Dictionary of New Zealand Bography logo

Kōrero: Tāwhiao, Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Tāwhiao, Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero

?–1894

Nō Waikato, nō Ngāti Mahuta; he Kīngi, he kaihautū, he matakite, he kaihanga whakapono

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e R. T. Mahuta, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1993. I whakahoutia i te o Hūrae, 2011. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

He tama a Tāwhiao nā Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, he kaihautū nō Waikato, rāua ko Whakaawi, tana wahine matua. Nō Ngāti Mahuta ia o roto i te kotahitanga o ngā iwi o Tainui. I whānau ia ki Ōrongokoekoeā, kei te tai whakaroto o te awa o Mōkau, i te wā e whakamutu haere ana ngā pakanga mau pū i waenganui i a Ngā Puhi rāua ko Waikato. E ai ki ngā kōrero, i huaina ia ko Tūkāroto hei whakamaharatanga ki te tū a Te Wherowhero i te whakapaetanga i te pā o Mātakitaki i te tau 1822. Nō muri mai, ka iriiria ia e te mihingare, e Robert Burrows ki te īngoa o Matutaera. Nō te tau 1864, ka ūwhia te īngoa o Tāwhiao ki runga ki a ia e Te Ua Haumēne, te poropiti o Pai Mārire.

Nā ngā koroua ki te taha o tōna whaea ia i manaaki. Nōna e tai tonu ana, e tohutohungia ana ia e tana matua kia mau ki te rangimārie. I uru ia hei Karaitiana, ā, hei tauira hoki ki te ako i te Paipera; otirā kua pūkenga kē ia ki ngā tikanga tawhito a ngā tohunga o Tainui. Nō muri mai nei, i whakahuahuatia ai ngā ohaoha o Tāwhiao hei kōrero matakite tonu.

He toa kai taua tōna matua, he rangatira hoki; nō te tau 1858, i whakatūria ia hei Kīngi Māori tuatahi. I wawatatia e ngā apataki a te Kīngitanga, mā te pērā, tērā pea e māmā ai te tiaki i ngā whenua Māori, te whakakotahi hoki i ngā iwi. Nō te matenga o Pōtatau i te tau 1860, ka noho ko Tāwhiao hei Kīngi Māori tuarua. I noho tonu ia hei Kīngi mō ngā tau 34; he wā tēnei i noho riri ai te Māori rāua ko te Pākehā.

Ko ngā raruraru nunui i ūwhia ki runga i te Māori i muri mai i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tau 1840, ko te minamina o ngā tāngata whai kua kaha haere nei te taetae mai kia rahi ake te whenua e riro i a rātou, me te kaha whakaparure haere i te tikanga noho a te Māori ina tīmata ana te whakapāpā haere ki te Pākehā. I roto tonu i te whakatupuranga kotahi, kua taka kē mai te Māori i te ao ko ia tonu te mana whakahaere o ngā mea katoa, ki te ao kua tere haere kē te riro o te mana whakahaere i te tangata whai. Nā ngā pakanga o te tekau tau mai i 1860 ki Taranaki me Waikato, tae noa ki ngā murunga whenua Māori a te kāwanatanga i muri mai, tata kore ana tētehi paku whenua i mahue mai mō Tāwhiao rātou ko tōna iwi. Kātahi ka taki heke, anō he tira manene, ki roto i te nehenehe nui o Ngāti Maniapoto, ki te Rohe Pōtae e kārangarangatia nei. Nā runga i te urutomotanga a Waikato e ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga i te tau 1863, he whakataruna noa iho e whakaekea ana a Ākarana (Auckland) e ngā iwi o Waikato, nuku atu i te kotahi miriona eka te nui o ngā whenua o Tāwhiao rātou ko tōna iwi i ngaro ki te kāwanatanga a ngā tāngata whai, ā, i roto i te wā, ki ngā tāngata whai tonu.

Nō taua wā pāmamae nei i tū ai a Tāwhiao hei amokapua mō te Kīngitanga. Nō āna haere, puta noa i te rohe o Tainui, ki tua atu rānei, i tūtaki ia ki ngā iwi e whakamomori kaha ana te tūmanako, tērā e whakaritehia mai ō rātou wawata kia whakaorangia rātou i ngā kōkuhunga haere mai a ngā tāngata whai. He nui ngā iwi e mau tonu ana ki ngā kōrero mō ngā haerenga atu o Tāwhiao, me āna ohaoha, ahakoa he kawe kē ngā kōrero a tētehi i tētehi, me te rerekē anō hoki o ngā whakarite o aua kōrero rā. Kāore, e mate hēmanawa ana ngā iwi i te auhi, i te rawakore, i te noho matangurunguru, mate manene hoki. Ki te kore e kitea he oranga mō te Māori i te mata o te whenua, tērā pea e kitea i te wāhi kē atu anō. E whakarāpopotohia ana te oati e ora ai te iwi, kei te ohaoha e rangona nuitia ana i runga i ngā marae o Waikato: 'E kore tēnei whakaoranga e huri ki tua o aku mokopuna, ka puta ka ora.' Nā runga i āna tirotiro i ngā Karaipiture me āna kōrerorero tahi me ngā mihingare o mua, i mōhio ai a Tāwhiao ehara tana tohe i te tohe motuhake ki a ia anake. I whakapono tonu ia, he wā tōna, ka mene mai ētehi ki te āwhina i a ia; arā, tana kī, 'Tērā anō ōku nei hoa kei ngā tōpito e whā o te ao. Ko ngā hūmeka, ko ngā parakimete me ngā kāmura.'

Nō tētehi o ōna haerenga ki Taranaki i te takiwā o 1864, i whakarērea iho e ia tētehi o āna tino ohaoha pēnei nā: 'Kei a koe Taranaki tētehi kīwei o te kete, kei a au kei a Waikato tētehi. He tamaiti ka haeremai māna hei whakaemiemi ngā kai o roto.' Nō taua wā tonu rā, i oati a Tāwhiao ki a Taranaki kia puritia te 'kete' e mau rā i ngā whenua o ngā iwi e rua i murua noatia, hei taonga tūmanako kia tae rā anō ki te wā e riro mā tētehi tonu o ngā uri hei whakawā ngā take o roto, arā, hei whakaea aua mahi tūkino o mua. E ai ki ngā kōrero, ko Tā Māui Pōmare o Taranaki rāua ko Tūmate Mahuta o Waikato ngā uri i whakaarohia hei whakarite i ngā wawata o Tāwhiao: nō te whakataetaetanga mō te pōti ki te Pāremata i te tau 1911, i kawea e Pōmare te take mō ngā murunga hei huarahi mōna. Riro ana nā Tūmate, te mokopuna a Tāwhiao, te taina hoki o Te Rata, te Kīngi Māori tuawhā ngā mahi tūkino e pā ana ki ngā murunga, i whāriki atu ki ngā āpiha a te kāwanatanga i ngā tekau tau atu i 1930.

Kua kitea noatia te kaha o te matakite o Tāwhiao, he maha hoki āna apataki. Kua kōrero haeretia kētia āna ohaoha, anō he poropititanga, he tongi, he whakakitenga; ko te tikanga o ēnei hamumu, he poropiti, he matakite, he mōhio ki ngā mea kāore anō kia puta. Nō ngā tau mai i te 1864 ki te 1881, i te wā i noho wehe ai rātou, ka whai wāhi rātou ki te whakaaroaro me te kohuki e pēhea ana rātou. Nō tēnei wā o te āta noho ka hua ake te nuinga o āna ohaoha. I puta ake i ngā ohaoha nei ngā rapunga whakaaro me ngā tino tikanga hei tohu i āna apataki me ahu pēhea rātou ki te rapu oranga mō rātou. I a ia ka huritao ki te matenga o tōna iwi i ngā hōia, ki ngā murunga whenua, me te hurihanga o te maha o te Māori ki te kaupapa Karaitiana me te whai i te noho a te Pākehā, i oati a Tāwhiao, ko ngā hunga ka mau tonu ki ngā tikanga o te Kīngitanga, mā ngā kōrero tuku iho rātou e whakapai, e whakahara kore ā tōna wā. Kua kitea kētia e Tāwhiao rātou ko āna apataki he ōritenga hautupuatanga tō rātou raruraru ki tā te Paipera i kōrero rā mō te whakahekenga o ngā uri o Iharaira.

I kitea ai te rangimārie o Tāwhiao nā runga i tana whakakore i te mahi whawhai i waenganui i te Māori me te Pākehā. Ko ia i kī: 'Kia tūpato ki te hoari whakawai. Ko te pakanga i runga i tēnei motu kua rite ki te kōkā harakeke. Ko te tangata e whakaara pakanga ana i runga i tēnei motu, ko ia anō hei utu.' I te tau 1878, i naomia atu e ia te Pai Mārire hei whakapono mō te Kīngitanga, ēngari kia rite ki tāna i hiahia ai, kātahi ka whakaīngoatia ko Tariao (te whetū i te ata). He mea tango mai te īngoa nei a Pai Mārire (he pai, he mārire), i tētehi o ngā karakia a Waikato. Nā tana mokopuna, nā Te Puea, i pupuri te Pai Mārire, ā, mohoa noa nei, he mahara ake nōna ki te kōrero a Tāwhiao ki tōna iwi i mua tonu i tōna matenga, 'Ka whakahokia e 'hau te taonga nei ki te take o ngā maunga takoto atu. Ka toimaha koe, tīkina atu.'

I ngā tau mātāmuri o te 1860 me te tekau tau atu i te 1870, he nui ngā hui i karangatia i waenganui i te kāwanatanga me Tāwhiao rātou ko āna kaitohutohu, ēngari kore rawa rātou i pātata atu ki te hohounga rongo. Nō Mei 1878, ka tae atu te pirimia, a Hōri Kerei (George Grey), ki a Tāwhiao whakatakoto ai i tana kaupapa; ko ngā take hoki ko ngā whenua kāre anō kia hokona i te taha hauāuru o ngā awa o Waipā me Waikato, āpiti atu hoki ki ngā whenua i Ngāruawāhia me ērā atu o ngā tāone; kia whakaarohia hoki he moni āwhina, kia whakaaetia he mana ki runga i ngā huarahi, me ngā rūri tae atu ki ngā mahi hoko whenua. Ko te āinga i muri i a Kerei ko tōna hiahia tonu kia whakawātea te Rohe Pōtae, i aukatia rā ki te Pākehā i muri mai i ngā pakanga, ā, kia hangaia he rerewē mai i tētehi pito ki tētehi pito o Te Ika-a-Māui. Nā ngā tohutohu a tana kaunihera, kāre a Tāwhiao i whakaae. Heoi, nō Hūrae o te tau 1881, i kōrero a Tāwhiao i ōna whakaaro ki te kanohi o te kāwanatanga i tētehi hui i Pirongia (Alexandra), te wāhi i whakatakotoria ai e ia āna patu me te kī, 'Ko te mutunga tēnei o te pakanga i tēnei motu.'

E hia nei ngā kāinga i noho haerea e Tāwhiao i a ia i te rohe o Ngāti Maniapoto; ko Tokangamutu (Te Kūiti) tērā, ko Hangatiki, ko Waitomo, ko Hikurangi (kei te taha tonga o te maunga o Pirongia) me Te Kakawa (kei te ākau o te whanga o Aotea). Nō muri mai i tana hohounga i te rongo ki te kāwanatanga, ka noho ia ki Whatiwhatihoe, ki Maungatautari, ki Pukekawa me Pārāwera.

Nō te tau 1884, nā te mea kāore i tukua e te kāwanatanga o Niu Tīreni mā te mahi tika a ia e whakarite, ka aratakina e Tāwhiao he tira ki Ingarangi ki te mau pitihana ki a Kuini Wikitōria. Nō te pātaitanga atu ki te take o tana haere, kātahi ka whakautua e ia, 'E haere ana ahau ki te kite i te Kuini o Ingarangi. Kia whakamanahia te Tiriti o Waitangi.' E tono ana te pitihana kia wehea mai he pāremata motuhake mō te Māori, kia whakatūria he tino kōmihana hei taka i waenga i te Pāremata Pākehā me te Pāremata Māori, me tētehi kōmihana motuhake hei uiui i ngā whenua i murua. I tētehi hui ki a Rōre Tāpiri (Derby), te hēkeretari Ingarihi mō ngā whenua o tāwāhi (secretary of state for the colonies), i whakaae a Tāwhiao ki te rangatiratanga o Kuini Wikitōria me te tautuhi ko tōna Kīngitanga ake, hei whakakotahi i te iwi Māori; ehara kau i te whakawehewehe te take, ēngari kia tau mai te maru o te Kuini ki runga i a ia. Heoi, ko te kī mai a Rōre Tāpiri, me mātua whakaatu te pitihana ki te kāwanatanga o Niu Tīreni. Nō muri mai, i whakautu atu a Rāpata Taute (Robert Stout), te pirimia o Niu Tīreni, ki te Tari o Ngā Whenua o Tāwāhi (Colonial Office) me tana whakakore i te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero mō ngā take o mua atu i te tau 1865, i te wā e noho ana te mana ki te kāwanatanga o te emepaea me tana kī, mai i taua wā kāre anō te Tiriti kia takahia. Ko ngā tino tono a Tāwhiao i whakakorehia noatia, i parea ake rānei ki rahaki.

I a ia i te haukāinga i Waikato, i rapuhia e Tāwhiao he rongoā mō ngā raruraru Māori mā runga i te hanganga o ētehi tikanga a te Māori hei whakarite atu. Nō te tau 1885, i tīmataria e ia te tikanga mō te Poukai e torotoro ā-tau haere ai te Kīngi i ngā marae o te Kīngitanga ki te whakatītina i ngā iwi kia taki hokihoki ki ō rātou marae, ahakoa mō te wā kotahi noa iho i te tau. I whakatūria te Poukai tuatahi (i whakaīngoatia ko te Puna-kai i te tīmatanga, arā, 'he puna nō te kai') ki Whatiwhatihoe i te Maehe 1885. He rā tēnei i waihangatia hei whāngaitanga, hei whakangahautanga i te hunga e rawakore ana. I roto i te wā, ka tupu te Poukai hei huihuinga tāngata e tino whai wāhi ai te iwi ki te kōrero tonu atu ki te Kīngi. I te tau 1886 i tono ia ki te kāwanatanga kia whakatūria he kaunihera Māori, he whānui ōna mana. Ehara, ka whakaparahakotia, kātahi ka parea ake ki te taha āna kōrero mō ngā tikanga a te Tiriti o Waitangi. I ngā tau whakamutunga o te tekau tau atu i 1880, i whakatūria e ia tōna pāremata anō, ko Te Kauhanganui te īngoa, ki Maungākawa, kātahi ka kārangaranga haerea ngā iwi katoa kia tae atu kia whakauruuru atu. Heoi, he nui ngā iwi i whakahē i te whakamōhio e puta ana te mana o Tāwhiao ki waho atu o tōna iwi ake; me te aha, i waihotia ngā pāremata o te Kotahitanga, i āhua kaha rā a Tāwhiao rātou ko tana Kauhanganui ki te tautoko, hei marae kōrerotanga i ngā raruraru Māori hei whakawhitiwhiti kōrero hoki ki te kāwanatanga.

Nō te tekau tau atu i 1880, he take tōrangapū hau ki te ao Māori o ngā torotoronga a Tāwhiao ki ngā rohe i waho o te Rohe Pōtae. Nā āna mahi tonu, ka pātaritaritia te whakaaro matekiri, te anuanu hoki; ēngari, he mōhio iho ki tōna tūranga, he nohanga nō te tapu, he matakite, he kaihautū hoki nō te Kīngitanga, ka mahea noa iho. Maruwehi ana te tautāwhi i a ia, ka ngana hoki ngā iwi kia rangatira tonu tā rātou manaaki i a ia me āna apataki. Heoi, i tere tonu te tangata whenua ki te whakarohe i tōna mana me te whakahē a ngētehi i te whakahua i tōna īngoa karanga, i 'Kīngi'. Kāre rawa te iwi Pākehā o Niu Tīreni i hiahia ki te whakanui i te rangatiratanga me te kotahitanga o te Māori; koirā, nō te tekau tau atu i 1860, i puta ake i ngā pānui a ngā kaiētita nūpepa me ngā minita a te kāwanatanga, me te mea nei, kua pau kē te hau o te Kīngitanga.

I mate a Tāwhiao ki Pārāwera i te 26 o Ākuhata 1894. I Hepetema tae ake ai te mano tini ki tana tangihanga, ā, nō muri i tāpukena a ia ki Taupiri. Kāre tonu ia i kite i te puāwaitanga o āna moemoeā, arā, te hokinga mai o ngā whenua o Waikato, te oranga ake anō o tōna iwi me te manawa nui anō hoki.

He tata tonu ki te ono putu te roa o Tāwhiao; ko tōna kanohi i tāia ki te moko whakairoiro – he āhua rerekē mō tērā whakatupuranga i a ia rā. Ahakoa i whai tamariki katoa āna wāhine tokotoru, mihi kau kore rawa ia i ērā o āna tamariki he whaea kē ō rātou. Ēngari ki ngā hapū anō o ēnei tamariki ko ia tonu te uretū. Ko te mea matua o āna wāhine tokotoru ko Hera, he tamāhine nā Tāmati Ngāpora, tana kaitohutohu. Tokotoru ā rāua tamariki: ko Tiahuia tō mua, te whaea o Te Puea i moe i a Te Tahuna Hērangi; ko Mahuta tō muri iho, nāna rā a Tāwhiao i taua; ko tō muri rawa ko Te Wherowhero. Ko ērā atu o āna wāhine, ko Rangiaho (tokorua ā rāua tamariki, ko Pōkaia rāua ko Haunui) ā, ko te wahine tuatoru ko Aotea; ko Puahaere tā rāua tamaiti.

He mea whakarere mai e Tāwhiao he taonga tuku, he kaupapa whakapono hei tangohanga mā tōna iwi i ngā moemoeā mō te ao e haere ake ana hei painga mō Tainui: ko te whakaora ake i tētehi kaupapa hei pūtake oranga, take tū motuhake, kia riro mā te kaha me te ū o te iwi hei hāpai. E tohu ana ngā rākau o Te Waonui-a-Tāne me tēnei mea me te kai, koia rā e kaha, e ora ai te tangata. Koirā a ia i kī ai: 'Māku anō e hanga i tōku nei whare. Ko te tāhuhu e hīnau ko ngā poupou he māhoe, patatē. Me whakatupu ki te hua o te rengarenga, me whakapakari ki te hua o te kawariki.' I te wā i whakahekea ai a Tāwhiao, i noho hurihuri ngā iwi o Waikato me te whakawhāiti iho i tā rātou titiro ki ngā tohu nui whakaharahara o te Kīngitanga. I whakakotahitia te tangata me tana i matakite ai, ka whai wāhi rawa ia ki roto ki ngā tikanga me ngā mātauranga o te iwi. E kōrero haeretia ana te matakite nei me te tuku atu ki ngā uri whakatupu i ngā hui ā iwi hei kōrerorerotanga, hei tautohetanga mā rātou.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

R. T. Mahuta. 'Tāwhiao, Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993, updated o Hūrae, 2011. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/2t14/tawhiao-tukaroto-matutaera-potatau-te-wherowhero (accessed 28 March 2024)