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Ngāpua, Hōne Heke

by Freda Rankin Kawharu

Biography

E ai ki te kōrero a te whānau, nō te 6 o Hune 1869 a Hōne Heke Ngāpua i whānau ai ki Kaikohe. He hāmua ia nō ngā tamariki tekau mā rua a Niurangi Pūriri rāua ko Hōne Ngāpua. He uri whakaheke tika mai i a Rāhiri, ā, i pā ia ki ngā hapū rangatira o Te Tai Tokerau; ko ōna tino hapū i roto i a Ngāpuhi ko Ngāti Rāhiri, ko Ngāi Tāwake, ko Ngāti Tautahi, ko Te Matarahurahu me Te Uri-o-Hua. Nā tōna whaea i pā hoki ia ki a Ngāti Kahu, ki a Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki me Ngāti Kahungunu. He mea tapa a Hōne Heke ki te īngoa o tana koroua kēkē o Hōne Heke Pōkai. Nāna i taki te iwi ki te whawhai i te kāwanatanga, i te wā i muri mai i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi, kia oho ai te katoa ki ngā kī taurangi mō te Tiriti nā tērā i takahi. Kāhore ia i pai i ngā wā katoa ki te hari i te īngoa o tōna matua, o Ngāpua.

Ko Kaikohe te kāinga o tōna whānau me tōna iwi. I tae rawa a Hōne Heke ki ngā kura Māori o Oromāhoe me Kawakawa. He kite nō ōna mātua i tōna mātauranga, ka tukua ia ki te Kura o Tīpene i Ākarana (Auckland). Ka mutu rā tana kura, ka whakahaeretia e ia tētahi tīma ōkiha, atu i Kaikohe ki Haruru mō tētahi wā poto; ākuanei nā te pāpā pea ngā ōkiha tekau mā rua. Kātahi ia ka hoki ki Ākarana, ā, ka noho hei karaka mā tētahi rōpū rōia nei, mā Devore rāua ko Cooper.

Nō muri, ka hoki ia ki Kaikohe, ka tahuri ki te whakatō haere i te tākaro whutupaoro ki reira; i riro nāna te tīma o Ngāpuhi i taki. I whakatūria te Kapu a Hōne Heke hei taonga whakataetae mā ngā tīma Māori ki Te Tai Tokerau, ā, hei whakamaharatanga anō hoki mō āna mahi ki te whakakaha i te tākaro whutupaoro i reira.

I a Hōne Heke e taitamariki tonu ana, ka mōhio ia ki ngā wawata o te iwi Māori mō te whakakotahi me te tū mana motuhake i kōrerotia tuatahitia rā e Te Whakaminenga o Ngā Hapū o Niu Tīreni o te tau 1835. Nō muri, nō te tekau tau atu i 1880, i whakawhānuitia ai ēnei whakaaro, ki tērā o te kaupapa o te Kotahitanga. I uru mai ki āna whāinga te mea mā te Māori ōna whenua ake e whakahaere, kia riro mā te Pāremata Māori te mana motuhake mō ētahi o ngā mahi a ngā kaunihera ā-rohe. Ākuanei pea, nō te tau 1892, i haere ai a Hōne Heke i te taha o tētahi tira o Ngāpuhi ki Waipatu, i te takiwā tuawhenua o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay), ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero mō te hanganga i tētahi whetereihana Māori. Kei tā rātou, ka āhei rātou ki te whakatū i tētahi kāwanatanga mō rātou i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi (me titiro tonu ki te wāhanga tuarua) me te rārangi 71 o te Ture Nui o te tau 1852.

Nō te tuarua o ngā huinga o te Pāremata Māori i te tau 1893, tērā pea a Hōne Heke i tono kia whakaaetia ia kia kōrero ki te whakaminenga; ēngari i whakakāhoretia, ko te āhua nei, he tamariki rawa nōna. Nā tētahi kōrero te kī, nō te mutunga o te hui ka whai kupu ia ki te iwi i waho; nō te rongonga o Hōri Rīwhi rāua ko Nui Hāre, he kaumātua nō Ngāpuhi, ka whakamihi rāua ki te mārama ōna ki ngā tikanga o te Kotahitanga; ka tonoa ia kia whai kupu ki te whakaminenga. Ko te kī, nō te 19 o Āperira 1893 tana whaikōrerotanga ki te iwi i waho o te hui. Koirā te wā i tae mai ai te karere ki te Pāremata Māori, kua mate a Te Kooti. Otirā, kua poropitia kētia e Te Kooti, tērā e kitea tētahi tangata mārama, tangata mōhio hoki, ā te rā o tōna matenga. Ka hikitia te hui rā i te 28 Āperira 1893 kia rongo ai te whakaminenga i a Heke. He tau nō tana kauwhau, he mōhio hoki nōna ki te whakatakoto kupu, kia mārama ai ngā take hei tāuhu kōrero mō te hui, ka tukua katoatia ki a ia te ahiahi o te hui.

Nā runga i te pārekareka o ngā kōrero a Hōne Heke ki te Kotahitanga, ka riro i a ia tētahi tūranga nui i roto i te kaupapa nei. I whakapaua e ia ōna kaha ki te takahi i te nukuroa o te whenua, ā, nā runga i tōna hiringa ka tahuri haere mai te iwi ki te tautoko i tana kaupapa. Ko te Kotahitanga te awe tino kaha rawa atu i waenga i te Māori nāna rātou i whakakotahi. Kitea rawatia ake ko ia tonu hei rīwhi mō Eparaima Te Mutu Kapa, te Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Tokerau. Kia māmā ai te hāpai i ngā kaupapa o te Kotahitanga, ka pōtitia ia ki te Whare Pāremata o te koroni i te tau 1893; ko tōna pakeke, kei ngā tau tīmatanga o te rua tekau. Nō te huinga tuawhā o te Pāremata o te Kotahitanga i te 1895, i whakatūria ia hei tiamana mō te Rūnanga Ariki. Ehara, kātahi ka unu ia i a ia kei taupatupatu ki āna mahi o te Whare Pāremata.

I a ia i te Whare Pāremata, i kitea māramatia tōna toa ki te whaikōrero pērā anō i ērā hui Māori o mua; i puta ōna mōhio ki te whakatakoto, me te whakarārangi i āna take kia mārama. Nāna te Pīre Tikanga Māori (Native Rights Bill) i whakamōhio atu ki te Whare Pāremata i te tau 1894. E tono ana kia whakaritea mai he ture kāwanatanga mō te Māori, kia manaakitia ā rātou tikanga i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ā, kia whakatūria he pāremata motuhake mō te Māori kia taka atu ki raro i te kāwana anake. Ko tā te pāremata nei, he whakatakoto ture mō te iwi Māori; ēngari ko te mea nui rawa e pā ana ki te whakahaere o ō rātou whenua me ērā atu o ā rātou taonga. Nā Tūreiti Te Heuheu i taki te komiti e whāiti mai ana ki a rātou ngā tautoko mai a te hunga o waho atu o te Whare Pāremata. Ko te nuinga o ngā iwi, he kaitautoko pono; ko Tainui i whakahē i runga i tō rātou hiahia ki te whakanui i te Kīngitanga; i pērā anō ngā apataki a Te Whiti i Taranaki. E rua ngā whakamōhiotanga atu ki te Whare Pāremata i te 1895 me te 1896; ahakoa hinga ana te pīre nei, ko ētahi o āna tikanga i whakaurua atu i te tau 1900 ki te Ture Whakahaere i ngā Whenua Māori (Maori Lands Administration Act) me te Ture Kaunihera Māori.

I piri tonu te noho a Hōne Heke i te taha o te iwi, kāhore hoki i wareware ngā tikanga Māori. Nā runga i ēnei tū āhua i āraia ai ētahi riri mau pū e rua. I te wā e rūri tapatorutia ana a Te Urewera, kīhai a Tūhoe i mōhio kua whakaaetia kētia e te ture te rūri whenua, kātahi ka ātetengia ngā tauhou i kōkuhu ake rā ki runga i tō rātou whenua. Nā ngā hōia e 40 rawa te maha, te raruraru i whakarangimārie. Ka tae a Heke ki te tohutohu atu i ngā rangatira, i a Kererū rāua ko Numia me te iwi nui tonu, ka hohouhia te rongo, ahakoa i whakapaetia e Te Hētana (Richard Seddon) ki te ao, nā Hōne Heke rāua ko Wī Pere, te Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Rāwhiti, i whakakinokino a Tūhoe ki te kāwanatanga. Nō te tau 1898, nā Hōne Tōia i taki ētahi o Te Māhurehure o te riu ki Waimā, kia kore e whakaae ki te utu i ngā tāke mō ngā kurī me ētahi atu tāke nā te kāwanatanga me te kaunihera o Te Hokianga i uta ki runga i a rātou. I mau pū rawa rātou. I te rerenga atu o ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga ki te whakamutu i te takahi i te ture, kātahi ka haukotia e Hōne Heke kia kore ai e heke te toto. Whakarongo ana a Hōne Tōia ki a Hōne Heke, ka tukua e ia āna rākau ki raro, ā, whakahauraro ana ki te ture.

Mai i tōna urunga atu ki te Whare Pāremata, i whai tonu a Hōne Heke ki te whakarerekē i ngā ture kia tika ai te noho a tōna iwi Māori. Ko tōna mana i roto i te Whare, arā kē noa atu te whānui. E kīia ana, ahakoa he take Māori, he take kē atu rānei, ina tū ana ia ki te kōrero, kore rawa he tūru kotahi i wātea. Mai i tana nohoanga i roto i te Whare Pāremata i Pōneke (Wellington), ko tōna kāinga, anō nei he kāinga nō te rangatira, ā, māmā ana tana whakahoahoa haere me ōna hoa mema pāremata Pākehā. Nā te āhua tonu o te tangata i whakamemeha te mahi whakahāwea i waenga i te Māori me te Pākehā, ā, i taurima hoki i te wairua whakahoahoa i waenga i a rāua. Ēngari i hau ai ōna rongo ki te iwi Māori, nā te ū ki tōna iwi ake, me ērā atu o ngā iwi; tae atu hoki ki tōna kaha ki te ārahi haere i a rātou. Nā tōna awe anō, i whakawātea te huarahi mō te Rōpū Rangatahi (Young Māori Party).

Mehemea i roa ake a Hōne Heke e takatū ana i te mata o te whenua, tērā noa atu ngā mahi ka oti i a ia mō tōna iwi Māori, me te motu whānui tonu. Nō te 9 o Pēpuere 1909, ka hemo a Hōne Heke i te matekohi i tētahi hōhipera tūmataiti i Pōneke; ko te kī, e 40 ōna tau. Kīhai ia i moe wahine. Nō te 21 o Pēpuere, i whakahokia a Hōne Heke ki tōna iwi i Kaikohe e Timi Kara (James Carroll) me ērā atu o ngā Mema Pāremata Māori kia tanumia ki reira. I manakohia, i arohatia ngātahitia a ia e te Māori me te Pākehā. Ko te kōrero, 8,000 ngā tāngata i whakaeke atu ki tōna tangihanga. Ko te whakahaere karakia nā Riu H. Parata rāua ko Kerēhi Manupiri.

Hei takoha māna mō te whakahokitanga mai o Hōne Heke ki tōna iwi o Ngāpuhi, ka oati tōna whaea a Niurangi ki a Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck), mā Ngāpuhi ia e tautoko i a ia i te Whare Pāremata, ahakoa ehara kau ia nō Te Tai Tokerau, kāhore he tikanga. E rua tau i muri mai, ka hurahia he kōhatu whakamaharatanga mō Hōne Heke ki te hiwi o Kaikohe. I te poroporoaki whakamutunga ki tēnei tangata nui whakaharahara, i kitea atu ki reira ngā mema pāremata – ko te pirimia, ko Te Waari (Joseph Ward) tētahi – ngā mema o ngā kaunihera ā-rohe me te maha noa atu.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Booth, J. M. 'Heke, Hone'. In An encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ed. A. H. McLintock. Wellington, 1966

    New Zealand Parliamentary Debates. House of Representatives, 10 June 1909

    Moon, Paul. Ngāpua: the political life of Hōne Heke Ngāpua, MHR. Auckland, 2006

    Williams, J. A. Politics of the New Zealand Maori. Seattle, 1969


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Freda Rankin Kawharu. 'Ngāpua, Hōne Heke', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/2n12/ngapua-hone-heke (accessed 29 March 2024)