he toa taua, he tohunga nō Ngāti Kererū o Ngāti Rangiwewehi o Te Arawa, me ōna pānga ki a Ngāti Rangitihi. Ko tana whaea ko Kaihau i heke mai i a Tamahou, i a Pūpū mē Hinepō. I te tau 1823 ka awhitia a Mokoia e Ngā Puhi, ka mau herehere rātau ko ana tamariki. Nā te whakaritenga a tana pāpā i te utu mō rātau, i tukuna ai tana whānau. E tamariki tonu ana a Wiremu Maihi i taua wā. Ka tata ki te tau 1835 ka mate atu tana matua. Nō te tau 1836, i mua tata tonu i te pakanga a Te Arawa ki a Ngāti Hauā i Mātaipuku ka mate ko tana whaea, ko Kaihau, i te pā o Hikairo i Puhirua, i te taha marangai o te moana o Rotorua.
Tokotoru, tokowhā rānei ngā wāhine a Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikāheke. Ko Mere Pinepire o Ngāti Pikiao te wahine matua. Tokotoru ā rāua tamariki, ko Hātaraka te tama; i mate i te pakanga ki a Te Kooti i te tau 1869. Ko ana tama tokorua i matemate i tō rāua kura noho kāinga.
Ko ngā tamāhine a Te Rangikāheke ko Hīria Hauā rāua ko Ngārongo Pinepire. Tokowhā ngā tamariki a Hīria. Ka haere te wā ka moea e ia te pouaru a Hātaraka a Tīrangi Reporo. Ko Te Ranga te wahine tuatoru. He wahine tuawhā anō pea, ko Kāhau.
Nō te tau 1835 ka whakatūria ki Te Koutu te mīhana a te Hāhi Mihinare e Tāmati Hāpimana (Thomas Chapman) rāua ko tana wahine, ko Anne. Nō reira pea te akoranga o Te Rangikāheke ki te tuhituhi, ki te kōrero pukapuka. I te mea i tino piri pono ia ki te Hāhi Mihinare i tōna pakeketanga, tērā pea nā Te Hāpimana ia i iriiri i taua wā.
Nō te wā i a Pitiroi (Robert FitzRoy), te piringa tuatahi o Te Rangikāheke ki te kāwanatanga. Ēngari ko Hōri Kerei (George Grey) kē te kāwana i tūturu ai tā rāua mahi tahi i te tau 1849. Ōrite tonu ō rāua whakaaro mō ngā kaupapa tōrangapū. Nā Te Rangikāheke tonu te kōrero i roto i ana reta e rua, e hia kē nei te roa, ki a Kuini Wikitōria (Victoria); me te kī atu he mahi taumaha tā te kāwana ki te tiaki i ngā Māori me ngā Pākehā. Heoi, nā te mea i mahue ngā tikanga whai pānga ki te Māori, kāore i tika te hāpai a te kāwanatanga i tērā taha. Nā te kūare tonu pea o te kāwana ki te reo Māori me ngā tikanga Māori. Nā reira ia i noho ai ki te taha o te kāwana; hei ako, hei tohutohu, hei āwhina i a Hōri Kerei.
He wā e utua ana ia e Kerei e £36 i te tau. I whakanohoia tana whānau e Kerei ki tētahi wāhanga tonu o tōna whare ake i Ākarana (Auckland). Kei ngā tuhituhi a Te Rangikāheke ana kōrero mō te aroha mē te manaaki a Kerei i a rātau. Me te pai hoki o tā rāua mahi tahi. Kore i ārikarika ngā mahi tuhituhi a Te Rangikāheke. E toru tekau mā waru ngā wāhanga kōrero. E rua tekau mā tahi, motuhake ake, nāna. Tekau mā whitu nā rāua tahi.
Mārama atu te takoto o ana kōrero, mō ngā tikanga, me ngā mahi a te Māori. Mō te reo, ngā whakapapa, ngā kōrero pūrākau, ngā take o te wā, ngā āhuatanga tōrangapū, ngā tikanga ā-iwi. Kei reira anō ngā kōrero mō ngā mōteatea, me ētehi kōrero mōna ake. I tua atu i ēnei, ko ngā āwhina ki ngā pepa a Kerei e whakamārama ana i ngā waiata me ngā whakataukī. E waru ngā pepa, ko ngā kōrero pūrākau, ngā pakiwaitara, ngā kōrero o tua whakarere, me ngā kōrero ā-iwi ngā kai o roto. Tokotoru ngā pepa nei, ko rātau tonu te mātāpuna mō te nuinga o ngā tuhinga a Kerei i roto i Ko ngā mōteatea, me ngā hakirara o ngā Māori (1853). I tua atu, 25 ō-rau o ngā kai o te pukapuka a Kerei, arā Ko ngā mahinga a ngā tūpuna Māori (1854), nō ngā pepa tokotoru nei, ā, ko tōna whakapākehātanga, ko Polynesian mythology (1855). Hui katoa tata ki te 800 ngā whārangi i tuhia ā-ringa e Te Rangikāheke i mua anō i te tau 1854. He tino taonga whakahirahira! Kei ngā mahi a Kerei (Grey Collection), kei te whare pukapuka o Ākarana (Auckland Public Library) e tiakina ana.
Ko ngā pukapuka nei, i raro katoa i te īngoa o Hōri Kerei. Nō konei i mahi nanakia ai a Kerei. Kīhai ia i whakaatu nā Te Rangikāheke ia i whāngai ki ngā kōrero. Ka mutu, nāna i takahurihuri, i tapatapahi, i whakawhitiwhiti ētehi o ngā kōrero, ā, ka noho ko ngā pukapuka tōmuri e rua te papa o ana mahi nanakia.
I kapi katoa rā hoki i a Te Rangikāheke ngā āhuatanga o te ao Māori mai i te ōrokohanganga o te ao. I te wehenga o Ranginui rāua ko Papa-tū-ā-nuku me te putanga o te tangata, ngā tohetohe a ngā tama a Rangi rāua ko Papa, ngā mahi rongonui a Māui. Te hekenga mai o ngā waka i Hawaiki. Te wharaunga mai o Te Arawa waka ka ū ki Maketū. Ka hora te iwi o Te Arawa mai i Whangaparāoa ki Maketū ki ngā roto i te tuawhenua. He kōrero whānui, mārō tonu te tāhuhu kōrero. He mea i whakapapa rawatia, e hono ai te ao kōhatu me te ao o tōna wā hei pupuri i te mana ki runga i te whenua. Mā te tātaku rā anō i te kāwai tangata me te kauwhau, e tika ai te whakahua i ngā āhuatanga o mua. Hihiko ana, haere ana te hauora i roto i ana tuhituhi, ā, mārama ana te whakatakoto. He nui ngā āhuatanga whakariterite, whakatau, whakakotiti kōrero. I ātaahua rawa ake ai ana tuhituhi, nā te tau o ngā hamumu o roto.
Kei reira ngā kōrero mō Hinemoa, me ngā pakanga a ōna iwi o Te Arawa, o Mātaatua i ngā tekau tau mai i 1830, ā, me ngā tau tīmatanga mai i 1840. Te noho a te Māori me te Pākehā; ngā āhuatanga o te taumau; te tū a te rangatira; te whakatūtū ngārahu; ngā riri a Tūmatauenga; me te taha wairua. He tau a Te Rangikāheke ki te wetewete kupu, ki te waihanga kōrero hoki; i puta ai te whakatau ko te reo Māori tēnei onamata. Heoi, nā ngā tuhituhi a Kerei i kitea ai te whānui o ngā mahi a Te Rangikāheke. Koia mai rā anō! Mai i te tau 1950, ka tāia, ka whakapākehātia, ka pānuitia nuitia ngā tuhituhi a Te Rangikāheke. Ko te mea nui rawa, kua mōhiotia nāna kē ērā tuhituhi.
Ka wehe atu a Kerei i tana tūranga i Niu Tīreni nei ki Āwherika, i te tau 1853, ka mahue iho a Te Rangikāheke i Ākarana. Ahu atu ki te tekau ngā tau i nukunuku haere ai ia. Ka ngaro atu tana hoa, ka noho ngoikore. Kua kore he tauranga. I tuhi rawa ia i ōna āwangawanga ki a Kuini Wikitōria. Ka whakapau te tau 1860, ka hoki ia ki Maketū, ki Rotorua. I Tīhema o te tau 1862 ka tohungia ia hei karaka ki te Tari Mō Ngā Take Māori, i te wāhanga tiaki i ngā rawa a te kāwanatanga. He maha ngā tūranga i tukuna ki a ia. I te tau 1866 ka whakahoungia tana tūranga tuatahi. Ā, ka tohungia hei karaka mō Maketū i te tau 1871; hei āteha ia ki te Kōti Whenua Māori i te tau 1874. He tau i muri mai, kua karaka mō te Kōti Porotiti (Circuit Court), ā, hei takawaenga hoki mō te hoko o ngā whenua mai i Maketū ki Rotorua i te tau 1875. Ā, ka taka ki te tau 1880, ka tū hei āteha ki Ōhinemutu. Nuku atu i te kotahi tekau mā waru ngā tau o Te Rangikāheke e mahi ana mā te kāwanatanga.
I runga i ēnei āhuatanga ka piki te mana rangatira o Te Rangikāheke, ā, i ngā pakanga i te tekau tau mai i 1860, he nui ngā whakahaere i taka mai ki a ia. Ko tōnaiwi, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi i ū ki a Tāwhiao, te Kīngi tuarua. Ēngari ko ia me tōna hapū ake, mē Ngāti Kererū, kāore kē i whakaae, i tautoko rānei i te Kīngi mai anō i te tīmatanga. Ka noho māharahara a Te Rangikāheke tērā ko tē āpititia rātau e Waikato. I tua atu ka puta te whakaaro ki a ia e whakaheke ana te mana Māori. Nā reira, pai kē te whakapiri ki te Kuini o Ingarangi.
Nāna te kupu ki te hēkeretari mō ngā take Māori mō te hunga e piri ana ki te Pai Mārire, me ngā nekeneke a Te Kooti i Ōpōtiki. Ko tana whakaaro me hopu a Kereopa Te Rau, te tangata i kīia ai nāna i kōhuru a Te Wākana (Carl Völkner) i te tau 1865. I te haerenga o Te Rangikāheke ki ngā hui i Whakatāne, i Maungatautari, i Te Kōpua i ngā tau mai i 1870, ka tū ki te whakapuaki i tōna whakahē ki ngā mahi a te Kīngitanga. Na, ko tētehi o ngā mahi a Te Rangikāheke he auraki kia āwhinatia te kaupapa a te kāwanatanga kia hangaia ngā huarahi. Ēngari, kāore te iwi o Te Arawa i aroha atu ki te kaupapa.
Na, ko te Māori tuatahi kia whakataetae hei mema Pāremata mō te rohe pōti Pākehā, ko Te Rangikāheke. I tērā wā, ko te hunga e whai mana Pākehā ana ki ō rātau whenua, ko rātau anake i āhei ki te pōti. I tū ia mō te rohe o Te Tai Rāwhiti (ko te rohe o Tauranga i nāianei) i ngā tau 1875–76. I ana kauwhau i tana rohe pōti, ka mea ia i piri pono tonu tōna iwi ki te Kuini me te kāwanatanga, āpiti atu ko ana mahi mā ngā kāwana e whitu. Ko ana kaupapa i kawe ai, ko te ahu whenua, ko te hanga i ngā huarahi, me te whakaroa atu i ngā ara tereina. O ngā pōti 616 i puta, 10 i a Te Rangikāheke.
Mai i te tau 1867 ki 1889, 16 ōna tūnga hei kaikōrero i te Kōti Whenua Māori i Rotorua, i Maketū, i Te Tāheke. He wā e tū ana mō āna take tonu, he wā anō he kōrero āpiti e pā ana ki ngā whakapapa, me ngā kōrero o nehe rā. Ko ana tono i waimarie, ko te whakamanahanga i ōna pānga ki ngā whenua i Maraeroa–Ōtūroa, i Mangōrewa–Kaharoa, i Te Tumu–Kaituna, me Paengaroa. Ka mate atu ia, ka tū ko tana mokopuna ki te tono i ngā pānga o Te Rangikāheke i Mokoia, ka riro mai.
I te mea ko ia te pūkenga kōrero o te iwi, ka tohungia tonutia ko ia hei wahakōrero i ngā hui nunui. I kōrero ia i ngā hui a te Kōti Whenua Māori, i ngā hui mō ngā take tōrangapū. I te huritau o te Kuini i Ākarana i te tau 1851, ka kitea te hihiko o tōna awe. I te wā o tana poroporoakitanga i a Kāwana Kerei i te hui a Ngāti Whakaue i te tau 1853, ka kitea anō tōna mātauranga mō te reo, tōna tū i te marae. E rua ngā whakaahua o Te Rangikāheke kei te whare taonga i Rotorua. Kotahi, e whakaata ana mai i te toa rangatira me ana kākahu Māori; ko tētehi, e mau kākahu Pākehā ana, te āhua he tau ki ngā mahi tari kāwanatanga. Ka puta te tōrire o tōna kanohi me te māia o te tangata, i roto i ngā whakaahua nei.
I te tau 1880 ka nuku mai a Te Rangikāheke i Maketū ki Ōhinemutu noho ai ā tae noa ki te tau 1890. Kātahi ka nuku anō ki Mokoia, ki ana māra. I reira, ka tuhi atu ki a Hōri Kerei, i te 13 o Āperire 1893. E inoi atu ana mā Kērei e wero ki te kāwanatanga kia hōmai he whare mōna ki Ōhinemutu. Ka whakamahara atu ki ō rāua mahinga tahitanga, me tana amuamu atu hoki kua warewaretia ia e te kāwanatanga. Ko tana tangi ki a Kerei kia hohoro, i te mea kua tata mai te takurua. Ko tana mate rūmātiki hoki. Ko te āhua nei, kīhai i taea e Kerei, kua koroheketia anō hoki ia. Nō te pāngiatanga o Te Rangikāheke e te mate, ka mauria ki Te Awahou i te tau 1895. Ka mate ki reira i te pō o te 2 o Pēpuere 1896.
I te roro o Whakaokorau, i Te Awahou, e takoto ana. He tangihanga tino nui rawa atu. Nā Ātirīkona W. L. Williams te poroporoaki whakatau. Kātahi ka mauria te tūpāpaku mā te waka kia tanumia ki ngā paripari i Ōrangikāhui, e toru māero nei pea te tawhiti atu. Hau ana ngā rongo o Te Rangikāheke i ngā nūpepa maha o te motu, e poroporoaki ana i a ia. Ko ngā tino poroporoaki he mea pānui nā te New Zealand Herald me te Auckland Weekly News. I roto i ngā kupu whakarangatira i a ia, ka puta ngā kōrero mō tā rāua mahi tahi ko Kerei ki te whakahiato kōrero pūrākau, pakiwaitara. Me tōna ahurei hoki ki ngā mahi tōrangapū, mahi ā-iwi, whakapapa kōrero, tuhituhi hoki. He tangata ia i mōhiotia e ngā kāwana, e ngā kaitōrangapū ā, tae atu ana ki ngā kaimahi a te kāwanatanga. I tua atu, he pūkōrero rongonui nō Te Arawa. Haere te tangata pūmanawa rau o Te Arawa!