Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Taurua, Ngāwaka
?–1888
Ngāti Ruanui leader
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Ian Church, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1990. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
Ko Ngāwaka Taurua nō Pakakohe, he hapū nō Ngāti Ruanui i noho ki Hukatere, ki te taha whakarunga o te awa o Pātea, i Taranaki. Kāore i te mōhiotia ngā īngoa o ōna mātua. He pānga anō hoki ōna ki tētahi atu hapū o Ngāti Ruanui, ki a Ngāti Hine. Taka rawa ake ki te tau 1845 pea, i a ia ka taipakeke kua riro kē i a ia te tūranga rangatira o Kireona, te rangatira ake o Ngāti Hine. He tangata pakari te tipu, kāore i tino tāroaroa. He tangata pai te āhua, ēngari he hanga aroha te kanohi. Āta kōrero noa iho ai ia, ā, i mōhiotia tōna manaaki i te tangata. Tāna kai ko te kai a te rangatira. Ko Hinepounamu tāna wahine; kotahi tā rāua tamāhine, ko Miriama Hinekorangi Taiko, ā, kotahi tā rāua tama, ko Anania.
I te tekau tau mai i 1840 he kaiako tāna mahi i Pātea i raro i te katikita Wēteriana, i a William Hough. Ko Rīhari Wātoni tōna īngoa iriiri. Ko te īngoa tēnei o Richard Watson he tohunga mātau ki ngā āhua katoa a te Hāhi Wēteriana. He kakama a Taurua ki te whakarau kakai i ngā take hāhi. I te tau 1846, ka mea ia ki te mihinare, ki a Te Wunu (William Woon), kāore he wehewehe o ngā waka i te nohanga o te Atua i te Rangi.
Ka murua ngā whenua o Taranaki i te tau 1864, ka riro hoki ō Ngāti Hine. Nō te marama o Pēpuere a Taurua i hui ai ki ngā rangatira i te pā o ngā Hauhau i Weraroa i te awa o Waitōtara, ki te uruuru i a Rūtene Tianara Duncan Cameron kia whakahokia atu ana hōia ki te taha whakarunga o Kai Iwi. Ka hiki a Cameron i tana mahere whakaeke i Weraroa, ka rangatū i ana hōia ki te hauāuru, ka noho ki ngā taha e rua o te awa o Pātea. Nō te 13 o Maehe i pakangatia ai ngā iwi o Ngāti Hine, o Pakakohe me Ngā Rauru i Te Ngaio i waenganui i Pātea me Kākaramea. Ka noho a Taurua ka mātaki i te parekuratanga o tōna iwi. Ka taupua mai rātou ki uta ēngari nō te marama o Hānuere 1866, ka whakaekea anō e Meiha Tianara Trevor Chute te pā o Pūtahi i te awa o Whenuakura, ā, whakangaromia atu ana.
I muri mai ka manawarau te noho ka hoki a Taurua ki Hukatere. Hei utu mō ana whenua i murua ka mea te minita mō ngā take Māori, a J. C. Richmond, mō Taurua ngā whenua i waenganui i ngā awa o Pātea me Whenuakura. Nō konei ka tupu te raruraru nō te waihangatanga a ngā kairūri i te wāhi nei hei hononga mō ngā rūri e ahu atu ai ki Pātea, ki Waitōtara. Ka hui haere mai a Taurua mā ki Pūtahi, ki Whakamara ki te taha raki o Te Hāwera. Nō te hui i Hukatere i te marama o Mei 1867 te whakaatu ki a James Booth, te kaiwhakawā takiwā mō Pātea, me ka rūrihia a rāwāhi o te awa o Pātea ka tū te riri.
I tino whakapōrahurahutia a Taurua i te pakanga a Tītokowaru i Taranaki ki te tonga. Nō te 10 o Hune 1868, ka tukuna te whakahau a Booth mā Taurua e whakaruru ngā Pākehā e noho ake ana i waenga i Mokoia me Waitōtara. Tekau mā rua māero te pāmamao atu o Mokoia ki te raki o Pātea. Kātahi a Taurua ka tono kia tukuna ia ki Pōneke (Wellington) ki Pātea rānei noho ai, ēngari nā Rūtene Kānara Thomas McDonnell te kōrero, me ka heke he toto ka riro ko ia hei papa. Ka whawhai mai a Tītokowaru i te tonga ka riro i a ia te tāhuna ka mau hereheretia a Taurua me tōna iwi. I a rātou i Taurangaika, te pā nui o Tītokowaru i Weraroa, ka patua e ngā hōia tūao tētahi rōpū tamariki i te whare kutikuti hipi a William Handley. Nō te ope a Taurua tētahi o ngā tama tāne. I te marama o Pēpuere 1869 ka whakarērea atu a Taurangaika ka haere mai a Taurua mā ki Te Kurunui whakaruru ai. E ono tekau māero te tawhiti o Te Kurunui ki te taha whakarunga o te awa o Pātea. Nō te marama o Oketopa 1868, ka toua e te Ope Hōia Māori o Whanganui a Hukatere ki te ahi, ka hariharia ngā wahie a Taurua.
Kātahi ka whakatuakina a Taurua mō ngā hara o Pakakohe. E ai ki a Meiha Maillard Noake, ko Taurua tētahi i toa i roto i ngā pakanga a Tītokowaru. I te marama o Hune 1869, ka karapotia a Taurua i Te Kurunui e te taua Pākehā 270 te rahi. Tekau mā waru ngā waka, 31 ngā rākau whawhai i riro i a rātou. I a ia e mau herehere ana i Pātea ka haria atu ia e te maru hōia ki Whakamara. I reira ka whakaemihia mai e ia ētahi tāngata me ā rātou whānau. Iwa tekau mā whā te hunga i whakawāngia ki te Kōti Matua o Pōneke i te marama o Oketopa 1869, ā, ko tō rātou hara he kaiwaiū. Otirā e 74 i whiua ka whakaritea ki Ōtepoti (Dunedin) herehere ai. Nō te tīmatanga o te marama o Noema rātou i haria atu ai mā runga i te kaipuke, i te Rangatira.
Atu ki te marama o Maehe 1872 te roa o Taurua e herehere ana. Mō taua wā ko ia te kaiwhakahaere i ngā herehere e hanga huarahi ana i te whanga o Ōtākou (Otago Harbour). I te whiunga ōna e te Kōti ka inoitia atu te pirimia a Te Pōkiha (William Fox) e ngā rangatira o Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi kia whakaaro anō ia ki a Taurua. Ka kī te pirimia he nui rawa tōna hara. I Pōneke ka tuku ia i tāna kupu e kore ia e whana anō. Nō muri tonu mai ka piri atu ia ki a Tītokowaru me āna mahi.
Nō te tau 1872 i whakahokia atu ai a Taurua ki Whanganui e Te Mākarini (Donald McLean). Ka kī a Te Mākarini he whenua rāhui kei Ōtautō, kei Waioturi, kei Matangirei mō Taurua. Ēngari kāore i te tatū ngā rūri. Kore rawa a Taurua i whakaae kia utua mai ia mō ngā whenua muru. Ēngari ōna pānga i Ōpaku–Waingongoro £226 te moni i riro i a ia mō ēnei. Nā konei i āhei ai tōna iwi ki te hoki anō ki Hukatere ki te whakatipu rīwai, pata, witi hoki, ki te hī ika, ki te mahi harakeke. Nō te tau 1876 i whakaritea ai kia 3,315 eka te whenua mō tōna iwi, i Ōtautō, i Hukatere, i Pōtakataka, i Ōkoia, i Little Taranaki. Kia wātea ai te awa o Pātea mō te waka nō te tau 1882 ka utua a Taurua kia tangohia ake ana pā tuna. Ko te utu i whakaritea he whenua, 1,062 eka. Ahakoa tēnei, i whakaarahia haeretia tonutia e ia te hē o te raupatutanga o ō rātou whenua.
I noho pai noa ia me te hunga pūwhenua o Pātea. Ka haere ana ia ki te tāone hokohoko taonga ai mā tōna iwi, he wāhine ngā kaihoe i a ia. I whai pānga anō rāua ko tana wahine ko Hinepounamu ki te Pātea Steam Shipping Company. I te marama o Pēpuere 1879, i te rā pōwhiri i te tima hou o te kamupene, i Pātea, ka kōrero a Taurua mō tana tipuna, mō Turi me Aotea waka. Ka mutu ngā rā o te waka maitai nei ka warewaretia. Ēngari anō a Turi rāua ko Aotea waka haere ake nei ka mahara tonutia. Ka huri haere a Tītokowaru i roto o Taranaki whakaratarata ai ka puta ake ki Pātea i te marama o Hānuere 1884. Ko Taurua tētahi o te hunga pōwhiri i a Tītokowaru.
He mau tonu nō Taurua ki te Whakapono ka pitihanatia e ia te Hāhi Wēteriana kia tukuna mai he mihinare. I te rironga ko T. G. Hammond hei minita mō te taitonga o Taranaki ka koa a Taurua me tana teina me Te Rangitāwhe. Kātahi rātou ka huri ki te whakatikatika i te iwi. Ka whakamutua te haere ki te tohunga; ka whakatapua te waipiro, te whānako, te pūremu me te Hāpati. Tekau pāuna te whiu i te tangata e takahi ana i ēnei ture. E ai ki a Hammond, 'kātahi te tangata kakama, kāore he tinihanga', ko Taurua, ā, 'nā te wā i uru ai ki waenga i ō tātou hoariri ka kīia he tangata toheriri'.
E toru ngā whare karakia nā Taurua i whakatū. Ko Tūtahi i hangā e ia i te tau 1883. Hāngai tonu te tū o Tūtahi ki Nukumaru, kei te taitonga o Whenuakura i Pātea. Nō te tau 1888 a Te Takerei-o-Aotea i whakatūngia ai ki Manutahi. Kotahi tau i muri i te matenga atu o Taurua i te tau 1889 ka oti a Te Kapenga ki Hukatere. Nō te 3 o Mei 1888, i mate ai a Taurua, ā, ko te whakaaro, 70 ōna tau nuku atu pea. I puta mai te mano tini o te Māori me te Pākehā i tōna nehunga i Hukatere i te 7 o ngā rā o Mei. Nō te tau 1933 rā anō, ka tutuki tōna hiahia kia tū tētahi whakamaumaharatanga ki a Turi me Aotea waka ki Pātea.