Kōrero: Waikato region

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, shown here in close-up, is on the left of a portrait of three Waikato chiefs, painted by George French Angas and included as a lithograph in The New Zealanders illustrated in 1847. The other two chiefs are Te Waru (centre) and Te Pakaru (right). Following discussions between tribes from Waikato, Taupō and the East Coast, Pōtatau was proclaimed the first Māori king at Ngāruawāhia in 1858.