Nō ngā tau tīmatanga o te rau tau mai i 1800 i whānau ai a Te Whenuanui ki Maungapōhatu e pātata atu rā ki Waikaremoana. Ko ia tētahi o ngā tama a Te Umuariki rāua ko Tīkina. Ko ōna karangatanga hapū o roto i a Tūhoe ko Te Urewera rāua ko Ngāti Rongo. Ka moe i a Te Ākiu, he wahine rangatira nō Ngāti Koura, ka puta ā rāua tamariki tokorua, he wāhine, ko Te Mauniko tō mua, ko Hinepau tō muri. Nō te whakapaunga pea o te tekau tau atu i 1820 ka mate a Te Umuariki ki Whāngārā i Te Tai Rāwhiti, ka noho ko tana mātāmua ko Te Aukihingārae hai whakakī i te whāwhārua. I te tau 1836 ka tahuri a Pāora Kīngi, tama a Te Aukihingārae, rāua ko tana pāpara tūranga whānau ko Te Whenuanui ki te ranaki i te mate o Te Umuariki. Ka whakaaraaratia ngā iwi o Mātaatua, a Te Whakatōhea, a Ngāti Awa, a Te Whānau-a-Apanui, ka ara. Kua waiho ake ā rātau rīriri ki tahaki. Ka piki i te awa o Tauranga ka tāraia he waka taua inā anō te nui, hei kawe i a rātau ki Whāngārā. Ka oti, ka huaina tōna īngoa ko Te Tōtara‑o-Huiarau. Nō te rurukutanga o te waka, ka unuhia e Pāora te take ranaki i te mate o Te Umuariki. Ki a ia, kua ea te mate i runga i te kotahi o ngā iwi o Mātaatua, i kitea ai tā rātau whakaae ki te mana rangatira o Te Umuariki. Ko te haerenga o Pāora rāua ko Te Whenuanui ki Whāngārā ki te whakatū i te tatau pounamu ki ngā iwi o reira. Nō te matenga o Pāora noho ana ko Te Whenuanui tētahi o ngā tino rangatira tokorua o Tūhoe.
Nō te whakapaunga o te tekau tau atu i 1830, ka mau te rongo ki waenganui i a Ngāti Awa rāua ko Tūhoe, ka taunahatia anō e Tūhoe ō rātau whenua i Rūātoki me Ōpouriao. Ka waerea te whenua ka rumakina ki te rīwai, ki te kānga, ki te wīti. Nō te takiwā ki te tau 1863, ka whakamātau a Tūhoe ki te whakatū mira mahi puehu parāoa ki Oromairoa i Rūātoki. Nā te kore e pai o tēnei wāhi ki te kāmura Pākehā, ka tipu te kōhetehete i waenganui i ngā rangatira, kore ake i tū te mira. Ka hangaia e Te Whenuanui tōna whare whakairo a Tūhua, hai whakairinga mō ōna pōuritanga. Nō konei tōna putanga hai tohunga mahi whare, hai kaiwhakairo hoki. Nō muri mai ka puta tōna rongo ki te whakairo i te pounamu.
Ka huri ki te tau 1864, tū ana ngā karere a Rewi Maniapoto ki roto o Ruatāhuna ki te heri mai i tana kupu whakaara i a Tūhoe kia haere atu ki roto o Waikato, ki te ārai atu i ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga e tāoro rā i te nuku o te whenua. E ai ki ngā kōrero tūpuna o Tūhoe i hui a Tūhoe ki Ōpūtao ki te whiriwhiri i te tono a Rewi. Kai runga ko Piripi Te Heuheu o Maungapōhatu ki te kōrero i tōna hiahia ki te whakaū i ngā whakataunga o te hui i Pūkawa i te tau 1857, i tautokona ai te Kīngitanga e ngā iwi. He rerekē te kōrero a Te Ahoaho rāua ko Te Whenuanui. Ki a rāua, me tatari kia tae tonu mai te riri ki te pae o Tūhoe kātahi ka pakanga ai. Kāore a Piripi i whakaae ki tēnei; ko te maunutanga atu o tana taua ki Waikato. Nō muri, ka ngākaurua a Te Whenuanui, ka hiki hoki tana taua ka whai i a Piripi. Tokowaru ngā wāhine i roto i te taua a Te Whenuanui.
I te Aratītaha ka mau atu a Piripi mā. Ka whakakīkītia e rātau a Rewi kia pakangatia te kāwanatanga i Ōrākau. E toru rā e ū ana te tū māia a te tokoiti ki te wawao i taua wāhi i ngā tukinga mai a te tokomaha, he tino pai kē atu rā ā rātau rākau whawhai. Ko Te Whenuanui rāua ko tana tamāhine, ko Te Mauniko ētahi o ngā mōrehu i rere i Ōrākau. Ahakoa te tū o tōna pona i te matā, tae pai ana rātau ko tōna tira tokoiti ki Ruatāhuna. I reira ka taunutia a Te Whenuanui e ngā kuia me ngā pouaru ki te manawawera e whai ake nei:
I hoki mai koe e Te Whenuanui ki te aha?
Tē mate atu ai i te unuhanga o te puhi o Mātaatua
Ka mahora ki te riu ki Waikato
Ki te aroaro o Maniapoto.
Nō te tau 1865 ka tae te rongo Pai Mārire ki te rohe o Tūhoe, ko Pātara Raukatauri o Taranaki te kaikauhau. Taka katoa a Tūhoe, tae atu hoki ki a Te Whenuanui, ki raro i tēnei whakapono. Nō te hokinga o Pātara mā ki Taranaki ka haere hoki ētahi o Tūhoe. I Te Tāpiri ka haukotia e ngā haumi a te kāwanatanga, e Ngāti Manawa rāua ko Te Arawa. Ko tō rātau hiahia kia tukuna mai a Kereopa Te Rau kia tarea te whakawā mō tana patunga i a Te Wākana (C. S. Völkner) i Ōpōtiki. Kāore a Tūhoe i whakaae ki tēnei tono, ā, ka tīmata te pakanga. Ko Te Whenuanui tētahi o ngā rangatira o Tūhoe i taua whawhai. Ka rere ngā haumi a te kāwanatanga i te māra o te pakanga.
I te tau 1866 ka uru atu a Te Whenuanui ki te pakanga i Te Kōpane i te rohe o Te Wairoa. I muri mai i tēnei whawhai, ka tau tana noho ki Ruatāhuna. Nō te whakakāhoretanga i ngā tono mō te kāpeneheihana mō ngā whenua o Ōpouriao me Te Waimana i murua rā i te tau 1866, ka hui anō a Tūhoe ki Ruatāhuna i te tau 1867 ki te kōrero i ngā whakanekeneke mō ngā rā kai mua. I reira anō hoki ngā karere a te Kīngi Māori, a Tāwhiao. Ka whakatakotoria e rātau tana kupu whakaari: kia manawanui, ka puta te ora i Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko tā Te Whenuanui kōrero kia mau te rongo; ko āna haumi ko ngā hapū o Ruatāhuna, o Maungapōhatu me Waikaremoana. Ēngari anō a Ngāi Tama o Te Waimana me ngā hapū o Rūātoki, i te hīkaka katoa ki te hiki i te ara o riri whakauaua. I Hānuere o te tau 1868, ka kōkiritia a Ōhiwa me Waiōtahe.
Nō te taenga mai o Te Kooti ki Tūranganui-a-Kiwa i te tau 1868, ka mau pū anō a Te Whenuanui; ko Te Kooti hoki te whakaekenga o te kupu whakaari a Kīngi Tāwhiao. Mau tonu a Te Whenuanui ki a Te Kooti mai i 1869 ki 1870. Nō te urutomotanga o ngā hōia a te kāwanatanga me ngā kūpapa i te rohe o Te Urewera, tau ana ngā tūpuhitanga o te pakanga ki runga ki a Tūhoe. Kua tāorotia ngā māra me ngā rua kai, kua hemo te tangata i te kore kai, ā, nā te kore whare ka mate i te mātao. Heke ana te maha o te iwi, ā, ko te pō kau anake.
Ka kite a Te Whenuanui i te mate o tōna iwi, ka whakarērea a Te Kooti ka ngana ki te whakatū tatau pounamu me te kāwanatanga. Ka tūtaki rāua ko Kāpene Tawa (Gilbert Mair) i Rūātoki i Hepetema o te tau 1870. Hai here i te rongomau, ka whakawhiwhia a Tawa ki ngā kākahu e toru me ngā meremere pounamu e rua. Ko ā Tawa koha ki a Te Whenuanui mā, he wati, he rīngi, he pine kōura me te paraikete. I Tīhema o taua tau, ka haere a Te Whenuanui me tana ope rangatira, a Paerau, a Tūtakangāhau, a Tamarau Waiari ki Ahuriri (Napier) ki te whakatakoto i ngā rākau a Tū ki ngā waewae o Ōmana (J. D. Ormond), kaiwhakahaere mō Te Matau-a-Māui; ko ia hoki te āpiha a te kāwanatanga mō te pakanga i Te Tai Rāwhiti. Mau tonu te kāwanatanga ki tōna hiahia ki a Kereopa e whakapupuni mai rā i roto o Te Urewera. Ka whakaae a Kereopa kia riro ko ia hai whakahere mō te rongomau, ēngari nō tōna rerenga ka whāia e Te Whiu Maraki, ka mau, kātahi ka tukuna atu ki te kāwanatanga.
Ko Kereopa tērā kua mau, ko Te Kooti kai te rere tonu. Ka noho a Te Whenuanui hai matataua mā te Kāwanatanga ēngari ko te kōrero he wāhi kē a Te Kooti, he wāhi kē te kāwanatanga e kimi ana i a ia i te mahi a Te Whenuanui, kore ake a Te Kooti i mau. Nō te rerenga o Te Kooti i te tau 1872 ki raro i te maru o te Kīngitanga i te Rohe Pōtae, ka mutu te pakanga a Tūhoe.
Ahakoa te tau o te rangimārie, i te tū tonu mai ngā whenua raupatu. I te tau 1872, ko Te Whenuanui tētahi o ngā rangatira nā rātau i hanga te kaunihera o Te Whitu Tekau. Ko te mahi a tēnei kaunihera he aukati i ngā tono ki te Kōti Whenua Māori kia rūritia ngā whenua o Tūhoe, he aukati hoki i ngā taitara ki te whenua. Kāore e āhei te hanga huarahi, te rīhi rānei i te whenua. He kaiwawao hoki i ngā raruraru i waenganui i a Tūhoe, ā, he aukati atu i ngā māngai whakatakoto ture Pākehā.
I taua tau anō, ka whakahaua e Te Whenuanui kia hangaia he whare nui tonu, hai whakamaumaharatanga mō ngā tūpuhi i pā ki a Tūhoe i te wā o te pakanga. I te mea kātahi anō ka weto te ahi, ā, tērā pea ka mura anō, ka hangaia tēnei whare ki te tihi o Manawarū, he maunga whakataukī, he tūranga ka taea te wawao, he pā hoki nō Tūhoe i Ruatāhuna. Ēngari nō te pūmautanga o te rongomau kua hekeheke iho a Tūhoe ki te noho i ngā raorao. Ka mahue atu te whare rā ki Manawarū, ā, nā te mea kāore anō kia oti, ka kīia taua whare ko 'te whare tīhokahoka'. Ka rongo a Te Kooti mō te whare nei, ka tukuna mai tana kōrero kia whakaotia; he utu tō te whare kāore i oti tika. Ka tukuna e Te Whenuanui tana pōhiri ki a Ngāti Kōtore, he hapū nō Ngāti Kahungunu, he hapū tohunga hoki ki te hanga whare. Nā ōna whakapapa tuitui i a ia ki a Ngāti Kōtore, nā runga hoki i te kuia tohunga nei ki te tito waiata, i a Mihi-ki-te-kapua i moe tāne atu rā ki roto o Ngāti Kōtore, i wātea ai a Te Whenuanui ki te pōhiri i tēnei hapū. Ko te wawata o Te Whenuanui kia riro mā tēnei whare hai whakaara ake anō i ngā kauwae o Tūhoe. Nō te tau 1888 ka tāia te kawa o tēnei whare, ka huaina tōna īngoa ko Te Whai-a-te-motu, hai whakamaharatanga i te whāinga a te kāwanatanga i a Te Kooti i ngā wā o te pakanga.
I te tekau tau atu i 1870 he hui tonu te mahi a Te Whenuanui ki ngā māngai a te kāwanatanga mō ngā pānga whenua o Tūhoe. Ahakoa tōna haere ki ēnei hui kāore ia e kōrero ana. Ko āna māngai ngā kaikōrero i ōna whakaaro mō ēnei take, tae noa ki ngā mea e pā ana ki tōna hapū ake, ki a Te Urewera. I te rā i whakatuwheratia ai a Mātaatua whare i Whakatāne i te tau 1875, ka whakatakotoria anō e ngā rangatira o Tūhoe ngā take whenua ki te aroaro o Te Mākarini (Donald McLean), te minita mō ngā take Māori kia whakatikatikaia e ia. Hāngai tonu ngā whakautu a te minita ki a Te Whenuanui i a ia i kī ai nā te totohe o Tūhoe ki te whawhai ki te kāwanatanga i murua ai ngā whenua. Kore rawa a Te Whenuanui i tāhurihuri, i tumeke rānei i ngā hangahanga a te minita. Nō te rā o muri iho, kua ngākau reka mai te minita. Ka takoto tana kōrero inā nui te riro o ngā whenua o Tūhoe ki te hoko, ka hangaia he ture i te pāremata, hai kati i tēnei mahi.
Ahakoa ngā kōrero a te minita, ka katia ngā pae o te rohe o Tūhoe ki te rāwaho. Nō te tau 1894 ka tae te pirimia a Te Hētana (Richard Seddon) rāua ko Timi Kara (James Carroll), mema mō te Kaunihera Whiriwhiri (Executive Council) ki Ruatāhuna ki te tono kia huakina ngā whenua o Tūhoe kia wātea ai te hanga huarahi. Ka tau te whakaae a Tūhoe ki te tono a te pirimia, ka tīmataria te hanganga o ngā huarahi; ko Te Whenuanui tonu tētahi o ngā kaimahi. Ēngari kāore tōna iwi i whakaae kia mahia e te rangatira ngā mahi a te tūtūā, ka tonoa kia mutu. I te tau 1895, ka mau pū anō a Tūhoe i te taenga mai o ngā kairūri whenua. Te āhua nei ko Te Whenuanui anō te kaiwhakahau. Otirā kāore i pakū he pū.
Nō taua wā hoki, ka whakamoea ngā wāhine rangatira o Tūhoe ki a Te Whenuanui, kia puta ai he uri rangatira. Ko Te Haupai tō Ngāti Kākahutāpiki, ko Anitana tō Ngāti Manunui. Ēngari kua pū kē te ruha ki a ia i taua wā, kore noa iho i puta he uri mō ēnei hapū. I whiwhi tamaiti rawa a Anitana, ā, e ai ki a Ngāti Manunui nā Te Whenuanui, ēngari nō muri i whakaatu ai te māmā nā tētahi kē tana tamaiti.
I tītakataka tonu a ia ahakoa kua kaumātuatia. I te tau 1901 ko ia tētahi o ngā rangatira o Tūhoe i tae ki Rotorua ki te pōhiri i te tiuka o Cornwall, o York rāua ko tana hoa rangatira. Ka whakawhiwhia a Te Whenuanui ki te mētara. I Hune o 1904 ka tono kia wawe te whakatū i tētahi kura ki Ruatāhuna. (Nō te tau 1917 rawa i tutuki ai tēnei take.) I te tau 1905 noho rawa mai ia i Waikaremoana ki te whakahaere i ngā mahi hanga whare i reira. Ka tū ko Te Poho-o-Tūhoepōtiki ki Te Waimako. E ai ki te kōrero, i aituātia te kaumātua nei ki reira i te tau 1906. E mahi ana i tana hōiho hou, ka tumeke te hōiho, ka kāhaki. Ka mau te ringa i te taura, ka tōia. Ahakoa kāore i hemo, koinei te tīmatanga o tōna māuiui, ā, nō te tau o muri mai ka mate. Ka rāua ki roto i te kāwhena matā, ka tāpukena ki muri i Te Poho‑o-Tūhoepōtiki. I te tau 1910 ka hahua, kātahi ka whakahokia ki Te Whai-a-te-motu ki reira takoto ai. Ka mahue mai ko ōna whare ko Te Whai-a-te-motu me Te Poho‑o-Tūhoepōtiki hai whakamaumaharatanga ki a ia, tae noa ki te pepeha, 'Ko Panekire te maunga, ko Te Whenuanui te tangata.'