Ko Te Rei Hanataua tonu te tino rangatira o Tangāhoe hapū o Ngāti Ruanui. Ka hoki rawa tōna whakapapa ki a Turi rāua ko Rongorongo o te waka o Aotea. Ko ōna mātua ake ko Wakataparuru rāua ko Hineao. Nō te tīmatanga o te rau tau 1800–1899 pea ka whānau ia. I pakeke ake ki te tino pā o Ngāti Ruanui, i Pūtake, he whenua tū-ā-papa i te pūkaki o Tangāhoe.
I te tau 1824 ka takina atu e Te Hanataua te puni a Ngāti Ruanui hei whakahirihiri i a Te Rauparaha e taiapuhia ana i Kapiti. Ka hoepapa te hoariri i a Te Rauparaha, ka hoki a Te Hanataua. Ka taka ki te tau 1826, ka whakapaengia ko Te Hanataua tētahi o te hunga o Pūtake, nā rātou i patu a Te Karawa o Te Āti Awa. Ka rewa te ope o Te Āti Awa me ōna uku o Taranaki, o Waikato, ki te ngaki i te mate; korekore ana i kitea a Te Hanataua.
Ka tae ki te tau 1832, ki te heke a Te Āti Awa e mōhiotia nei ko Tama-te-uaua, ka tukuna rātou e Te Hanataua kia noho ki Ketemarae kāinga, e pātata ana ki Te Hāwera o ēnei rā, mō te marama kotahi. Ka hiki, ka tae a Te Āti Awa ki Whanganui, ka karawhiuwhiua mai e ngā iwi o reira me ō Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ka whakarewaina te taua a Te Hanataua, e 2,000 te kaha, ka hono ki a Te Āti Awa i Kokohuia i te tāmoremoretanga o te awa o Whanganui. I te korenga e whakaekea te pā i Pukenamu, hoki atu ana a Te Hanataua me tōna ope ki te kāinga. Ko Pukenamu te tūnga o te tāone nui o Whanganui i nāianei.
I ngā tau ruarua i muri mai, i Ōtaki a Te Hanataua e noho ana me tana iwi a Ngāti Ruanui. E tino hē rawa atu ana tā rātou noho tahi ko Ngāti Raukawa me Ngāti Toa i taua wā. Ka tukia te hunga o Taranaki i Pakakutu, i Haowhenua i te awa o Ōtaki. Ka pakipakia te pā o Te Rauparaha i Rangiuru e Te Hanataua. Nō te patunga i a Tūraukawa, te karere-ā-rongo a Te Hanataua, ka pāhorotia te pā, ka nohoia. Karangahia tonutia atu ko Te Pā-a-Te Hanataua. Ehara, ka puta mai a Ngāti Raukawa i te raki ki te āwhina i a Te Rauparaha. Ka taiapuhia ka riro anō a Rangiuru i a rātou. Heoi, i te mea kua whakaae ngā iwi o Taranaki nō Ngāti Toa te mana ki taua whenua, ka tukuna rātou kia hokihoki.
Noho kē mai ki Te Ruaki, he pā tū-ā-papa anō i te awa o Tangāhoe. Nō te wā atu i 1834 ki 1836 pea, ka puta mai anō a Waikato. E pākikini tonu ana hoki i te korenga o Te Hanataua i mau i a rātou i te tau 1826. Ka whakaekea a Te Ruaki, kīhai i riro. Kātahi ka awhitia te pā; ka taiepatia. E toru marama e awhitia ana, ka riro nā te mate kai i patu a Ngāti Ruanui. Nō reira tonu pea, nō te whāinga rānei ki Pātea i mau ai a Te Hanataua. Heoti, nō te matenga o Waikato i a Ngāti Ruanui rāua ko Taranaki i te pā i Waimate, ka puta rātou ko tōna iwi.
I muri mai ka noho a Te Hanataua ki te pā tūwatawata i Ōhangai i te tuawhenua ki Te Hāwera. He pā tino nui tērā. He uru karaka te paenga ā, huri noa. Nō muri mai ka hangaia he maioro, he awarua, he tātā-kai-taua. Ko te whakaatu mai a S. P. Smith i tōna toronga atu ki Ōhangai i 1858, kātahi te kāinga ātaahua rawa atu. Pekapeka ai ngā Mihingare me ngā Wēteriana ki Ōhangai, i te tekau tau mai i 1840 ki te tekau tau atu i 1850. Tae rawa atu ki te tau 1852, kua whakatipu wīti, kua hanga whare tōtika kē te iwi nei mō rātou. Ā, hei ngā wā e tika ana, kua mau kākahu Pākehā a Te Hanataua.
Ko Te Teira (Richard Taylor) te kaiwhakahaere o te mīhana atu i Whanganui ki Waitara, ki Taupō, ki Rangitīkei. Nā, i te tau 1847 ka patua ngā kaiwhakaako o te mīhana, a Te Mānihera rāua ko Kereopa, i Waokena i Te Hāwera. I patua ki Tokaanu. Ka tū ko te tama a Te Hanataua, ko Piripi, hei kaiako i Waokena. Nō te 12 o Pēpuere 1849, ka mārenahia e Te Teira a Te Hanataua rāua ko Māta Hinewai. Heoi anō ngā kōrero mō Māta. He kōrero anō, ko Hītaringa tana wahine tuarua. Tokorima ngā tamariki a Te Hanataua: ko Taiteariki, ko Piripi Wiremu, ko Te Ua Tito, ko Pita me Tamaohungia. He mokopuna kē pea a Wātikini Hanataua.
Ka taka ki a Maehe o 1849, ka haere a Piripi rāua ko Te Teira ki te hohou i te rongo ki te hunga o Tokaanu, nā rātou rā i patu ngā kaiwhakaako i te tau 1847. I te marama o Hune 1850, ka tae ake a Te Teira ki Waitōtara. E mau mai ana a ia i te hoariri o Te Hanataua, i a Tōpine Te Mamaku o Ngāti Hāua-te-rangi, ki te whakatau i te rangimārie ki a rāua.
Nō tēnei wā, kua whakawetiweti a Te Hanataua me tōna iwi ki te Pākehā. Kua kaha hoki te whakapūwhenua mai. I Oketopa o 1851, ka tū atu ia ki te whakahē i te whakaaranga o te pouhaki ki Nū Pāremata (New Plymouth). Ki tōna whakaaro he kokoraho tērā ki te whenua. Heoi, kāore ia i haere ki te hui i Manawapou i Mei o 1854. I reira hoki ka roherohea e Ngāti Ruanui, e Taranaki me Ngā Rauru ō rātou whenua, ka whakataungia ngā pou tarāwaho. Ka taka ki a Maehe o te tau 1855, ka haere rātou ko tōna iwi, ki te whakatutuki i te tono a Te Waitere Kātātore kia āwhinatia tāna tohe mō te whenua i Puketapu, ki te taiwhakararo o Taranaki. I whai wāhi tōna iwi ki ētahi o ngā whakapāpā. I Mei, ka haere anō rāua, ka whakaekea te pā i Nīnia. Ko te putanga mai tēnā o ngā hōia Pākehā ki Nū Pāremata. Na, kia tūturu ai te rohenga ki te raki ki ngā iwi o Taranaki, i Hānuere 1856 ka whakatika atu a Te Hanataua me tōna ope 100 te kaha, ki Tapuae i te tonga-mā-uru o Nū Pāremata. He manawapā kei nohoia e ngā Pākehā tērā whenua.
I Āperira o 1856, ka tū mai ko Piripi, tama a Te Hanataua me tāna hokorua o Tangāhoe, ki te āwhina i a Kātātore i tōna pā i Kaipakopako. Ka hinga a Piripi ki reira i te 16 o ngā rā. Whakatakariri tonu atu te hunga o Tangāhoe. Ka noho hōpuni mai te 300 a Te Hanataua i waho o te pā. Kātahi ka patua katoatia ngā kararehe o taua takiwā me te takatū anō hoki ki te ngaki i tōna mate, ahakoa ki a wai o roto o Puketapu. Me i kore ake a Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke hei takawaenga, i whakamutua ai te riri. Ka tae mai hoki ko Te Pāriha (Robert Parris), te kōmihana hoko whenua ā-rohe mā te kāwanatanga. Nāna i whakakīkī kauaka hei whakatūngia anō he pā, kei māreherehe te iwi. Nā, huri kē ana ki te kakari ki a Īhāia Te Kirikūmara i tōna pā i Ikamoana. I te mutunga, hoki atu ana ngā toa o Tangāhoe. I te tau 1857, ka mea a Kātātore ki te hoko i te poraka whenua o Whakangerengere. Ko Nū Pāremata i te raki, ko te whenua o Ngāti Ruanui i te tonga o taua whenua. Ka haere tahi a Te Hanataua me ētahi o ngā rangatira ki te whakaohiti atu i a Te Pāriha, he mate ka pā. Eke tonu ki tā rātou.
I a Maehe 1860, ka takatū a Te Hanataua rātou ko ana toa 130 o Tangāhoe, me ngā toa o Ngā Ruahine, ka tūhono atu ki o Taranaki, i te pā i Kaipopo i Waireka. Hui katoa e 400 tōna hokowhitu, he taipakeke, he taitama. Ka pūhia te rāihe i Ōmata, ka tahuri atu ki ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga i te pāmu a John Jury. Nō te whakapaenga o te riri – ko ngā hōia ki tētahi taha, ko ngā pū o te manuao o te Niger ki tētahi. O te tokomaha i hinga, 17 o rātou he rangatira. Ko Te Rei Hanataua tonu tētahi.