Kāhore e mōhiotia ana mehemea ko 1832, ko 1833 kē rānei te tau i whānau ai a Hirini Rāwiri Taiwhanga, ki Kaikohe pea, e tū mai rā ki te uru o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands). Nō Te Arawa tōna whaea a Mata Rawa. Ko Rāwiri Taiwhanga tōna matua, he kaingārahu nō Ngāti Tautahi me Te Uri-o-Hua hapū o Ngāpuhi. He kaimahi a Rāwiri nā te mīhana, ā, he kaiahu whenua hoki. Tino nui rawa atu te awe o tōna matua i runga i a Hirini.
I akona tuatahitia ia ki te kura mīhana ki Te Waimate me te Kāreti o Hoani Te Kaikauhau (St John's College) ki Ākarana Auckland), ā, kitea ana i reira tōna pūmanawa ki te hōhonutanga o te whakapono. I akona, ā, i mahi hei kāmura. Hei ngā kōrero he pū ki taua mahi, ina hoki i hangā e ia ētahi piriti i Te Tai Tokerau. Ko ia tētahi o ngā kaumoana o te Undine, te kaipuke mīhana o Pīhopa Herewini (G. A. Selwyn) e rere atu ana ki Meranihia (Melanesia). Taro ake, ka akona e ia te mahi rūri, ā, raihanatia ana i raro i te Ture Whenua Māori 1865. Kātahi ka tonoa māna ētahi mahi rūri i Pēwhairangi. Heoi, nā tana kokorahotanga i tētahi whenua nāna anō i rūri, ā, kua hokona noatia atu ki ētahi Pākehā, ka tangohia tana raihana. Hei tāna anō, nā reira a ia i tahuri ai ki te keri kāpia hei oranga mōna.
Ko te tau 1868 pea te tau i moea e ia a Mere Pohoi, te tamāhine a Wī Hongi, he kaihautū nō Kaikohe. Nā tana tūhonotanga ki tētahi tino whānau i tupu ai tōna mana, i tūtakitaki ai ia ki ētahi o te rohe o Rotorua, ā, nā tōna whaea tonu i whai pānga ai ia ki reira. He maha ngā tamariki i puta ki te tokorua nei i mua i te matenga o Mere i Kaikohe i Mei 1876.
I Ākarana i te 8 o Maehe 1877 ka moea e Taiwhanga a Sarah Ann Moran, he wahine nō tauiwi, he Airihi, nō tata tonu nei tae mai ai. Kotahi mai tana tamaiti nō tētahi mārenatanga kētanga o mua. E ai ki a Taiwhanga ko te tuatahi tēnei o ngā mārenatanga o te Māori ki te wahine Pākehā nā te ture i whakamana. Tokotoru ngā tamariki a Hirini rāua ko Sarah; ko George John rāua ko Tiriti Waitangi ngā mea tāne. Ko te āhua nei he īngoa tapa a George John nō Hōri Kerei (George Grey) rāua ko Hōne Hīhana (John Sheehan). I taua tau o 1877 anō, i a rāua e noho ana i Kaikohe, ka whakatuwheratia e ia he kura noho ā-rā, noho ā-kāinga rānei mō ngā ākonga Māori. I utua e te kāwanatanga he moni tāpiri mō ia ākonga e haere ana ki te kura. Kāhore i roa rawa i muri mai ka puta i ngā rīpoata a ngā āpiha a te kāwanatanga te whakapae, arā, e tinihangatia ana e Taiwhanga te tuhi i āna whika kia rahi ake ai te moni e utua ana ki a ia. Katia tonutia atu te kura.
Ko 1875 pea te tau i tīmata ai te tangata ki te aro atu ki a ia i ngā hui a te iwi. He kaha nōna ki te whakahē i ngā kaupapa a te kāwanatanga, me te whakahau kia rongoātia ngā mamaetanga e pā ana ki te Tiriti o Waitangi. Nō te mea he kaimātau a Taiwhanga i ngā mahi kaipakihi, ā, he āhua taunga tonu ia ki te kōrero Pākehā, kāhore ngā āpiha a te kāwanatanga i pai ki a ia. Heoi, nā te kakenga haeretanga o te pukuriri o te Māori ki ngā kaupapa a te kāwanatanga, i taea ai rātou e ia te kumekume mai kia aru i a ia. Rite tonu tana kōrerorero mō te Tiriti i te aroaro o te tini e hākirikiri ana te mōhio, te mātau rānei ki taua Tiriti. I taua wā nei anō, i āna mahi torotoro haere i ngā hui nui i Ōrākei me ērā atu wāhi, ka mau i a ia ētahi whakaaro mō te tohe a te Māori ki te kāwanatanga.
Nā Taiwhanga te kaupapa kia tukua tētahi pitihana a Ngāpuhi ki a Kuini Wikitōria. Ki a ia hoki, ko te Kuini anake te kaipupuri o te mana o te Tiriti. Ko te take matua i inoia e taua pitihana ko tērā o te whakatū i tētahi kōmihana hei āta tirotiro, hei whakatikatika i ngā ture e takahi ana i ngā tikanga o te Tiriti. Nāna anō te tono kia poua tētahi pāremata Māori hei pupuri i te kāwanatanga o Niu Tīreni kei tahia noatia te Tiriti ki rahaki; arā, ki tā Taiwhanga koia nei te hiahia o te kāwanatanga. Nā te whakaaetanga o Parore Te Āwhā, he rangatira matua nō Kaihū ki te tautoko i te kaupapa, i te tīmatanga kāore he huruhuru, i tōtika ai te take nei. Ka meatia ko Taiwhanga hei kaikōrero matua mā rātou, ā, ko ōna hoa haere ko Hakena, te mokopuna tāne a Parore, rāua ko Wiremu Rēweti Te Puhi Hihi Te Āwhā, he irāmutu nā Parore. Ko te whakapono o ngā kanohi kāwanatanga o Te Tai Tokerau ko te whakapakari kē i tōna tūranga i roto i ngā mahi tōrangapū te mahi a Taiwhanga – e ai ki ngā kōrero he maha āna whakamātauranga kia uru ia ki te Pāremata – ēngari, i whakaae tonu rātou e pūmanawa tonu ana a ia ki ngā mahi toko i te ora Māori. Tērā anō ētahi rangatira o Pēwhairangi e whakatūtū hui ana ki Waitangi, ā, tautokona ana e rātou te pīra. Ko te haerenga atu tēnā o te rōpū nei ki Ingarangi. Nō te 25 o Hune 1882 ka tae.
Nā ngā mema o te Rōpū Ingarihi, Rāwaho hoki mō te Tiaki Tangata Whenua (British and Foreign Aborigines' Protection Society) a Taiwhanga rātou ko ōna hoa tokorua i pōwhiri, i āwhina hoki. Kīhai rātou i whakaaetia kia whakatakoto i tā rātou kēhi ki mua i te Kuini, ēngari i tukua kētia rātou kia kite i Rōre Kimberley, te hēkeretari mō ngā whenua o tāwāhi (secretary of state for the colonies). Nā te mea kua taka kē a Kimberley ki raro i te awe taraweti o te kāwanatanga o Niu Tīreni, ka whakahēngia e ia te whakapae, arā, nā te Karauna me te kāwanatanga o Ingarangi i takatakahi ētahi o ngā wāhanga o te Tiriti. Arā hoki ki tāna, atu i te tekau tau mai i 1860, i mutu ai tō rātou mana ki te rāwekeweke i ngā mahi o roto o Niu Tīreni. Ahakoa te huatau o tēnei whakautu, e tino mārama ana te whakaatu mai kua whakakorea tā rātou take.
I mua i te hokinga mai o Taiwhanga me tana rōpū i Hepetema, ka tino manaakitia rātou e ā rātou kaiāwhina o Rānana. Nā te whakaaro atawhai kē pea, o ētahi kaitōrangapū ki a rātou i puta ai te tohutohu ki te hanga tōtika anō i tētahi pīra tuarua, ā, ki te whakatū kamupene hei whakahaere i ngā take whenua Māori, kia puta ngātahi ai he painga ki ngā kaiwhiwhi pānga o tauiwi me ngā Māori hoki. I pānuitia atu ēnei kōrero e Taiwhanga i tētahi hui i tū ki Waitangi i te 8 o Tīhema 1882. Kīhai te hui i pai ki te kaupapa whenua, ā, ka whakakāhoretia e rātou; ēngari anō te take o te pitihana tuarua i whakaaetia tērā, ā, tau rawa ki Āperira o 1883 kua oti te tā. I roto i te pitihana te tono kia whakakorea atu te Kōti Whenua Māori, ā, mā ngā komiti, he rangatira katoa ōna mema, e tirotiro nō wai ngā whenua, ā, mā rātou hoki e whakahoki mai anō te mana o ngā ākau me ngā tauranga ika ki te Māori.
Puta noa i te tau 1883 a Taiwhanga e kawe haere ana i taua pitihana rā ki ngā marae o Te Ikaroa-a-Māui. Kīhai i tautokona kahatia mai. Nā te mea pea, ki te hunga whānui, ehara ia i te tangata whai mana. I tua atu i tēnā, i a ia e ngaro atu ana i tāwāhi, ka tāia ētahi kōrero kino mōna ki ngā nūpepa, e pā ana ki ngā mea e tapu ana ki a ia. I tētahi wā, he mahue ko ia anake, i tonoa e Sarah Taiwhanga te kōti pirihimana kia āwhinatia mai a ia ki te tiaki i ā rāua tamariki. Nō Āperira o 1883 ka pānui whānuitia te whakakāhoretanga a te kāwanatanga i te pitihana. I te tata paunga o te tau ka mōhio a Taiwhanga e kore ia e āwhinatia e te Kīngi Māori, e Tāwhiao, nō te mea hoki e whakatakotoria ana e ia tētahi pitihana hei kawe māna ki Ingarangi. He mārama anō hoki te whakaatu mai a te Rōpū Tiaki Tangata Whenua e kore rātou e pai kia whakatakotoria anō ētahi atu pīra.
Kua tīmata a Taiwhanga i nāianei ki te toko i tētahi kaupapa, ko te Tiriti te miro, hei tuitui haere i ngā iwi kia kotahi. Ko te āhua nei i tautokona taua kaupapa e ētahi atu o ngā rangatira o Ngāpuhi i te tōmuatanga o 1885. Nā Tāwhiao rātou ko Taiwhanga, ko Maihi Parāone Kawiti me ētahi atu o ngā amorangi o Ngāpuhi i haina tētahi 'kawenata tūturu'. I whakahēngia e te nuinga o Ngāpuhi te hainatanga a Tāwhiao i a ia hei 'Kīngi'. Ki a rātou, ko te tuku kē tā taua kupu rā i te mana o Ngāpuhi ki raro i tō Tāwhiao, ā, kīhai rātou i pai ki tērā. Nā te kore ōrite o ngā whakaaro o tēnā, o tēnā iwi, ka kore e taea e Taiwhanga te whakakotahi; heoi anō, nā taua mahi āna i taea ai te whakatūtū haere ngā pāremata Māori motuhake i te tekau tau atu i 1890.
Nō te tau 1887, ka pōtitia a Taiwhanga ki te Whare Pāremata, hei Mema mō Te Tai Tokerau. Ko ia tētahi o ngā mema Māori tuatahi e āhua pai ana ki te kōrero Pākehā. Nā te takaroa o ngā mahi whakahaere o te Pāremata i te tau 1887 a ia i whakarikarika, ā, nāna i whakahē te hikitanga o ngā mahi hanganga ture e pā ana ki ngā take Māori, kua kore e wānanga tōtikatia, arā, ki ngā rā whakamutunga o te nohoanga. Kāhore a ia i whakaae kia tapahia ngā moni o te pōti whakaakoranga, me te waitohu anō, kāore i taea e te kāwanatanga te mahi whakaako tōtika i ngā tamariki Māori.
Otirā, ko te tino take kē a Taiwhanga ko te waiho mā te Māori ake ā rātou mahi anō e whakahaere. Kua oti noa atu i a ia, arā, i te tau 1885, te hoatu he reta ki te pirimia, ki a Rāpata Taute (Robert Stout), e inoi ana kia tukua mai te mana motuhake ki te iwi Māori. Ko tāna i nāianei nā, he akiaki kia tukua mā te Māori e whakahaere ōna whenua anō ki tāna i pai ai. Ēngari, i te nohoanga o 1888, nō te whakatakotoranga a te kāwanatanga i tētahi hanganga ture, ko tōna tikanga he whakamana i te Māori ki te whakahaere i ōna whenua, ka tīnakutia e Taiwhanga te whakaaetanga. Ko tāna kē e hiahia ana kia hikitia taua hanganga ture, kia taea ai te whiriwhiri i tētahi hui ki Waitangi i Maehe o 1889. Hei aha koa, he mea pei tonu e te kāwanatanga taua hanganga ture kia puta.
Nā ētahi hui nui o 1889 i Te Tai Tokerau i tautoko te kaupapa o te waiho mā te Māori e whakahaere āna take, kātahi rātou ka tahuri ki te whakatakoto i ētahi tātai hei whakatinana i taua kaupapa. Nō te hokinga atu o Taiwhanga ki te nohoanga o taua tau, i a ia tētahi pire tauira nāna i whakataka. Ko te tuku i te mana whakahaere i ō rātou whenua ki te Māori te whai a taua pire. Puta noa i ngā tau 1889 me 1890, rite tonu tana hoki ki te kōrero mō taua pire rā, ēngari, kīhai rawa i whakaarohia nuitia e te kāwanatanga. He mautohe tāna i ngā hanganga ture whenua Māori a te kāwanatanga, ahakoa he aha.
Tau rawa ki te tau 1890 kua tīmata te heke haere o te ora o Taiwhanga, ā, ko te āhua o āna totohe i tukua e ia ki te Pāremata i taua wā, paparua noa, kore kiko noa āna kōrero. He maha rawa atu ngā kaipōti i pōti mōna i te rironga o te tūru Māori mō Te Tai Tokerau i a ia i taua tau, heoi, kāhore anō ngā tukunga iho o te pōti kia oti ka mate ohorere mai ia i Whakatāne i te 27 o Noema. I tū te tangihanga mōna ki Rotorua. E whia kē nei ngā tau e noho wehe ana rāua ko Sarah Taiwhanga. E ngaro ana te rā o tōna matenga, te wāhi rānei i hemo ai.
Ko te īngoa karanga o Hirini Taiwhanga ki ngā Pākehā o tōna whakatupuranga ko Sydney Taiwhanga. I kī pēnei rātou mōna, arā, he tangata tohetohe ki te riri, he tangata pōrahurahu, makamaka kōrero haere noa tōna āhua. I ētahi wā kua kangakanga noa iho. He nui anō rātou e mea ana he tangata tinihanga, kimi raruraru atu a ia. He āhua roroa rawa nei āna kōrero ki te Pāremata, tioro nei hoki tōna reo, ā, kawakawa nei te whakarongo atu ki a ia e mare ana, e mare ana. Ko te āhua nei kāhore a ia i mōhio ki te whakatakoto take e rata ana ki te katoa o te Pāremata, hei painga mō te iwi Māori. Ahakoa te tautoko a te Mema Māori mō Te Tai Hauāuru, a Hoani Taipua i ngā pūmanawa o Taiwhanga, hei tāna e kore ngā tono a tērā e taea te whakatinana.
He āhua uaua tonu nei te whakaaro i pēhea rā te tūranga o Taiwhanga i roto i te ao Māori. Tērā pea ki te nuinga o ngā Māori o Te Tai Tokerau he kaha rerekē rawa nōna, koia te take i whakatūpato ai rātou ki a ia i te tekau tau atu i 1870. Otirā, i te tekau tau atu i 1880, ka kaha mai ngā mahi tōrangapū i puta ake i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ka kaha nui hoki tana mahi ki te whakaohooho i te iwi, ā, he wāhi nui tāna ki te whakakaha i a rātou e aro atu ana ki te Tiriti. Nā tana pīra o 1882 ki te Karauna, nāna i whakahau ngā kāwanatanga o te emepaea me te koroni kia tū mārakerake mai ki te whakaatu i tō rātou tū e pā ana ki ngā mana e ahu mai ana i te Tiriti e kokorahotia nei e te Māori. Mahue ake ana te pānui whakairo i āna mahi hei tauira akiakitanga mō ngā kaipīra o muri nei.