The Story of a Maori Chief

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The Story of a Maori Chief Published with the aid of the New Zealand State Literary Fund

The Story of a Maori Chief Mokena Kohere and his Forbears by Reweti T. Kohere New ZealandA. H. & A. W. ReedWellingtonA. H. & A. W. Reed 182 Wakefield Street Wellington, N.Z. June, 1949 Me rangatira he hoa matenga mou kia kore ai koe whakarerea. —Maori saying. When in a forlorn situation stick to a chief, for you would never be deserted. Printed and bound by Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd., Crawford Street, Dunedin, N.Z.

To the memory of my brother, Lieut. Henare M. Kohere, who, following in the footsteps of his forbears, died of wounds on the Somme, France, on September 16, 1916, I dedicate this book.

Introduction

It is with a sense of diffidence I send out this volume, The Story of a Maori Chief, because I have written the story in a tongue not mine and also it is my first book written in that tongue. Notwithstanding, I have some feeling of elation that I have somehow been able to place on record the life of my grandfather. Whether I have carried out the work well or not remains to be seen.

I consider the book, firstly, a work of love, and, secondly, a fulfilment of duty I owe to posterity. Reading in Dr. G. H. Scholefield's monumental work, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, what the author has placed on record, sketches of the lives of Maori chiefs, I, with pardonable pride, am persuaded to concur with the great Marsden when he says, “From my first knowledge of these people I have considered them the finest and noblest race of heathens known to the civilised world.” The eulogy sounds somewhat fulsome and like the outpouring of a biased admirer. Over praise, at any rate, may hurt less than that finger of scorn pointed at the Maori in recent times. The Maori to-day needs encouragement. Landless in that very land to reach which he braved stormy seas and which he once owned, he is to-day thrown on the sympathy and tolerance of the pakeha. He stands a beggar knocking at the pakeha's door.

I may, perhaps, explain to readers, particularly those of my own tribe and race, that, in the narrative, I have gone back a few generations and have introduced the history of the Ngati-Porou Tribe, as far as it fits into my story. I feel that when I claim some standing for my grandfather in the tribal history, I have to produce a background. Much of the history of the Ngati-Porou Tribe remains yet to be written. To a younger and abler pen I assign that task.

Now, to acknowledge my indebtedness to those who kindly assisted me. But for the State Literary Fund the manuscript might never have seen the light. I thank Mr. Eric Ramsden for his assistance, ungrudgingly given. Above all, I tender my thanks to my friend, Dr. G. H. Scholefield, who read the manuscript and who, at my request, suggested some alterations.

E aumihi atu ana !

R.T.K.

Rangiata, East Cape

1949

Contents

Page Introduction vii Chapter 1 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents 1 2 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents (continued) 7 3 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents (continued) 14 4 Bitter Intertribal Feuds 18 5 A Versatile Chief 27 6 Mokena Kohere as a Builder 34 7 A Fiery Peacemaker 37 8 Hauhau Rising on the East Coast 50 9 Two Eras in Ngati-Porou History 63 10 Two Outstanding Chiefs 65 11 Mokena Kohere's Fighting Descendants 72 12 Native Land Court: A Long Litigation 86 Appendix 99 Biographical Sketch of the Author 101 A Simple Lesson in Maori Pronunciation 103 Sources Consulted 105 Whakapapa 106 Index 107

List of Illustrations

Facing page The Hon. Mokena Kohere 16 Whangara, Home of Paikea and Porourangi 17 Tokomapuhia, Aotaki's Pa 32 Pukekiore Hill 33 Mokena Kohere and his Son, Tuhaka 64 Major Ropata Wahawaha 65 Lieutenant Henare M. Kohere 80 Captain Pekama Kaa 80 Rewiti T. Kohere 81

The Rangitukia Monument to Mokena Kohere

The inscription (translated) reads: In memory of the Hon. Mokena Kohere, M.L.C., who died on March 4, 1894, aged 82 years. He, during troublous times, showed magnanimity towards the NgatiPorou Tribe, unswerving loyalty to Queen Victoria, exerted his influence to uphold order, and was a staunch churchman.

Chapter 1 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents

It is often stated that unless a member of the Ngati-Porou Tribe could trace himself back to the grand-ancestor Tuwhakairiora he could not be of any consequence. But then all Ngati-Porou are descended from Tuwhakairiora.

I learned from Paratene Ngata, Sir Apirana Ngata's father, that there was only one man in all Ngati-Porou who could not claim descent from Tuwhakairiora, and yet Karaitiana Pakura was a man of standing.

Surely the whole big tribe could not be composed of chiefs. So from the outset I may say that to be able to trace oneself back to a distinguished ancestor does not necessarily prove that one is a rangatira. To be a rangatira one need not only be a descendant of a chief, but also a descendant of a line of successive chiefs. To be the descendant of a line of fighting chiefs, together with the needed character, constitutes a great chief. A new line of chiefs and chieftainesses could not be created. Thus I do not accept the dictum that to be a chief one must be able to trace one's descent to Tuwhakairiora, for it implies that there was only one grand chief.

I recall a little argument I had with a friend who positively laid down that when Tuwhakairiora married Ruataupare the union gave lustre to Ruataupare's name. I expressed disagreement, contending that Ruataupare was of equal rank with her husband, if not of a higher rank.

It is the Maori custom to name great chiefs after mountains in their domains. The great Heuheu of Taupo was called Tongariro. When Tuwhakairiora as a young man arrived at Wharekahika (Hicks Bay), because he was not invited to stay at Uenuku-tewhana's pa, Aotaki, Ruataupare's father said: “Let him then come to me, to Hikurangi,

Altitude, 5,606 feet.

the mountain crowned with snow.” Aotaki, not Tuwhakairiora, was Hikurangi, the highest mountain in the territory of the Ngati-Porou. The tribe composed a song in which Tuwhakairiora is described as a wayfarer because when he met Aotaki he was then on a journey from Opotiki, where his parents, Ngatihau and Atakura, then lived. To be called a wayfarer is not at all complimentary to the dignity of a rangatira, for it means he has no permanent home and no people. The Ngati-Porou have a saying which clearly hints at the legend that Taranaki (Mount Egmont) shifted from the vicinity of Mount Tongariro to where it to-day stands, a lonely bachelor. It is this: “Hikurangi is not a mountain that travels.”

Uttered by Te Kani-a-Takirau when he was offered the kingite crown.

The saying is not flattering to the wayfarer Tuwhakairiora.

Tuwhakairiora married Ruataupare, and this union produced the Ngati-Porou premier line.

To continue my contention that Ruataupare was her husband's equal in rank, when their family increased in number their children were called “Te Whanau-a-Tuwhakairiora,” that is, “Tuwhakairiora's family.” Proud Ruataupare reflected and discovered that her powerful husband was overshadowing her own mana. She made up her mind there and then to forsake him and to seek for herself an independent name. Without hesitation she told her husband to get Ihiko for his wife. When he remonstrated that Ihiko had her own husband she taunted him by saying: “I thought you were a rangatira.” Tuwhakairiora, resenting the taunt, went to Puketapu, where Ihiko lived, and took her away from her husband, Tuhauanu.

Finally, Ruataupare left the home at Okauwharetoa

Now a Maori cemetery across the Awatere at Te Araroa.

and went first to Tuparoa and later to Tokomaru. She achieved her purpose, for to-day the sub-tribes both at Tuparoa and Tokomaru are called after Ruataupare, their haughty progenitor. Was my friend then justified in his contention that Ruataupare was an inferior person? On the contrary, she was every inch a rangatira, and she hesitated not to defy her powerful husband. It will be shown later that as a chief Mokena Kohere came of both the Tuwhakairiora and Ruataupare lines.

Before the home at Okauwharetoa was broken up by the departure of Ruataupare the news came that Kowhaki, Ruataupare's cousin, had been murdered in Paturangi pa by Rarawa and Aowehea. To call for a war-party to avenge her cousin's death, Ruataupare bared her bosom and pulled her breasts. Her action fired the chiefs to rally. She issued the order: “Smite the land but spare the people.” The result of the dramatic appeal was instantaneous: a war-party was organised, composed of the fighting chiefs Rangitekehua, Karuwai, Kautaharua and Umuariki. All the lands lying between the Awatere and Maraehara rivers were seized, and thus satisfaction for the murder of Kowhaki was made. This formidable band of warriors was held up by Tinatoka and his brother-in-law, Rarawa, at the Makirikiri stream,

A mile to the N.W. of Rangitukia.

and further conquest was stopped. Rarawa was one of the slayers of Kowhaki, and it is curious that nothing of his lands was taken by the war-party. He was one of Mokena Kohere's fighting ancestors, and the name is perpetuated in my own family.

Another great name in the history of the Ngati-Porou Tribe is that of Rangitawaea. Here again is a chief identified with Mount Hikurangi, attesting to his high rank. Whenever the mountain is covered with snow the saying is uttered: “Behold, Rangitawaea gathers up his garments.” Rangitawaea was a great chief, as was Tuwhakairiora. A union of the two lines must therefore produce outstanding chiefs. A grandson of Tuwhakairiora, Whaita, married Manupokai, eldest daughter of Rangitawaea and his wife Kirimamae. The issue was a distinguished line of chiefs, amongst whom was Mokena Kohere.

This is not a story of Tuwhakairiora, which would fill volumes. The Rev. Mohi Turei has given the graphic story of Tuwhakairiora in Te Pipiwharauroa, and it is reproduced in one of my Maori books. I shall, therefore, touch only on the focal points in the chief's history.

Poroumata, with his family, lived at Whangara,

The pretty village fifteen miles east of Gisborne.

that nursery of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. Here their ancestral canoe, Takitimu, as stated by some authorities, landed. Before that event happened, Paikea, another grand-ancestor of the tribe, lived and died at Whangara. His burial place on the little island, which at low tide is joined to the mainland by a strip of sand, is known to-day as Paikea's Cave. Here at Whangara, Porourangi, after whom the tribe is named, lived and died, and hither his brother Tahu came from Waipounamu (South Island) to lament over the body. From Whangara Tahu, on his return, took his dead brother's widow, Hamo, to be his wife. (The South Island Maoris are named Ngai-Tahu, and are thus first cousins of the Ngati-Porou Tribe.)

From Whangara, for one reason or another, Poroumata and his family set out towards East Cape. They halted near Uawa (Tolaga Bay), where they pitched their camp. When they were short of food, instead of asking the local people, as respectable people should do, they resorted to sneaking and stealing, and at nights they raided their neighbours’ kumara plantations. To strike fear into the hearts of the owners of the kumara they made out that they were a considerable force, by lighting their torches at both ends. This incident has been handed down from generation to generation as the “rama pito-rua,” or “the double-end torch.” Night marauders were not likely to become popular, so Poroumata and his family struck camp and once more were on the move. At Ngamoe

Near Tuparoa.

they again made their camp in the midst of Ngati-Ruanuku sub-tribe. Here, as at Uawa, they did not prove themselves desirable neighbours. As a result the Ngati-Ruanuku became decidedly hostile, and they plotted the murder of Poroumata. They invited him to go with them on a fishing expedition. Far out at sea they killed him, gouged out his bowels and threw them into the sea, evidently to attract fish to their lines.

After the murder of Poroumata, Atakura and Ngatihau, her husband, with their family and relatives, fled to Opotiki, in the Bay of Plenty. There was reason why they should betake themselves there, for Uehenga-paraoa, a grandancestress of the Ngati-Porou Tribe, came from that district. In due time a daughter was born to Atakura and Ngatihau. They named her Aomihia, the Greeted Clouds, for they often turned their gaze towards the east, from whence they had fled, and greeted the clouds as they sped from that direction. Again Atakura conceived, and as her unborn child moved within her she addressed it in these words: “What art thou that movest within me? Wouldst thou he a son to avenge the cause of my sorrow? “Thus before Tuwhakairiora

Tuwhakairiora (Tu-hung-up-alive). The name perpetuates, as the Maoris are fond of doing, the incident when Tumoana-kotore, a grandancestor of the Ngati-Porou Tribe, was hung up alive on a puriri tree at Wai-o-Matatini. The bearers, of course, had thought old Tu (moanakotore) was dead.

was born he was dedicated to Tumatauenga, the god of war. Faithfully in time Tuwhakairiora carried out his mother's cherished wish.

When the young man grew up Atakura told him that his true home was in the east, and thither must he hie. At Whangaparaoa (Cape Runaway) his attentions were repelled by Hinerupe by striking him on the jaw with a wooden spade. Leaving Whangaparaoa, Tuwhakairiora continued his wanderings in the direction of Wharekahika (Hicks Bay). On the Kaiarero beach he espied two damsels gathering pipis. By sitting on their clothes Tuwhakairiora roguishly kept the girls in the incoming tide. After a while he relented and walked away to enable Ruataupare and her sister, Auahikoata, for such they were, the daughters of the chief Aotaki, to put on their clothes. Tuwhakairiora followed them to their home at Tokamapuhia, just below the beautiful Waihirere Fall, where their father and their mother, Hinemaurea, lived. The girls told their father that a handsome young man had detained them by squatting on their clothes, and they gave a description of him. By this Aotaki knew the wayfarer was no other than young Tuwhakairiora, whose fame had preceded him. When his daughters told him that the stranger had not called in at a pa on the way Aotaki uttered the saying already mentioned: “Let him come to me, to Hikurangi, the mountain crowned with snow.” Tuwhakairiora met with success, for Ruataupare consented to be his wife. They made their home at Okauwharetoa.

Tuwhakairiora's first exploit towards fulfilling his sacred mission in avenging the death of his grandfather, Poroumata, was an incident in connection with the death of his dog, Tamurehaua. He had gone along the coast in the direction of East Cape when the people in Rangihuanoa pa observed him. He turned for home and they pursued him. Every now and then he reduced his pace and cut down the foremost of his pursuers. He kept on doing this until he came to a flat rock on which was a mound of earth. On to this he leaped and then defied his enemy. By the red kura

Kura, an ornament of red feathers worn by chiefs in olden times. When the canoes of the Great Heke neared the land at Cape Runaway, the crews saw the bright flowers of the pohutukawa. Some of the chiefs then discarded their kura by throwing the threadbare things into the sea.

which he wore, his uncle, Hukarere, who was fishing close inshore, recognised him, and by paddling his canoe to the rock he rescued Tuwhakairiora. The rock, with a tuft of earth on it, is still pointed out as “te pa o Tuwhakairiora “—” Tuwhakairiora's pa.”

Tuwhakairiora's greatest deed was performed at Ngamoe, where he slaughtered Ngati-Ruanuku, the murderers of his grandfather, Poroumata.

Taking twenty-five years to a generation, I reckon that Tuwhakairiora flourished about 300 years ago.

Chapter 2 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents (Continued)

The Greatest of Tuwhakairiora's sons were without question Tuhorouta and Tinatoka, the sons of Ihiko, his second wife. All Ngati-Porou leading chiefs are descended from these two warriors. The latter has already been mentioned as one of the two men who defied the Kowhaki warparty to cross the Makirikiri stream. As Mokena Kohere was not a descendant of his I shall not say any more about him, although I can claim descent from him on my mother's side. Instead I shall follow up briefly the fighting history of his greater brother, Tuhorouta.

Tuhorouta first came into prominence as a fighter in the Maniaroa battle (to which I refer—Chapter 4). Suffice it to say that during the battle Tuhorouta was so mortally insulted that he was determined to seek revenge. It came to his knowledge that Tamaikitekapua, who had insulted him, had gone south to Uawa (Tolaga Bay) and was living in the pa, Upoko-o-te-ika. He set about organising a war expedition. As his fleet of canoes passed along the coast he cried out to the various tribes, mentioning each tribe separately, to follow him. Arrived at Uawa he gave the enemy no respite, but attacked at once. Like a wild beast, denied of his prey, he raged and stormed. The day was hot and his parched tongue clung to the roof of his mouth. He quenched his burning thirst in a manner conceived only by a ferocious savage. He climbed over the palisading into the pa, and the enemy, cowed, ceased the struggle.

Perhaps I may introduce here parenthetically one of Ngati-Porou's most popular sayings. After this strenuous fight Tuhorouta asked his wife, Moahiraia, to bring him something to eat. Dried kumaras (kao) soaked in water were brought. Before sitting down Tuhorouta called Tamaikitekapua, the man who had insulted him at Maniaroa, to share with him his frugal meal. The guest was suspicious of this show of hospitality: he understood quite well that his life was in danger. Calmly he sat down and picked up a kumara, which he put in his mouth. His terrific host without warning struck him on the temple with his mere.

The short greenstone weapon.

Tamaikitekapua fell backwards, and before he expired moaned:

E Tu,

The first syllable of the name Tuhorouta. Maoris are fond of abbreviating names to one or two syllables.

e Tu! Te rangona hoki

Te reka o to kai.

In English:

O Tu, Tu! How can I

Taste the sweetness of thy food?

In Shakespearean diction:

Rich gifts wax poor

When givers prove unkind.

After the Maniaroa battle Apanui, instead of returning home, went to see Tuwhakairiora at Okauwharetoa. The latter at once said: “Why did you slay Aowehea, our youngest? I wish you had killed that reptile Tuhorouta, for as sure as we are alive so sure some day he will turn against us.” Apanui replied: “Well then, come on and I'll see that somebody is slain out of satisfaction for the death of Aowehea.” The plan was faithfully carried out, and satisfaction was made for the death of Aowehea. How extraordinary Maori custom could be!

Only one of Tuhorouta's sons, Hunaara, I shall briefly refer to. Although an ancestor of mine he was not of my grandfather's. While living at Horoera the news of Hikatoa's death at Turanga (Poverty Bay) came. Before Hikatoa expired he had uttered the saying:

E mate ana i au, e ora ana i a

Te Waranga.

I perish but Te Waranga lives.

The saying has practically come to mean that no one is indispensable. Te Waranga was related to Hikatoa, grandson of Tuwhakairiora.

Te Waranga's home was at Whangaparaoa (Cape Runaway), and to him Hikatoa with his last breath had appealed to avenge his death. It may appear strange that he did not appeal to his warrior father, Rarawa. Hikatoa had fled from the parental roof in disgrace because he had killed a close relative, Te Rangitaukiwaho. At any rate it was Hunaara, not Te Waranga, who organised a war-party and avenged Hikatoa's death.

Hunaara returned home, bringing in a kit the heads of Hikatoa and Takimoana. Amongst the captives that he brought as slaves were two women, Ropuhina and Waremau, from whom several chiefs on the East Coast were descended.

To preserve the sequence of events and genealogy I refer here to a fighting ancestor, although not an ancestor of Mokena Kohere's. Kaapa, a grandson of Tuhorouta (the son of his eldest daughter Ruahuia) was a great fighter. He went on a war expedition as far south as Wairarapa, at the invitation of the local tribes. After fulfilling his mission he was given the greenstone adze, “Mangamate,” which has been in the possession of his descendants ever since. And to avenge the death of his grandfather, Te Rangipamamao, Kaapa went north as far as Hauraki, where again he was successful in his mission of vengeance. On his return home he brought with him not a greenstone adze this time but a pretty woman named Uruapiti, whom he married. Uruapiti, like Ropuhina and Waremau, became an ancestress of a line of chiefs and chieftainesses.

It has always been considered a defect in the fighting line of Tuwhakairiora, Tuhorouta and Kaapa that all of them died a natural death instead of on the battle-field, as befitted a warrior. Aged Tamakoro, for instance, who, hearing of the approach of a hostile party, requested that he be placed in the forefront of the battle so that he might be slain by hand, like a warrior. His wish was gratified, for he died a warrior's death.

It has been shown that Mokena Kohere was descended from both the great chiefs, Tuwhakairiora and Rangitawaea, and from both Ruataupare and Ihiko, wives of Tuwhakairiora. Te Kani-a-Takirau,

Of the four families, the names of Te Kani-a-Takirau and Houkamau do not appear in the Treaty of Waitangi.

Te Potae-aute, Houkamau and Kakatarau and his brother, Mokena Kohere, were descended from a common stock. Kakatarau and Mokena Kohere have, however, an independent and distinguished line from which the other three families cannot claim descent.

Tuiti and her family, like that of Poroumata, also left Whangara, to return to their home near East Cape. During their progress they met with some hostility (as did Porou- mataPoroumata), and during a fight Pungawerewere, one of their number, met his death at Kopuaroa. Tuiti and her family came on to the Kautuku block. Later Aotakii and Uenukutewhana moved to Wharekahika. The family consisted of Hirau, Aotakii, Uenukutewhana and Ruaoterau.

Aotakii had two daughters, Ruataupare and Auahikoata. The former, we know, married Tuwhakairiora, and it has been shown that she was a chieftainess of no mean order. Hirau, the eldest of the family, was the ancestor of some great fighters. Mokena Kohere was a descendant of hers, as well as of her niece, Ruataupare. Mataura, Hirau's son, became famous as the defender of the Pukekiore pa. Rakaitemania, being related to Hinepare, Mataura's wife, came on a visit to her. Before she met Hinepare she was insulted by a voice which came from the direction of Pukekiore pa. Rakaitemania at once turned back and hurried home to organise a war-party to attack the offending Pukekiore and inflict punishment for the insult. The party, which was under the command of the chief Paaka, ascended a height of nearly 1,000 feet and infested the stronghold of Pukekiore. The fight increased in ferocity. Mataura and his defenders proved themselves equal to the occasion until Mataura's parched tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth for thirst. Like David of old, who longed for water from the well of Bethlehem, Mataura longed for a drink from a spring down below on the plain, a spring which to-day is known as Mataura's Heart. And, unlike the Biblical story, no brave dared to leave the protection of the pa to gratify his leader's wish. Still the fight grew fiercer, and the defenders’ supply of spears ran out. Thus handicapped, they threw stones and earth at their assailants. When he knew further resistance would be of no avail, Mataura mounted the defences of the pa and cried out: “O, who would turn back the onrushing tide?”

Paaka, the leader of the attackers, replied: “If thou hast a daughter, hand her over to me.”

Mataura, looking around, espied his young granddaughter, Whirituarangi. Her he handed over to an enemy who would not be denied. Thus peace was made, and people and land

In 1913 the Kautuku block or Marangairoa No. 1 D. came before Judge R. N. Jones. To strengthen our claim, the Pukekiore fight was mentioned. The court accepted our opponents’ story that Mataura was only a refugee in Pukekiore. The case is still sub judice.

were saved by the sacrifice of Whirituarangi. Whirituarangi finally married aged Tuwhakairiora. She was the ancestress of several chiefs.

Mataura's two grandsons, Rarawa and Porou, were both great warriors. It was the former, with the help of his brother-in-law Tinatoka, who held up the Kowhaki war-party at the Makirikiri stream.

On one occasion Rarawa, accompanied by his wife, Hinemihi, had gone to Ipuarongo to inspect his rat-traps. He found they had been tampered with, and on going a little further he actually came upon the thief. Rarawa bound Kiterangi to a tree while he and Hinemihi went on further. On their return they found Kiterangi had broken loose and had fled. Rarawa knew very well that his man had gone across the river to Otutemahurangi pa, where Ngati-Mahanga lived. After crossing the river, he entered the pa, where he found Kiterangi. Without any warning he grabbed the rat thief

Rat-thief. My people put in a claim before the Native Land Court to Ipuarongo, part of Marangairoa 1 D. block. Although the killing of Kiterangi was never denied our claim was dismissed and the land was awarded to Ngati-Mahanga, Kiterangi's sub-tribe.

and dragged him outside the pa, not a person interfering. After dashing out the thief's brains Rarawa re-crossed the Maraehara and rejoined his wife, Hinemihi.

A son of Makahuri, a chief, was killed by foul play, of which the hapu living at Waitotoki, a stronghold a little to the south of Tuparoa, were suspected. Makahuri sent for Rarawa and his brother, Porou, to avenge his son's death. The two brothers realised that it would be a difficult job to take the pa by direct assault, so they resorted to a ruse to draw the inhabitants of the pa out into the open. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Rarawa and Porou went out on the beach below and wrapped themselves with seaweed. When there was sufficient light they lay in the water and rolled about so that the incoming tide washed them up nearer their objective. On awakening in the morning the people within the pa discovered two black objects on the beach. Naturally they thought they were seals. The cry was raised, and everybody rushed out to secure, as he thought, cheap meat. Rarawa and Porou permitted their victims to come close before they sprang to their feet and discarded their strange outfit. The people, completely taken by surprise, fell easy victims to the avengers of blood. Only those who were fleet of foot escaped to the protection of the pa.

Having fulfilled their mission, Rarawa and Porou returned to their home at Waiapu.

Their next mission was to avenge the death of Whanaumaro, son of the chief Rahuiokehu of the Mahaki hapu, who lived at Ahikouka. Whanau-maro had accompanied his wife to the Aowera district, near the Hikurangi foothills, where his wife belonged. When the news reached Rahuiokehu that his son had been murdered he sent for the two brothers to seek satisfaction. They readily agreed. Arrived on the scene Rarawa and Porou made short work of the offending people. Amongst the captives taken was a fine sturdy woman named Moehau, who would have met with a terrible end but for Manupokai's intervention. Out of gratitude Moehau served Manupokai all her life. She became the ancestress of a well-known Ngati-Porou family. The significant fact was that both Makahuri and Rahuiokehu were well-known chiefs. That they had to rely on Rarawa and Porou to do their fighting for them attests the prowess and fighting qualities of the two brothers. They never during their hectic lives met with defeat.

After the murderers of Whanau-maro had eaten his body they dried his bones and put them in a kit, which was hung up where they could not be found. When the searchers came near where the kit was hidden the dry bones in it began to rattle, and thus the mystery was solved. This Maori story is on a par with that told by Mr. Justice Alpers in his book, Cheerful Yesterdays. A man who had missed his dog called out its name. To his astonishment the dog began to bark inside a man's belly. I can't say now whether it was a Maori or a Dane who had eaten the dog, but that's not the point.

My grandfather was descended from Rarawa and my grandmother from Porou. I shall not narrate the minor exploits of these two of my ancestors. They were not connected with the Tuwhakairiora line. Therefore to contend that one must be able to claim descent from Tuwhakairiora before one could be counted a rangatira betrays ignorance of NgatiPorou history.

Rarawa being a great chief, his body was taken to Paroro-rangi, near Wai-o-Matatini, where Ngati-Porou great men were laid to rest.

Rarawa's daughter, Aotauru, must have been a woman of character, for her warrior sons up to the present are called “The biting snappers of Aotauru.” She married a notable man named Te Ruinga, of her own line, and they lived in Pukemanuka pa, situated a little lower than the historic Pukekiore, and, in fact, an offshoot of it. Here food was brought to them. When Te Ruinga chose to leave Waiapu for Marau, near Tolaga Bay, Aotauru

Our claim to Marangairoa 1 D. on Aotaura's unbroken occupation was thrown out by the Native Land Court; while those who claimed under Te Ruinga, the husband who went to Tolaga Bay and never returned, succeeded.

refused to accompany him, preferring to remain on her own ancestral land. By the intermarriage of the descendants of Tuiti with those of the Tuwhakairiora-Rangitawaea line surely great men and women were produced. The Tuiti line, through her firstborn, Hirau, is claimed as the particular line of the Ngati-Hokopu hapu, Kakatarau's and Mokena Kohere's sub-tribe. Both the daughters of Rangimatemoana, Poreterete and Waipounamu, became the wives of Kakatarau.

I fully agree with Chief Judge Shepherd that Ngati-Hokopu is a ridiculous name for a well-known sub-tribe. The ancient name of the hapu is Whanau-a-Rerewa, which I would readily revive. “Hokopu” means “sold for a gun,” and it perpetuates an incident in the history of the hapu. Tuawhiorangi, a son of Hihi, Pakura's older brother, was after the fight at Wharekura sold by Whanau-a-Apanui for a gun. Pakura lost his life in the same fight.

The sub-tribe living at Whakatane is also called Ngati-Hokopu, for their ancestor, Ngarara, was sold also for a gun.

Chapter 3 Mokena Kohere's Antecedents (Continued)

Both Pakura, the father of Kakatarau and Mokena Kohere, and his elder brother, Hihi, were, like their forbears, great fighters. The brothers were the terror of the whole district; in fact, they were “the Doones” of the Waiapu Valley. Pakura's proper name was Whakatatare, but because of his bad habit of helping himself to other people's kumara crops he was re-named Pakura, i.e., pukeko. The two brothers so regularly received food from passers-by that it came to be regarded as their due. They could not under any circumstances tolerate stinginess. As a matter of fact, stinginess to a Maori mind is an intolerable fault.

Pakura and Hihi lived at first in Hurimoana pa, but later at Waioratane, near the mouth of the Waiapu River. It was their habit to sit on the bank above the beach, where, when the weather was favourable, they could see fishing canoes put out to sea or land, and parties carrying fish, crayfish, seaweed and shellfish, loved of Maori palate. In summer, too, large quantities of kahawai are netted along the beach or in the estuary of the Waiapu. When there was anything to give away the two brothers usually received their share. It happened one day they were not at their haunt, and a party of food-carriers had passed by without dropping the customary tribute. At once they went in pursuit. They caught up with the food defaulters just outside their pa, killed Tiritahua, the leader, who, with his crayfish, was eaten.

It was reported that the fern-root bed at Maunganui was unusually rich and plentiful. Consequently a large number of people gathered to harvest the luscious root. It was a busy scene, everyone bent on gathering a goodly supply. Pakura was also on the scene, but as a rangatira it would be undignified for him to join in the scramble. He looked on calmly, expecting to receive his fair contribution, but in the rush he was forgotten. As his nephew Awatai was digging close to him Pakura suddenly struck him on the head with his mere, for a chief was never without a weapon. As the young man fell back, protesting that the old man had struck him, Pakura remarked: “Me he po” (“It's not night”). He meant to say that Awatai should have been prepared to meet every possible emergency. However, blood had been shed, and amends must therefore be made. The chief deliberately and coolly stepped towards a man named Takimoana and dealt him a fatal blow on the temple. The body of the unfortunate man was carried to Waioratane and there placed in a hangi.

The Ngati-Porou call it umu, which is also the South Island Maori name. Elsewhere it is shown that the Ngati-Porou and South Island tribes are cousins.

The cooked body was stolen out of the hangi by a man called Haupehi and carried to Tikapa, three miles away, where it was shared amongst the sub-tribe.

Here again the Maunganui incident intrigues us. Pakura struck Awatai, but Takimoana, who had nothing to do with striking Awatai, paid the penalty with his life. It may be Takimoana was chosen because he was the greediest. Some years ago a party of Maoris caught a lot of eels from a small lake on the family property. The children saw the people pass by without offering them an eel. My little boy came in and said: “Papa, I now understand why Pakura killed greedy people.” The next day the same people came back again, and my little girl, without a word from me, ordered the trespassers off the place. Even the children could not tolerate stinginess in anyone.

As Hihi and Pakura sat on the bank at Waioratane a canoe was coming in. As their wont was, the latter went down to the beach to meet the canoe and lay down the skids to enable the crew to drag it ashore more easily. Instead of greeting Pakura they attacked him. The old fighter, who had scolded his nephew Awatai for not being prepared for every emergency, snatched a spear from an assailant and cut down his opponents right and left. Before Hihi came to his assistance a number of the enemy were bleeding on the ground. Because they were eaten with their crayfish the incident is known as “paru koura,” or “crayfish pulp.” In addition land was seized as further satisfaction for the unprovoked attack. This small piece of land is known as Kamiti, or Marangairoa, No. 1 D.7. The Native Land Court awarded it to descendants of Hihi and Pakura.

The adjoining piece of land, known as Okahu,

My people and I set up a case for Okahu under a conquest. Our claim was dismissed by Judge R. N. Jones. In its judgment the Native Land Court uses the phrase “a bloodless victory,” thus unconsciously admitting the conquest. Judge H. Carr found the conquest and our occupation proved and awarded us about half the block. The case is still sub judice. See Chapter XII.

was also seized by Hihi and Pakura and their relatives because its inhabitants were suspected of foul play in the drowning of Hamia's child.

Adjacent to Okahu is another piece of land seized by Hihi, Pakura and their relatives because the owners were caught eating sea food after the coast had been proclaimed tapu. The reason of the tapu was that the son of Hihi was drowned and the body had not been recovered.

The chief Rangimate-moana had two store houses in the Maraehara Valley in which food was stored by food-bringers. It was reported that Haere-aranui, a relative of Hihi and Pakura was amongst the food carriers for Rangimatemoana. The brothers felt that this was derogatory to the proud name of their sub-tribe, so, to put an end to further food-carrying for Rangimatemoana, Hihi and Pakura destroyed the chief's store house.

Over the grave of a young descendant of Rangimatemoana, engraved in solid marble, is this inscription: “Ko Ngati-Porou tenei,” or “This is Ngati-Porou.” When I read this at the unveiling of the monument two thoughts occurred to me: either the inscription was sincerely phrased or it was a piece of propaganda, for the words imply that the deceased was the paramount chief of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. As a matter of history I wish to express sincere disappointment with the inscription. The truest Ngati-Porou are the subtribes living in the Waiapu Valley (particularly those near the mouth of the Waiapu River) from the mouth of the river to Paua-o-Ruku stream. Both Rangimatemoana and Kakatarau or his brother, Mokena Kohere, lived within this area and both the latter were descendants of chiefs who were born, fought and died in the area. Rangimatemoana was a chief, but his grand-ancestress, Whakaohonga, the wife of the Horoera chief Hunaara, and the daughter of Tinatoka, came to Waiapu as a guest of the local sub-tribes. In the year 1943 I was one of a party of Ngati-Porou. At Te Kaha and Omaio it was noticeable one man did not like my presence in the

The Hon. Mokena Kohere

Whangara The home of Paikea, Porourangi and other progenitors of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. On the island is Paikea's Cave (page 3). The scene depicted is the opening of the beautiful carved house, Whitireia, Paikea's house. party and the guileless words I used. At Omaio a local elder asked me how I could join a Ngati-Porou party which did not want me. In the evening, in a packed house, I referred to the matter and asked why anyone should object to my presence in a Ngati-Porou party, seeing I was a Ngati-Porou of the Ngati-Porous. You could hear a pin drop and no one replied to my query, although one or two really expressed agreement with me.

Chapter 4 Bitter Intertribal Feuds

It may be well to go back a few generations in order to trace the origin of the strange vendetta between two neighbouring tribes who descended from one common stock, viz., Ngati-Porou and Whanau-a-Apanui.

The distinguished Whanau-a-Apanui warrior chief, Tamahae, took it into his head to play the knight errant. Making his way to Wairoa, he showed himself a brave and daring fighter, at the same time displaying traits of humour. Then he thought he would work his way into the Ngati-Porou territory, moving from one stronghold to another, making utterances which have become Maori classics. At Purepureaure pa, by killing the chieftainess Hinetapora and her children, he brought discredit to his otherwise knightly record. From thence he wandered down the Waiapu Valley. He called at Puputa, the stronghold at the back of Waiomatatini. There his fame had preceded him, and he was expected by the chief Makahuri, grandson of Tuwhakairiora. Having tarnished his good name by his killing of Hinetapora and her children, he could not be received with respect by another chief, so Makahuri

Some authorities say Makahuri himself invited Tamahae to visit Waiapu.

was determined to insult him. As Tamahae approached the earthwork of the stronghold Makahuri, having placed himself in a position of vantage, let out his own natural gas as his greeting to the distinguished warrior. Tamahae, shocked and surprised, stood back and remarked:

“Akiaki ana te whero o tama a Te Atahaia.”

(“How explosive is Atahaia's son.”)

(Atahaia was Tuterangiwhiu's second wife.)

Insulted and belittled, Tamahae visited another stronghold not far off, crossed the Waiapu River, and made his way to Puahanui, Putaanga's pa. As he stood outside, Putaanga appeared on the earthwork and hurled a spear at him. Warding off the missile, Tamahae coolly remarked:

“Te kino tangata, e wero iho nei.”

(“What an ugly man thrusting a spear at me.”)

Putaanga replied:

“He kino ra no tau o te wai.”

(“I may be ugly but I am of the deepest part of the river.”)

Tamahae, as the wag he was, queried:

“No hea, e ? “

(“Whence?”)

Putaanga once more replied:

“No te maara ra a Tumoana-kotore.”

(“I am from Tumoana-kotore's garden.”)

Tamahae again:

“E, taua tahi.”

(“Yes, you and I.”)

Putaanga:

“Au anake, no te wa tauware noa hoki koe.”

(“I alone, you are only an offshoot.”)

The explanation is that Tumoana-kotore was a grandancestor of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. Tamahae also could claim to be connected with the Ngati-Porou Tribe—he was not a flower but a “dragon's tooth” from Tumoana-kotore's garden. Tamahae's descent from Tumoana-kotore is not questioned, but there is doubt about Putaanga. Tamahae might have been called an “offshoot “because he lived in the Whanau-a-Apanui district, not in the Ngati-Porou district. (Study the genealogies at the end of the book.)

From Puahanui Tamahae continued his wanderings down the valley, and, turning to his left, he followed the course of the Maraehara River until he came to Puketawai pa, where Hikitai

Hikitai was the son of Hikatoa, and thus a descendant of the great Tuwhakairiora.

ruled. Outside it he stood until Hikitai appeared and hurled a spear at him. Avoiding this with ease, he remarked:

“Te iti tangata e wero iho nei.”

(“What a little man hurling spears at me.”)

Hikitai readily replied:

“He iti ra, he iti mapihi pounamu.”

(“I may be little, but I'm a greenstone of the finest kind.”)

Insulted at Puputa, attacked and insulted at Puahanui and Puketawai, places in the very heart of the Ngati-Porou territory, Tamahae felt he had had more than enough, and so, without paying calls at other strongholds, he made for his home in the Bay of Plenty. For a man to go through a country speaks well for Tamahae's daring and self-confidence. After his slaughter of Hinetapora and her children a combined effort by the Ngati-Porou might have been expected to rid their district of a menace. There was nothing. Were the Ngati-Porou afraid of this man or did they tolerate him because he was by blood connected with themselves? It seems also that Tamahae did not on any occasion enter or storm a stronghold after the slaughter of Hinetapora. Moreover, Makahuri, Putaanga and Hikitai were confident that Tamahae could not be in a position to attack them.

Before I go on to describe the series of five conflicts between Ngati-Porou and Whanau-a-Apanui, I must refer to the first fight which occurred between the two neighbouring tribes, that of the trouble at Korau-whakarau ridge. It appears that a party of the Whanau-a-Apanui had come to the foothills of Mount Hikurangi to snare pigeons. The party was successful, but unfortunately another party of Ngati-Porou came upon the Whanau-a-Apanui party and treated them as trespassers. Their swag-traps were cut, and the loads of pigeons were forcibly taken off their backs. The Bay of Plenty party returned home and reported that they had been shamefully treated by Ngati-Porou. The Whanau-a-Apanui took the insult seriously to heart, and a plan of action in revenge was conceived. This led to the fight known as Maniaroa.

After resting for some time, and no doubt after planning for another visit to the Ngati-Porou territory, Tamahae set out with a fleet of canoes, bound for the East Cape. The news of his intended expedition had leaked out and had reached the ears of Kino, who lived at Okarae (Lottin Point). Kino, being related to the Ngati-Porou Tribe, thought it was incumbent on him to warn Ngati-Porou of Tamahae's plan. So he set out alone and carried out his purpose of warning the tribe.

Tamahae and his expedition called at East Cape, where Ruahuia, Tuhorouta's eldest daughter, and her husband, Hikapooho, with their son, Kaapa, had settled after leaving Te Kaha. Ruahuia and her family had taken up their residence at the ancient stronghold, Tamataurei. From down below Tamahae called out to Hikapooho to hurry down to rub noses with a relative. As Hikapooho was getting ready to descend to meet Tamahae his son, Kaapa, intervened by saying: “Let the grey-haired remain but let the black-haired go out.”

Before Tamahae and Kaapa met, a stranger was seen hastening along the beach, not looking either to the right or to the left. When Kino was asked to call he uttered a saying which is often repeated:

“Na wai te koau ka ruku ki te aromaunga e hokia.”

(“A shag that has flown deep into the mountain face will not turn.”)

Tamahae surmised that Kino had been up to some mischief, and he prepared for any contingency. He had not long to wait. Soon numbers of men were observed crossing the Tutu-o-Ue saddle. Ngati-Porou, warned by him, had planned to meet Tamahae and his party at this vantage point and cut off his escape. Tamahae, assisted by Ngati-Porou Kaapa, advanced to meet the foe on the beach. The two great warriors, Tamahae and Kaapa, made short work of the Ngati-Porou force. It was completely routed and the carnage was considerable. The fight is known as “Te Riri ki nga Taipu o Haronga” (“The fight at Haronga sand-dunes.”)

The reader's attention may be drawn to the treacherous conduct of the chief Kaapa, whom I have described as the Ngati-Porou Kaapa. He was a progenitor of the well-known Ngati-Porou loyal chiefs, Houkamau and Wikiriwhi Matauru. Why he should have taken the part of the Whanau-a-Apanui chief, Tamahae, against Ngati-Porou and within Ngati-Porou territory is hard to understand. Furthermore, he and his parents, Hikapooho and Ruahuia, had been compelled, owing to some quarrel at Te Kaha, to return to the Ngati-Porou territory recently, and they were given a small piece of land at East Cape whereon to live. The party were passing by in its canoe when women of a local tribe who were diving for crayfish invited them to come ashore by waving with their girdles of seaweed. Even to-day descendants of Kaapa are often taunted with the remark: “You were called in with women's girdles of seaweed!” At the same time it must be remembered that the appeal for assistance was to Hikapooho and was intercepted by Kaapa.

Tamahae, having accomplished the defeat of the Ngati-Porou, returned to his home in the Bay of Plenty. At Okarae, near Lottin Point, he sent for Kino in the Upoko-ngaruru pa. Kino was strongly advised to remain in the protection of the pa, for Tamahae's intentions were well understood. He, however, determined to go, trusting that Te Uanga, Tamahae's elder brother, would intercede on his behalf. Unfortunately for him, Te Uanga had left the expedition at Wharekahika. Kino remarked:

“Tena te ngaru whati, tena te ngaru puku.” (“There's a sea that breaks and there's a sea that doesn't.”)

Tamahae was the curling sea that would swamp him, while Te Uanga was the sea that would not break, but would safely bear him ashore.

As soon as Kino got into the canoe Tamahae ordered him to be bound. While he lay in the bottom of the canoe he asked where about they were, and being told they were off Karani, he remarked:

“Patua Kino i konei, kia taka te wairua o Kino taka i rota o Karani.”

(“Kill Kino here so that Kino's spirit may wander up and down Karani.”)

After Tamahae had struck him a blow on his temple Kino murmured:

“Me he ra e to ana Kino.”

(“Kino, alas, is like the setting sun.”)

Thus ended Kino, with humour playing on his lips to his last breath.

Tamahae's wanderlust and war-lust must be held responsible for the chain of five battles which occurred between Ngati-Porou and the Whanau-a-Apanui. He was indeed a warrior, dauntless and carefree. Because of his consciousness of his strength he began to “throw his weight about.”

An earlier clash between the two tribes prior to the fight at Nga Taipu ki Haronga was that at Maniaroa, midway between Te Araroa and Hicks Bay. It would appear that both tribes were anxious for a clash, and it was arranged that the meeting should take place at Maniaroa.

The northern army was led by a tried warrior chief Apanui-mutu, and the southern army was led by several chiefs. Apanui and his party were encamped on what is now known as Hicks Bay hill, while the Ngati-Porou were encamped on the plain below. As the Ngati-Porou chiefs, one after another, got up on their feet, exhorting the warriors to put their enemy to flight, Apanui observed a small party approaching along the beach. Pointing to the beach party, he remarked: “That's your enemy, for they are the warrior sons of Tuwhakairiora; but the rabble down on the plain, instructed by so many boasters, you just trample under your feet.” When the opposing sides clashed it was not long before the Ngati-Porou ranks began to waver, and some of their chiefs fell. Just at this juncture the small band, led by redoubtable Tohurouta, joined battle and heartened the wavering ranks. For every turn of Tuhorouta's taiaha

An elongated weapon of hardened wood with a long, narrow and edgeless blade. The deadliest of all native weapons.

a foe fell, until his weapon snapped in two. Tuhorouta, helpless, was taken prisoner, but, being a son of Tuwhakairiora, after being shamefully insulted, he was let free. His young brother, Aowehea, who was involved in the murder of Kowhaki already referred to, lost his life at Maniaroa.

I had at first placed the fight at Maniaroa in the series of fights between Ngati-Porou and Whanau-a-Apanui, consequent on the insults to Tamahae during his visit to Waiapu, but as Tamahae was a grandson of Apanui-mutu the victor at Maniaroa, the fight must have taken place prior to Tamahaes’ historic fight.

To wipe out this defeat Ngati-Porou organised a war expedition and met with disaster at the hands of the Whanau-aApanui at Te Piki-a-Te Atawhiua, inland of Whangaparaoa. Amongst the fallen were members of the Ngati-Hokopu subtribe. The Whanau-a-Apanui had, of course, been informed of the intention of Ngati-Porou and had selected a strategic point where to meet the enemy. The East Coast tribe were drawn into a trap and were taken by surprise. Many of them were driven into a swamp, where they floundered helplessly and were slain.

Smarting under defeat, Ngati-Porou once more in 1829 sent a war expedition to the Bay of Plenty to wipe out, as they had wished, the disgrace at Te Piki-a-Te Atawhiua. They stormed the Wharekura pa, to the east of Te Kaha, a strongly-fortified pa, which could be approached only by a narrow sandy isthmus. There Pakura was mortally wounded, and the Ngati-Porou ranks broke and fled. Pakura's voice still called on his people to rally, but it was of no avail. Kakatarau and Horua heard their elder's voice and the latter said: “The voice pains me, so let us return that we may also perish with our elder.” To this Kakatarau replied: “No, let us live to avenge his death some day.”

Beside Pakura, Te Porioterangi, forbear of Houkamau, and others met their death at Wharekura. Wharekura was Ngati-Porou's third defeat in succession.

Elated by their success, Whanau-a-Apanui returned the compliments by entering the Waiapu Valley in 1834. All Ngati-Porou had gathered for protection in Rangitukia and Whakawhitira pas. Kakatarau ruled in the former stronghold. Whanau-a-Apanui were so sure of meeting with another success that they actually brought with them a young chief, Maka Te Uhutu, to feast on the hearts of Ngati-Porou chiefs. For days the enemy encamped outside Rangitukia, and the local people were left guessing what their intention was. Probably they knew that Rangitukia was too well manned to be taken by assault. Tangitaheke, in whose veins coursed Ngati-Porou blood, warned Kakatarau that the Whanau-a-Apanui were plotting treachery. They had asked for a friendly talk and were actually seen approaching the pa. Kakatarau, after humming a well-known song, gave the order to fire with what few guns they possessed. Taken by surprise, Whanau-a-Apanui fled, leaving their dead behind. Kakatarau did not follow up his success, but permitted the enemy to gather their dead. These they burnt to cinders in fires which blazed day and night. And not until they had disposed of their dead did Whanau-a-Apanui leave for their homes in the Bay of Plenty.

Had Rangitukia fallen the Whanau-a-Apanui would probably have attacked Whakawhitira. Kakatarau and his people thus fought Ngati-Porou's battle and brought relief to the whole tribe.

The fight at Rangitukia took place in the year 1834. Soon after that Kakatarau, Pakura's eldest son, commenced preparations for an expedition to the Bay of Plenty as a final reckoning with the traditional enemy.

Word was sent to Nukutaurua (Mahia Peninsula), where chiefs from Hawke's Bay and the surrounding districts had gathered for fear of an invasion of their districts by Taupo and Waikato tribes. Te Wera, the Ngapuhi chief, was then living at Nukutaurua. Chiefs from Wairarapa were also asked to help, which they readily did, for Ngati-Porou, under Kaapa, had come to their assistance on a previous occasion. Some say that Kakatarau personally visited Nukutaurua. The result was a large fleet of war canoes, each manned by a distinct tribe under its own chief, was got ready. All chiefs from Wairarapa to Hicks Bay joined the expedition. The enemy had already fortified themselves in Toka-a-Kuku pa, at the point of the Te Kaha Peninsula, with the sea on two sides and a high wall formed on the landward side. The stronghold was large enough to include kumara plantations, and it proved impregnable.

The fleet set sail early in 1836. The invading tribes took up their position on the western side of the local tribes’ position, where they entrenched themselves. They laid siege to the pa, but after a few months it was found impossible to storm it. Fish and shellfish were easily procured in abundance by the defenders, and reinforcements came by sea. The defenders, to relieve the pressure, sent out sorties, who suffered severely. The besiegers, too, suffered from shortage of food and exposure to the weather. The first to break away from the ranks of the invaders by returning home was the chief Te Kani-a-Takirau; but Kakatarau, Te Wera and other chiefs held on persistently. Reinforcements from as far north as Whakatane came by land to the assistance of the defenders of Toka-a-Kuku. These were met at Puremu-tahuri stream and were severely punished. Those who tried to get away were pursued and slain. Paratene Ngata told me that at every spot where a chief was slain a carved wooden figure was erected and covered with a mat. These figures were still standing in his day.

Percy Smith, in his account of the siege of Toka-a-Kuku, reckons that the Bay of Plenty tribes lost 140 in the first battle. Mohi Turei puts down the number of killed as over 205. Amongst the fallen of the local tribes the most notable were Tuteranginoti and Kakapaiwaho, and of the invading tribes Parata, Kakatarau's brother, and Marino, Te Wera's son.

The Toka-a-Kuku campaign was remarkable for the fact that it was the last encounter between Ngati-Porou and their cousins, the Whanau-a-Apanui. Since then no tribes could be on more amicable terms than these two. The campaign was also remarkable for the fact that it was an occasion for the introduction into Maori warfare of Christian sentiments, which were propounded by Piripi Taumata-akura. During the Ngapuhi raids on the Ngati-Porou Tribe in 1824 Piripi was amongst the captives whom the conquerors carried off to the Bay of Islands. Whilst there he came under the influence of the missionaries at Paihia. With the Ngati-Porou chiefs who were carried away in a whaling ship to the Bay of Islands he was brought back by the Rev. William Williams in his little vessel, the Herald. He settled down at Whakawhitira, where, although he was not baptised, he began to preach the Gospel to the Ngati-Porou. Hundreds listened to him in wonder as he unfolded the wondrous story of the Cross. At Toka-a-Kuku he told the invaders that it was against Christian teachings to kill the wounded and to despoil the dead. Those of the invaders who fell were known to have disregarded Taumataakura's instructions.

Kakatarau died at Rangitukia and was buried in the Okaroro cemetery. He married the two daughters of the chief Te Rangimatemoana, viz., Poreterete and Waipounamu. All his children died, and he left no issue to perpetuate his name. Naturally his mantle fell on his younger brother, Mokena Kohere.

Chapter 5 A Versatile Chief

It has been mentioned that Mataura, the grandsire of Ngati-Hokopu, or Whanau-a-Rerewa, as the hapu was called in earlier times, lived in the Pukekiore pa. As his descendants increased in number they left the old home and began to build homes for themselves lower down the hill. It has also been mentioned that Pukemanuka, perched on a spur leading up to Pukekiore, was the home of Otauru and her husband, Te Ruinga. On the western side of Pukekiore was Paturangi pa, where Rarawa, Otauru's great father, killed Kowhaki.

And on the fertile flat land below, at the foot of the Pukekiore hill, we find traces of five pas, the homes of the descendants of Mataura and of Otauru and Te Ruinga. The names of the strongholds are Tapapanui, Popoia, Hurimoana, Torere and Waioratane. Pukekiore pa and its offshoots may be likened to a hen and her brood. The first three pas are placed so close together to one another that they look like partitions of one pa. It is perfectly clear that whoever occupied them must be of the same family. During the hearing of the Kautuku case these were all admitted, even by the opponents, to have been the homes of the Whanau-a-Rerewa, who were later named Ngati-Hokopu.

Nobody denied and denies that Hurimoana was Pakura's home. Here he lived with his wife, Moahiraia, and here their children, viz., Kakatarau, Parata, Mokena Kohere and Te Kooti Tipoki, were born. Parata, as it has been mentioned, was killed at Toka-a-Kuku.

During the lifetime of his brother, Kakatarau, Mokena Kohere was never mentioned, although he should have been old enough to have been present both at Toka-a-Kuku and Wharekura.

According to Dr. G. H. Scholefield Mokena Kohere was born in 1812.

We first hear of Mokena Kohere and his first wife, Erana Umutaru, living at Katikati, near the site of the Paturangi pa, on the Kautuku block. Here he was engaged in wheat growing, as was the whole sub-tribe. As a matter of fact, the whole Ngati-Porou Tribe was engaged in the industry. Paratene Ngata, describing to me the extent to which the tribe was engaged in wheat production, said: “Ura tonu te whenua katoa i te witi” (“The whole land was golden with wheat”). And yet the natives did not in those days possess agricultural implements. All they had was the pakeha's spade. The soil, free from weeds, was chipped and pulverised by hitting it with the back of the spade and then the seeds were broadcast and covered over by brushing the soil with branches of trees.

It would be impossible for one family to work its own wheat field without assistance. The work was performed by what was called “ohu” or working-bee. Only in this case the whole community or sub-tribe formed the “ohu.” When one field was finished the “ohu” moved on to the next, until all the community's fields were finished. Songs were often sung by the “ohu” to help keep time and to spur on the workers. With the singing in unison and chattering the scene was hilarious. All this work was given free; all that the owners were expected to do was to provide meals. Of course, the fattest of the family's pigs were reserved for the “ohu.” With the growing of wheat hand-grinding mills were imported from Auckland. With these simple contrivances the whole tribe ground their own flour. Along the countryside pieces of these mills may still be seen lying about, reminders of a once enterprising age. Mokena Kohere, as the head of the tribe, was foremost in leading the way. He was well on the way in the erection of a water mill when the Hauhau war broke out in 1865. The site chosen was on the Waikaka stream. I saw a long, solid puriri log laid from bank to bank to strengthen the dam to form the mill pond. The log was dragged by the whole community all the way from Tikapa, a distance of about five miles. It was a great pity that somebody commercially minded cut up the log into fence posts, instead of leaving it as a monument to the energy and enthusiasm of a bygone age.

Wheat production amongst the Ngati-Porou grew so much that a large quantity of the grain was shipped to the Auckland market. At first the grain was carried in vessels owned and manned by Europeans, but after a while the Ngati-Porou bought their own small schooners with the wheat they grew. There were about five of these schooners, viz., Mereana, Purere, Ihi Keepa, Kingi Paerata and Mawhai. They were all manned by Maoris. During the slack season the fleet was moored in the estuary of the Awatere River, to a pohutukawa tree on the right bank of the river. Strangely enough, only as recently as 1944 one of the main limbs of the tree was broken by a gale. Huripuku, who was known as the “Awatere pilot,” looked after the fleet during the cessation of trade. He owned Purere. The Kingi Paerata belonged to the sub-tribe at Tuparoa. While loading wheat at Tuparoa it was overloaded, so that when a southerly buster sprang up it foundered. When on a trip to Auckland the Kingi Paerata called in at Kennedy's Bay. The chief, Rakahurumai, before setting foot on shore, asked the local chief, Paora te Putu, to give him “a bit of soil on which to set his foot.” Paora did so, and when the land was put through the Native Land Court many years after it rose to the goodly area of 6,000 acres. Rakahurumai, with all his party, was blown out to sea by a westerly gale and was never heard of. To-day a section of the Ngati-Porou Tribe lives at Kennedy's Bay, so far away from their own ancestral territory.

Mokena Kohere was the owner of the Mereana, which he named after one of his daughters. He more often than not sailed Mereana himself to Auckland. Hori Mahue, a wellinformed Maori, told me that the chief on one occasion dropped anchor in a bay of Waiheke Island. The local chief made a gift of the island to him, but Mokena, some considerable time later, returned the island to the giver with thanks.

The end of the Mereana provides a strange story. During one of her visits to the port of Auckland she was in charge of a man of the Ngapuhi Tribe, from the north. While the Ngati-Porou members of the crew were absent in town the Ngapuhi captain took the schooner out of Waitemata Harbour. That was the last heard of the Mereana. In Te Too Takitini I wrote an article on the Ngati-Porou fleet of schooners and the mysterious disappearance of the Mereana. In 1934 a Ngapuhi clergyman told me he was much interested in the story. He said: “You know, when I was a young child I heard a song about the coming of Mereana into Whangaroa Harbour.” I was pleased to receive this proof of the reliability of my informant, old Tatari Piri, for from him only did I hear the story of the theft of the schooner. Not a word did I hear from my own people about it.

As the owner and captain of the Mereana, we may call this remarkable and versatile chief a sailor. He also had the reputation of being an intrepid boatman. During the year he would make trips by sea to Poverty Bay, for he was connected with sub-tribes in that district. He generally stayed with Paratene Turangi, Lady Carroll's grandfather. Paratene was massacred by Te Kooti after his escape from the Chatham Island in 1868. Because he was killed with a sword Mokena Kohere named his youngest son Wiremu Te Hoari (sword). Mr. Teddy Espie, a Poverty Bay settler, knew Mokena Kohere well. He told me that when coming ashore in a whaleboat he liked riding on the top of a sea that bore his boat with tremendous speed, with water arching on either side of the bow. With no concern whatever he held the steer oar and brought the boat on to the beach, high and dry.

Mokena Kohere, as all sailors should be, was a great fisherman; not that he regarded fishing in the light of sport, but because, like all Maoris, he was fond of fish diet. And yet there might have been an element of sport in his fishing, for he preferred one particular ground. That was Hapurapoi, a hapuku ground off East Cape. I suppose that point is as dangerous as any point in New Zealand. Within my own memory four boats have been wrecked off East Cape. Fishing at Hapurapoi must be attractive indeed to induce Mokena Kohere to pass by nearer and less dangerous grounds. During the years he lived at Orutua, fully eight miles north of East Cape, he never put out to sea on a fishing excursion but he preferred Hapurapoi. As a sailor he studied the weather well, and never did he visit Hapurapoi but returned with a full load and with even the largest of the hapuku towed alongside the boat. I learned from the elders that in early times, when the world was good and generous, one trip to East Island was sufficient to fill canoes with fish and crayfish enough to supply all the tribes in the Waiapu Valley. Paratene Ngata described to me the East Cape groper as “like a large, short, black pig with a small head.”

During a fairly long seafaring life Mokena Kohere was remarkably lucky. Only on one occasion did he meet with mishap at sea. He put his good luck down to the help of his nose. Whenever he had an occasion to put out to sea he always consulted his nose, for that was his unfailing guide. If that nose itched then nothing in the world would induce him to start a voyage or to go out fishing. Once, however, he disobeyed his nose's warning and he nearly lost his life, as well as that of his wife and of another. A sea trip from Te Araroa to Horoera in ordinary weather was safe enough. However, in spite of his nose's warning Mokena Kohere, with his wife, Hinekukurangi, and another, put out to sea from Te Araroa and hoisted the sail. They sailed over a submerged rock, which whipped up the sea and overturned the boat. Fortunately they were good swimmers, and all reached the shore safely, my grandmother with her precious clay pipe still in her mouth. It was, of course, full of water.

About half a century later, practically in the same locality, Mokena Kohere's son, Tuhaka, fought for his life. With two companions he had gone out from Te Araroa to do some fishing. On their way home something went wrong, and the little dinghy turned over. The mishap was not noticed from the shore. When his two companions succumbed Tuhaka tore off two pieces from the lining of the boat. With these to support him he drifted with the tide and wind and landed near Horoera, where he was found, benumbed and exhausted. It was reckoned Tuhaka drifted for about seven miles.

At the opening of this chapter it was stated that Mokena Kohere and his wife, Erana, lived at Katikati. It was during his residence here that his firstborn, Upaerangi, was burnt to death. Such an event would render the chief liable to the cruel exactions of the muru. The greater the person concerned the greater would be the demands on him. He was utterly helpless, for to resist the exactions of the muru was to lower oneself in the eyes of Maori good society. In fact, to be robbed under the principle of the muru was regarded as honouring the robbed. Parties appeared from all directions and seized everything within their reach, whether it was a horse, a cow, a pig, a goat, fowls, food, implements, furniture and clothes. Land was often confiscated. It would even be good Maori etiquette, if there was any food left in the home, to cook that and give it to the robbers, for, robbers though they were, they would still be guests. As Maning put it in his droll Irish way: “The victims welcomed the robbers.”

Aged Paratene Kamura deposed before the Native Land Court in 1913 that because of the death of Upaerangi, Mokena Kohere left Erana. And yet our opponents, in order to undermine Mokena Kohere's occupation of Katikati, claimed that Upaerangi had been adopted by their elder, Irimako, and as such he was burnt to death. That a powerful chief like Mokena Kohere should have given away his very first child, a son, to a comparative stranger is unthinkable. Our opponents succeeded, we lost. However, the case is sub judice.

After the conclusion of the fighting on the East Coast in 1865 some of the sub-tribes went to the seaside, where they could procure food, for the whole district was short of food. Mokena Kohere and some of his people went to Horoera, north of East Cape, where sea food could be found in abundance. One reason for his sojourn there was that the Whanau-a-Hunaara sub-tribe was one of the bitterest in their opposition to the Government and consequently towards the loyal chief. They were not pardoned, but were suspended. One of their number, Hakopa Te Aari, had compared Mokena Kohere to a carcass of mutton which he had cut up. To compare a chief to food was a serious insult. They were not pleased with the presence of the chief in their district, for in their opinion Mokena Kohere had intended to take their land. Events proved that their fears were groundless. Sir Donald McLean had also asked Mokena Kohere to keep an eye on the sub-tribes to see that they did not give further trouble.

After living at Horoera my grandfather moved to Orutua. Here I was born under a peach tree, as Sir James Carroll was born under a cabbage tree, or ti, as old Maoris more euphoniously called the pretty tree. Here also Mokena Kohere depastured a small flock of sheep, remnant of a larger flock he had at Waiapu before the outbreak of hostilities. As a matter of fact, Ropata Wahawaha and other chiefs also owned their own flocks. The native flocks were so badly infected that the Government in 1879 ordered that all sheep owned by Maoris were to be destroyed. As compensation the Government paid five shillings for a sheep and one shilling for a lamb. And now to-day the Ngati-Porou as a Maori tribe own the most sheep in the Dominion. Sheepfarming and dairying are their leading industries.

I being the eldest grandchild, my grandfather thought that the first anniversary of my birthday should be celebrated. I believe it was a notable occasion, attended by very many people. I shall not say any more about myself except to say that at Orutua I narrowly escaped being drowned in the Orutua River. I was old enough to walk along a pohutukawa tree that leaned over the river. Of course I lost my balance and fell into the deep water. My only companion was my uncle, William the Sword, about my own age. He had sense

Tokamapuhia To the rigth of the paddock is the side of Tokamapuhia, Aotaki's pa, where Tuwahakairiora met Ruataupere (page 5).

Pukekiore Hill The site of Pukekiore pa was on the right. This was the sence of a dramatic fight between Mataura and Paaka. To save his people, Mataura handed over his granddaughter, Whirituarangi, he Paaka (page 10). enough to know I was in imminent danger. He ran towards the house, and, seeing my mother, began tugging at her skirt and pointing to the river. His importunity and pointing to the river roused my mother's fears that something was wrong with me, for I was not to be seen anywhere. My mother was just in time to save me, otherwise I would not now be trying to write a book in a language other than my own.

Chapter 6 Mokena Kohere as a Builder

Mokena Kohere showed great interest in the work of the missionaries and rendered help as much as he could. In spite of his impetuous nature he endeavoured to behave and to do as the missionaries expected of him.

One thing he thought he could do and that was to build a large church at Rangitukia. First, he asked his people to accompany him into the bush and saw timber. Two saw-pits were erected some miles up the Maraehara River, close to a good supply of suitable timber. The natives, under the direction of Mokena Kohere, set to work with enthusiasm, and in a few months a sufficient supply of timber was ready. This was floated down the river, and from the river bank carried by the people to where it was intended to build the church. For the roof bundles of shingles were made ready.

Then trouble arose as to the dimensions of the proposed church. Mr. J. G. Baker, whose notes I quote, narrates: “We found the Maoris busy under the direction of Mokena Kohere and Pita Whakangaue preparing materials for building a large wooden church. Mokena, having an ambitious turn of mind, was anxious to construct on rather a gigantic scale, chiefly on account of adding importance to Rangitukia, his own principal pa, which he considered should be the recognised centre of attraction. Pita, on the other hand, being a quiet and practical man, contended that it was better to do things in moderation, and advocated building on a modified plan. The impetuous Mokena rose to his dignity and said he would have his own way or abandon the whole scheme, and, as an earnest of his determination, went off to the forest and dragged on to the ground a ridge pole measuring eighty feet in length.

“Then a battle began and raged so fiercely that at length my father was called upon to arbitrate. Although fully in sympathy with Pita, he, finding an overwhelming majority favoured Mokena's plan, very reluctantly gave his verdict on his behalf. Poor old Pita was much distressed at the decision, but rose high in our estimation by his patient submission, and he entered with all his energy into the work of construction. But before very long he and Mokena again came in conflict, and my father was appealed to to settle the dispute. On this occasion he gave judgment in favour of Pita, much to the disgust of Mokena, who, throwing down his tools, stated that he was a passionate man, but having promised himself never to insult the missionary, he would retire from the scene.” After a long while he returned to Rangitukia.

Mokena Kohere went to Kawakawa (Te Araroa) and helped the local tribe to erect a church for themselves. The church built at Rangitukia was named St. John, the first church built on the East Coast. It was destroyed by fire during the Hauhau troubles in 1865. The church at Kawakawa was built in 1861, and named St. Stephen. In the plan of the Pa-kairomiromi the church is clearly seen at a distance.

Rangitukia, as Mokena Kohere wished it to be, did become a very important centre, a Gospel centre from which the evangelisation of the East Coast was carried out. There is a famous haka of the Ngati-Porou which to-day is often recited and performed with zest. I give only the opening lines:

Rangitukia was the hub whence four teachers were sent out: Ruka to Reporua, Hohepa to the coast, Kawhia

A venerable, fully tattooed Maori clergyman.

to Whangakareao, Apakura to Whangapirita, e.

Bishop William Williams, first Bishop of Waiapu, in his interesting book

Christianity Amongst the New Zealanders.

narrates:

“Four years ago I was travelling along the Bay of Plenty in company with the Rev. Rota Waitoa

The first Maori ordained in the Church of England.

and Mokena Kohere, the leading chief of Ngati-Porou. At Maketu, when the people of the place came together, Mokena spoke to them about the want of a church for their village. The answer given was: ‘We are waiting for the pakeha to build it for us. We are looking to the Bishop and to Archdeacon Brown.’ This was just the keynote for Mokena. ‘I will tell you what we have done at Waiapu,’ he said. ‘We began at first with chapels of raupo, which soon decaye and fell to pieces; but, knowing that the pakeha built with wood, we thought we would have churches like theirs. We had no money to pay English sawyers with, so we went into the woods ourselves and cut down timber, and I took charge of one of the pits myself. Then came the difficulty about erection. Carpenters' wages are high, but dressing the boards seemed to be a simple process, so we bought planes and other tools, and, having cut the timber, we then became our own carpenters; and there the buildings stand for you to look at. Now, I recommend you not to wait for the pakeha to build your church for you, but go and put it up yourselves.’”

Whenever Mokena Kohere went to Wellington to attend to his Parliamentary duties he had to be picked up by the Government steamer Luna and returned home in the same way. My grandmother, Hinekukurangi, with one or two of the children, often accompanied him. He made the acquaintance of the Wairarapa chief, Hikawera Mahupuku. They became very great friends. To cement their friendship Mokena Kohere took a fine-looking Ngati-Porou woman, whom he gave Hikawera for his wife. The chief and the woman proved very faithful to each other, for the woman came home only after the death of her husband. On one occasion the chief accompanied Mokena to the East Coast, where he and his wife stayed for quite a long time.

Hikawera asked Mokena to build him a large carved house, worthy of his position as a great chief. Mokena took with him some of the expert carvers of the Ngati-Porou and the result of their work was the erection of a magnificent house at Kehemane, Martinborough. It was called “Takitimu,” and it took eight years to finish it. The carved slabs of the house were large and high, for timber was abundant in Wairarapa in those early days.

There was some talk of the Government removing the house to Wellington, but before the final arrangements were completed that beautiful work of Maori art was destroyed by fire.

Chapter 7 A Fiery Peacemaker

Mr. J. G. Baker, who knew Mokena Kohere intimately, aptly describes him: “Mokena Kohere, possessed of an indomitable spirit, ruled the people by force of character. He was brave, powerful and yet of an extremely kind and gentle disposition; except when roused, when he was like a firebrand.” To describe a firebrand, brave and powerful, and yet extremely kind and gentle is paradoxical.

My grandfather lived long enough for me to find him out as a fierce tyrant and also as gentle as a woman. But for occasional spasms of rage he was gentle, unselfish, merciful and magnanimous. He was passionately fond of children, as all Maoris are. I remember when the family was living at Pohakiu, near Horoera, when we the children were left in the care of my grandfather while my father and mother with others were out early on the plantations and during the cool of the morning how he tenderly minded us. He would not awaken us, but let us sleep on as long as we liked. On awakening we found a simple meal prepared by my grandfather awaiting us. After we had cleaned up everything the old man was left with nothing, but he contented himself with the scraps left in the bottom of the dish, which he scraped with his finger. That was his habit. He could never bear to see a child's meal spoilt. If a child happened to cry during meal time grandfather would rise to his feet, lift the dish of food between his two hands and throw it outside to the waiting dogs, remarking: “If the child's meal is spoilt nobody else is going to enjoy his.” People knew this eccentricity of grandfather and took great care that no child was put out during meal times.

During his visits to Wellington to attend to his Parliamentary duties he invariably took one of his youngest children to keep him company. He found the city's hard footpaths very trying to his feet, and often the old man would be seen with his boots strung over his shoulders while his little son followed a yard or two behind.

Throughout his long life he was always thoughtful. It was his habit, when there was a meal or a feast to share amongst a number of people, instead of helping himself with the best, as was his due, he called on everybody to help himself, while he looked on smiling. Because of his unselfishness he refrained from attending the Native Land Court whilst other people were straining every effort to establish claims, true or false. To-day, however, we, his descendants, are paying heavily for his indifference, for people well trained in the methods of the Native Land Court have ousted us from Marangairoa 1 D, the very land Mokena Kohere took so much trouble to conserve. It has fallen to my lot to carry on a fight both before Parliament and the Native Land Courts for over 35 years, to regain our heritage and our sacred places.

Mokena Kohere was far-seeing enough to realize that the sooner titles to the Ngati-Porou lands were ascertained the sooner would those lands be sold to the white man. He therefore, as Paratene Ngata related in the Native Appellate Court, proclaimed Ngati-Porou lands inalienable. When the Native Land Court building was erected at Wai-o-Matatini he threatened to burn it down. He was compelled by the force of circumstances to restrict only lands north of the Waiapu River, and ultimately only the Marangairoa 1 D. block. When a trig station was erected on Pukekiore Hill, on the block, the chief Anaru Kahaki and others pulled it down and were arrested for carrying out what they considered their chief's policy and wish. In 1913 the block, otherwise known as Kautuku, came before Judge R. N. Jones. The judgment of the court was against Mokena Kohere's people, in spite of the fact that their occupation of the land was admitted by our opponents and the existence of four tribal burial places was not denied.

Under Sir George Grey's scheme of local government for the natives, which he launched in 1861, Mokena Kohere was appointed a magistrate. He made a very strict one and often took the law into his own hands. Owing to the absence of a gaol offenders were shackled with iron chains. The Government scheme was not popular with the natives, for they saw that the native officers were all paid. They grew suspicious and began to show hostility openly. Mr. William B. Baker was the Government representative, and in the eyes of the natives the embodiment of the mana of which they were suspicious. The natives came in a large body and demanded that Mr. Baker must leave at once. Mokena Kohere thereupon asked him to go with him to his own home at Waioratane, near the sea. As the chief and the British officer left they were followed by a howling mob. It was evident that but for Mokena Kohere some harm would have befallen Mr. Baker. The chief and his charge were met by a band of twenty loyal natives, who formed a guard. After the party had crossed the Maraehara River Mokena turned round and drew a line on the ground, challenging the rioters to cross it at their own risk. They thought discretion was the better part of valour. Mr. Baker took up his residence at Waioratane and later Mokena gave the Government that piece of land known as Tarata for a residence site for the Government representative and for a school.

Mokena Kohere's influence for good and peace extended far and near amongst the tribes. He was related to the chief Paratene Turangi, Lady Carroll's paternal grandfather, who was brutally massacred by Te Kooti after his escape from the Chatham Islands in 1868. It was alleged that Paratene was struck with a sword and, Maori-like, Mokena Kohere named his youngest son William the Sword.

I cannot do better than insert here a contributed article published in the Poverty Bay Herald in 1937:

“References to past incidents which took place in Poverty Bay and the East Coast, and to personages hardly heard of to-day or known only to a few, occasionally appear in your columns. The fact shows that the history of the district is not yet fully written, or an impartial historian is awaited to place on record all authentic incidents and the doings of men and women who played their part in the early history of Poverty Bay and the East Coast.

“One such reference appeared in your issue of May 15, 1937, in the interesting recollections of Mrs. Mere Kingi Paraone Ratapu. The centenarian mentioned how the Ngati-Porou chief, Mokena Kohere, endeavoured to persuade the local tribes not to join the Hauhau movement. To impress his countrymen, the chief carried the Union Jack. Unfortunately Kohere was able to persuade only two, one of whom was the chief Tamihana Ruatapu. It was Tamihana, although a loyalist, who ceded the Kaimoe block to the Crown as some atonement for the sins of his people. His descendants are to be found to-day at Manutuke.”

I heard the late Lady Carroll (who was related to Mokena Kohere) say in the Native Land Court that but for the Ngati- PorouNgati Porou chief she and her people would have been massacred by Te Kooti's men. Even then her grandfather, Paratene Turangi, perished at the hands of the rebels.

We read in Bishop W. L. Williams’ East Coast Historical Records, which was published in the Poverty Bay Herald, that to inspire the local tribes to remain steadfast, Mokena Kohere hoisted the Union Jack on the bank of the Waikanae. When he found he was unable to save the inland tribes he, according to Mere Kingi, took immediate steps to break up the Hauhau movement in Poverty Bay, which he had already accomplished on the coast.

Mokena Kohere was one of the few owners of the land on which the town of Gisborne now stands. They sold it to the Government for about £2,000, although they asked for a much larger sum.

More could be said about Mokena Kohere. Maori chiefs who were notable for their ruthlessness, bloodshed and brutality have become famous, but Kohere, the patriot, the diplomat and the peacemaker, is hardly known, although the Government of his day fully showed its appreciation of his signal services to the country by appointing him to the Legislative Council in 1872. He remained in the Legislative Council until 1887, when he resigned his seat. Monuments erected or subscribed by the Government are found all over the country, but no Government has thought it worth while to raise a stone over Mokena Kohere. The one that marks the spot where he now lies was erected by his own children and grandchildren. It may be said of Mokena Kohere: “To his grave he went, unwept, unhonoured and unsung.”

Bishop W. L. Williams gives a fuller account of the hoisting of the Union Jack at Gisborne by Mokena Kohere. He writes: “Soon after this—the refusal of the Rongowhakaata Tribe to listen to advice not to side with the Hauhaus—some little excitement was caused by the action of Mokena Kohere, the Ngati-Porou chief, who had come on a visit to Paratene Turangi and his people. He had always been a strong opponent of the Kingites at Waiapu, and on his arrival he began to use rather violent language with reference to the Hauhaus, urging that, if they should refuse to abandon Hauhauism when urged to do so, they should at once be treated as enemies and war should be declared against them. The Ngaitekete hapu at Taruheru had brought out of the forest a great spar which they talked of erecting at Turanganui as a flagstaff on which the British Ensign should be hoisted. Mokena proposed that a meeting of those who were well disposed towards the Government should be held at Taruheru to consider the expediency of erecting the flagstaff at once, and that the European residents should be invited to attend the meeting. The meeting was held on May 18, 1865, and the opinion of the majority of the speakers, including Paratene, was that it would be well not to hurry the matter, as it would certainly give offence to many, but that the question should be further discussed at Turanganui on the following day. In the morning, when most of the people had left for Turanganui, Mokena, with the help of some of the young men, manned a whaleboat and towed a moderate-sized spar down the river. This they erected at once on the river bank, near the mouth of the Waikanae creek. Upon this the British Ensign was immediately hoisted, and in the course of a day or two a rough stockade was erected round it, Ngaitekete taking charge of it.

“The hesitation which was shown at Taruheru was owing to the apprehension that trouble might be caused by the Hauhaus, but this apprehension was not realised. Much indignation was expressed during the succeeding three or four weeks, especially by people who, if not openly favourable, were at least not strongly opposed to the Hauhaus, but as those who had erected the flagstaff were on their own ground the excitement gradually subsided. One of the most strenuous opponents was Hirini Te Kani, who had a share in the title to the land on which the flagstaff was erected, and considered himself aggrieved because the Ngaitekete had ignored him and had done what he did not thoroughly approve. When Mr. Donald McLean came in the St. Kilda, on June 4, and a number of people took the oath of allegiance, Hirini refused to take it unless the obnoxious flagstaff should first be taken down.”

There was also a bitter quarrel between the Ngati-Maru hapu of Manutuke and the Ngaitawhiri hapu over a piece of land known as Aohuna. The dispute nearly ended in bloodshed. Each side was drawn up ready for the fray when Mokena Kohere appeared on the scene by walking between the two opposing lines. He called on the rival parties to lay down their arms or shoot him first if they must fight. This bold action of the Ngati-Porou chief happily led to cessation of trouble.

People often wonder why only 5,000 acres of the NgatiMaru land was taken as atonement for their crime in joining the Hauhau movement. When Government agents and representatives of the natives haggled over the terms of confiscation Mokena Kohere put in an appearance and straightway told the agents that what had been offered them was ample. The chief Raharuhi Rukupo in later years, with other gifts from his people to express their gratitude to Mokena Kohere for his services to them, gave Mokena the greenstone patu known as “Hinewirangi.”

At the time of the Royal visit in 1901 medals were given to many who took part in the celebrations. Here, I think, the following letter, from a Poverty Bay chief, should be inserted:

Poho-o-Rawiri,

Gisborne.

July 8, 1901. To the Editor,Te Pipiwharauroa,

Gisborne.

I think it is proper you should publish the enclosed list of names of Ngati-Porou chiefs who were not given medals. Only two chiefs were given medals. How could Apirana Ngata have the courage to slight these chiefs? It would not have been so bad if descendants of Mokena Kohere were included, for he was the chief who enabled tribal fires to be rekindled, both in Poverty Bay and Waiapu. Other chiefs were heard of only in later years.

The following is the list of chiefs drawn up by Wi Pere to receive medals, but because of Apirana Ngata's interference only two were accepted:

Of Ngati-Porou: Pine Tuhaka, Te Whakatihi, Neho Kopuka, Wiremu Keiha, Te Houkamau, Tuhaka Kohere, Tuta Nihoniho, Tamanui-te-ra.

From Bay of Plenty: Pare Koihu, Waikura, Paora Ngamoki, Te Paea Kingi, Te Aporotanga, Te Whenuanui.

The two chiefs who were selected by Apirana Ngata were Te Houkamau and Waikura.

I remain, Rawiri Karaha.

When the above letter was published in Te Pipiwharauroa little did I think it would cause a hullabaloo. As I was editor of the Maori paper I formed the butt of attack. Apirana Ngata's numerous friends took up the matter very seriously. As the writer of the letter made a special mention of my grandfather as being specially entitled to receive a medal, it was generally accepted I had inspired the letter. I really was quite innocent. The matter was even discussed at the annual meeting of the Te Aute College Students’ Association, at which there was present a large contingent of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. I was glad of the opportunity to clear myself. I explained that I took the trouble to submit the letter to Archdeacon H. W. Williams, publisher of Te Pipiwharauroa, who readily said: “Yes, publish it by all means, for it concerns a public matter.” Judging by the readiness with which the Archdeacon answered my query I gathered that Rawiri Karaha had consulted him about his letter.

Viewing the matter dispassionately, I see no reason in the world why the letter should not have been published. There was nothing libellous in it, and all its statements were perfectly correct. Rawiri Karaha, the author, was a very respectable man, whom no one could accuse of having an axe to grind. Both he and Wi Pere did not belong to the Ngati-Porou Tribe, but Wi Pere was then the member in Parliament for the district, and therefore it was his duty to recommend chiefs for the Royal favour. It was evident he collaborated with Rawiri Karaha in composing the letter. What was really puzzling was why Apirana Ngata was permitted to interfere with the list of names, for he then held no official position. The whole matter was triflng but for the fact Apirana Ngata was a brilliant university scholar and a budding politician. He ousted the veteran Wi Pere in 1905, and was a member of the House continuously until 1943, when he was defeated by Tiaki Omana. I would have defeated him earlier in 1938 if Omana had not split my vote.

One thing the letter shows is that Wi Pere and Rawiri Karaha picked out whom they considered rangatiras of both the Ngati-Porou and the Bay of Plenty tribes. Why only one chief from each district was selected was difficult to understand.

The Peacemaker

After a large meeting at Ruatoki in 1917, when a monu- mentmonument to the memory of the chief Numia Kereru was unveiled, I, with a large party of Ngati-Porou, was weatherbound at Whakatane. A Tuhoe chief named Tutanga-a-hau had followed us to Whakatane and was with us the three days we were there. No one of our party knew who the old man was. One evening he rose to his feet in his corner, and, fixing his eyes on me, asked: “Are you a grandson of Mokena Kohere?”

The question was answered in the affirmative by others for me.

Then he continued: “Yonder,” pointing towards the mouth of the river, “is Muriwai's Cave, where chiefs from the Tuhoe, Ngatiawa and other tribes were confined as prisoners of war, waiting to be deported to the Chatham Islands. All these tribes were in mourning because of the sad prospect of losing their chiefs. Then my father, whose name I bear, could not stand the strain any longer. So one day, packing up a few clothes he possessed, he mounted a little horse and started, all alone, on a long ride towards the east.

“For weeks and weeks not a word did we hear about him, until one morning the Government steamer Luna dropped anchor in the offing. The sight of the Government steamer was taken to mean that the dreaded hour had come when our chiefs would be taken away from us. Mourning was increased. Then a boat was lowered from the ship and pulled towards the mouth of the river. As it neared the beach Tutanga-a-hau was observed sitting at the stern of the boat, and with him another Maori, big and fully tattooed. As soon as the boat touched land the stranger stood up and addressed the assembled tribes, men, women and children. He said: ‘Greetings to you, people of Ngati-awa, and Tuhoe. I have come to bring home Tutanga-a-hau. Furthermore, people, I have also to bring peace. My word to you is, return each tribe to its own district to rekindle its own fire. Now peace is made, let Maori and pakeha in the future live as one people.’”

Mokena Kohere's message was received with the greatest joy. As Tutanga-a-hau resumed his seat Paratene Waiti and others spoke in high praise of the Ngati-Porou chief. They testified that Mokena Kohere had done exactly the same thing to Ngati-Porou, whose lands would otherwise have been confiscated.

Hatiwira Houkamau, the Hicks Bay chief, told me also that he had accompanied Mokena Kohere on his mission of conciliation to all tribes in the Bay of Plenty who had thrown in their lot with the Hauhaus. It should be pointed out as a matter of history that Bay of Plenty tribes from Torere (with Ngaitai excepted) to Cape Runaway, although they joined the rebellious movement, did not, like Ngati-Porou, lose any land through confiscation. For this impunity and the pardon extended to them they are indebted to Mokena Kohere and Wiremu Kingi.

I have given, as Mr. J. G. Baker describes, “the extremely kind and gentle” side of Mokena Koheres’ character. I now limn its fiery side.

A Fiery Chief

Mokena Kohere, as the handy chief he was, was in the habit of placing his crayfish pots off the Whakori Bluff, south of East Cape, overnight, and of lifting them in the morning. Before sunrise he put out in his little canoe, and had also loaded his gun in case a sea bird would come along which would supply bait for his pots.

It happened that a larger canoe with several people on board had come from East Cape and had lifted and emptied Mokena's crayfish pots. Perhaps the poachers had not expected that the chief himself would come to lift his pots. However, there he was paddling towards them. It was an awkward moment, for it was well known that Mokena resented tampering with his crayfish pots and eel baskets, although he might give away half his kingdom to anyone who asked him honestly.

When the canoes approached each other the guilty crew called out to Mokena that they had emptied his crayfish pots and had the crayfish in the canoe. The chief pretended not to have heard them. They cried out again: “Eh, Mokena, we have your crayfish.” Without warning the chief lifted his loaded gun and cried out, “Your own crayfish, not mine,” and fired.

The men had anticipated what would happen and in time lay in the bottom of the canoe, at the same time tilting it so that the charge of shot spattered on the side of the canoe. All at once the “firebrand” recovered himself sufficiently to laugh.

A woman died a few years ago who was given the name Rati, or Lance, because Mokena Kohere in a terrible fury had sworn that if he had the opportunity he would have driven a lance through another chief's belly because he had needlessly annoyed him.

A Costly Pig

Although Paratene Kamura, on the whole, was a truthful witness in the Native Land Court there was an incident related during the hearing of the Marangairoa 1 D. case that did not redound to his credit. One of Mokena Kohere's numerous activities was pig-rearing. He had a number of pigs running at Tutae-Whererei on Okahu or 1 D. 6. One day one of the large hogs was missing. It was ascertained that Paratene Kamura had killed the pig and carried the body to Haha, three miles away, where a number of men were working.

Mokena was furious that such an insult should have been committed in defiance of his mana, so without hesitation he, accompanied by an armed party, left for Haha. Fortunately warning had been given to the pork-eaters, who at once started scrub and bracken fires everywhere. The muru party, baffled with smoke, was obliged to abandon their mission and to return to their homes at Okahu. The matter was, however, inquired into later by a committee, which found Paratene Kamura and his accomplices guilty. They were fined heavily, being compelled to forfeit several horses to atone for their sin. The fine was out of all proportion to the offence of stealing one pig. The stolen pig was, however, not an ordinary pig, for it belonged to a great and powerful chief. Was not death the fate of anyone who killed a royal deer in England in ages past?

A Ferocious Ngati-Hoko

I may here, perhaps, relate an incident in which a relative of Mokena Kohere's was the leading actor. Te Paaka, an uncle of the Rev. Mohi Turei, always carried a hatchet in his belt, and even slept with it. And yet I never heard he ever assaulted anyone with that hatchet of his. Te Paaka happened to be a member of a party which was travelling in a canoe from Waiapu to Horoera, seven miles north of East Cape. There was a bit of a sea running in, and therefore great responsibility as to the safety of the party rested on the man who had command of the canoe. As the party paddled hard towards the shore they were overtaken by a sea which was not considerable. It carried the canoe with it, but whether it was the fault of the steersman or not the canoe slewed and capsized.

The crew were thrown into the sea and made for the shore as best they could. But old Te Paaka, as he came up to the surface, forgetting the circumstances in which he was, pulled out his hatchet and swam towards the steersman, who was making for the shore. The steersman, seeing the ferocious old man with hatchet in hand, swam faster and was out of danger's way. Mohi Turei told me his uncle was given the name “Te Wa,” that is, “The War Man.”

In 1886 a terrible event happened in the Waiapu Valley: the chief Hamana Mahuika was fatally shot by a native named Naera. Tribes in their hundreds came to Whakawhitira to lament over the massacred chief. Mokena Kohere, with a number of his Ngati-Hokopus, came armed, even with their guns loaded. When the party arrived on the bank of the Waiapu, overlooking the settlement at Whakawhitira, they gave a volley. The people across the river could hear the whistling bullets overhead, and, leaving the body, ran away. When the supply of bullets ran out the fiery chief and his followers crossed the river, and, as though nothing had happened, wept over the dead chief who lay in state. In accordance with ancient custom anybody could be killed in atonement for the shedding of blood, especially in the case of a murdered chief.

Axe Poised over Corpse

One more incident I shall record to illustrate the fiery nature of my grandfather. My cousin, Mihi Heni, had died at Orutua, and a large number of people came to hold the tangi. The body was laid out on a litter in a large tent, one side of which was raised so that mourners could see the body.

As usual at a tangi, the question of burial of the body was discussed on the marae, and often, as a matter of courtesy, different tribes asked that the foody might be buried in their particular burial grounds. Relatives of the deceased naturally wished to take the body to Rangitukia, and in accordance with Maori custom they were perfectly right, for my grandfather really belonged to Rangitukia. My grandfather, however, would not hear of my cousin's body being taken to Rangitukia for burial; he wanted it buried at Taumata-aKura, near Horoera. I believe now his reason was because Tuhorouta, his warrior ancestor, was buried there. My grandfather, the autocrat that he was, could never brook opposition, particularly by small men. He lost his temper and broke out into a violent rage. Seizing an axe he walked towards the body and, poising the axe in the air over his head, he cried out to the already scattered crowd: “I'll decide the matter. I'll cut the body into halves. Your half you can take to Rangitukia and bury it there; my half I'll bury here.”

Before he took action my mother flung herself on the body. The old man, not to be baulked in his purpose, threw my frail mother on the ground and the body sprawled out of the coffin. Remembering how gentle and tender my grandfather had always been, I could hardly believe he could be anything else. I did not fully realize the enormity of his intention. I walked quietly to him and looked at my cousin's body spread out on the ground. I believe it was my innocent and childish act that melted by grandfather and brought him to his senses and saved him from committing an act for which he would be sorry all the rest of his life.

During the awful drama everybody except my mother and me scampered into the bush and did not appear until dark. Of course, the question of burial was not further pursued. The old man had his own way and Mihi Heni was buried at Taumata-a-kura.

Tender-Hearted Chief

I could add incidents in the life of Mokena Kohere to illustrate the fieriness of his nature. On the other hand, it is on record that during the absences of a missionary from home it was the habit of the great chief to sleep at night on the verandah of the missionary's house so that the missionary's wife and her young children could feel secure. No woman could boast of a nobler and humbler guardian.

Mokena Kohere's action in pardoning on his own responsibility the rebels whom he helped to subdue stamped him for all time as a magnanimous peacemaker. (See Chapter 8.)

It is well known that Mokena Kohere did not approve the deportation of Te Kooti Rikirangi and others to the Chatham Islands without first being tried. When Te Kooti invaded Poverty Bay after his escape from the island in 1868, after killing Paratene Turangi, he compelled a large number of peaceful natives to accompany him in his wanderings.

After the fall of Ngatapa these people broke away from Te Kooti and tried to return to their homes. They could not be sure whether they would be permitted, so for some time they camped in the bush on the Poverty Bay hills without coming out into the open. Smoke of fires was observed, so the relatives of the unhappy natives went out to investigate. As a matter of fact, feeling ran so high amongst the white settlers after the brutal murders committed by the escapees that it was considered unsafe for the natives to come down to their homes. Mokena Kohere was acquainted of the plight of the wanderers and he arranged for them to accompany him to his home on the East Coast, where they stayed for several years until feeling in Poverty Bay cooled down.

This was not the first time that members of the NgatiMaru Tribe emigrated to the East Cape district. When I was quite a little boy I remember seeing the remnants of these people. Amongst them were Irihāpeti, Te Kooti's wife, and her son, Wetini Rikirangi. Wetini was well known in Poverty Bay, and his descendants to-day live at Opou, near Manutuke.

Old Pakaku, long generally suspected of having caused the death of several people by indulging in the black art, was found shot dead in his little hut at Tuparoa, East Coast. Very little fuss was made over the case, for the murderer was regarded as having rid the tribe of a menace. And it was also generally expected that beautifully tattooed and handsome old Makaea would be the murderer's next victim. To prevent another atrocity and to save an innocent old man Mokena Kohere took Makaea to Pohakiu, near Horoera, where we were living at the time. As a child I used to wonder why my grandfather took interest in the old man, especially when people whispered into my childish ears that old Makaea was a wizard. I thought then that he did look like one. Makaea was always busy looking after my grandfather's taro

A vegetable like the yam of the Islands.

patch.

Only late in life did I find out why my grandfather had taken the old man under his wing.

Chapter 8 Hauhau Rising on the East Coast

War in Waitara broke out in 1860. After much debating the country has now accepted the fact that the war was unjust and that the natives had been compelled to defend their rights. The New Zealand Government now pays the Taranaki tribes an annuity of £5,000 in compensation.

It may therefore be claimed that the fighting that followed the war in Waitara, viz., in Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, the East Coast, and the Hauhau rising everywhere were repercussions of that war. The tribes in Waikato sympathised with Wiremu Kingi te Rangitake and helped him in his struggle against the Government forces because they knew he was in the right. Furthermore, they felt also that it would be only a matter of time when they would be defending their own lands against the aggressive white man. It must therefore be admitted that the anti-Government attitude of the tribes was pardonable and justified. If the tribes were justified, then the wholesale confiscation of their lands was unjust also. There was no doubt that it was the general desire of the white settlers to obtain as much land as possible from the natives, and to-day the Maoris as a whole are landless. But for social security thousands of them would certainly starve. The greatest problem amongst the Maoris to-day is economic. Without their lands it is my opinion the Maoris as a people are without hope in the world.

Referring to events in Taranaki at the time of the Waitara trouble, Alan Mulgan, in his Short History of New Zealand, says:

“If the first Taranaki war had not broken out there might have been no Waikato war, no second Taranaki war, no Hauhau rebellion; in short, no wars at all, for undoubtedly there was a chain of events.”

I may add there would be no confiscation of native lands and therefore there would be no heartburning, no ill-feeling, and no landlessness of many tribes in New Zealand.

Referring to the trouble over the Waitara land, a Maori chief said: “The Governor has set fire to the fern at Taranaki, and the smoke will cover the whole island.”

The campaign against the Hauhaus on the East Coast in 1865 has been told by Col. T. W. Gudgeon, Bishop W. L. Williams, Thomas Lambert and James Cowan. They all agree on the main facts, but they miss very interesting and important details which are well known to the Maoris. I, of course, have heard much from the Maoris regarding the campaign on the East Coast, but I had not troubled to arrange the facts and events in any orderly form until late in life.

I am interested in the history of the campaign chiefly for the part my grandfather, Mokena Kohere, had taken in it. I consulted the chief Paora Haenga, Hori Kohuru, Hori Te Manana and others. The first two had joined the ranks of the Hauhaus, and the latter, like his brother, Pineamine Tuhaka, was a staunch loyalist. The chief Arapeta Haenga, Paora's father, co-operated with Mokena Kohere.

I asked Paora why he had not followed his father. He readily replied, laughing, that he preferred the company of the rebels for the reason there were pretty girls amongst them. This shows that hundreds joined the rebellious movement without any serious reasons.

From Paratene Ngata, Sir Apirana Ngata's father, a very well-informed and careful narrator, I also learned much. He had called a meeting of the Ngati-Porou Tribe to discuss the question whether the Ringatu church should be permitted to hold its meetings in the Waiapu Valley. He gave an account of what followed the conclusion of the war on the East Coast. All this was not told by the historians I have referred to. Bishop Williams, in his East Coast records, says that the Government did not confiscate the Ngati-Porou lands because Sir Donald McLean felt generous for the part Ngati-Porou took in assisting the Government. He forgets that only a handful of the tribe remained loyal, while hundreds cast in their lot with the rebels. T. W. Gudgeon states, “Ngati-Porou as a tribe had always been inimical to the pakeha, and strong supporters of the Maori king.” James Cowan follows in the same strain: “Patara preached Pai Marire throughout the East Cape settlements, and many hundreds of the numerous Ngati-Porou Tribe became disciples of the new faith.”

All Ngati-Porou are unanimous in stating that the Ngati-Porou lands were saved owing to the action of the loyal chiefs, particularly to the uncompromising attitude of Mokena Kohere. So little reference is made by the pakeha historians to the central Maori figure, that of the chief Mokena Kohere, that one may wonder why the Government of the day chose the chief as one of the two Maoris to be first called to the Legislative Council in 1872, and why Her Majesty Queen Victoria presented him with a handsome sword for valour. Lambert states it was the Rev. Mohi Turei who stirred up Mokena Kohere's enthusiasm and loyalty, and that the chief took no part in the important fight at Pakairomiromi when by every reason he should have. Native eye-witnesses state that he did.

In his Thirty Years of Colonial Government, Sir George Bowen records the interesting ceremony which took place at Government House, Wellington, on June 20, 1870, when he as Governor presented the swords of honour sent by Her Majesty Queen Victoria as tokens of recognition of the valour and loyalty of Keepa te Rangihiwinui, Ropata Wahawaha and Mokena Kohere. Addressing the Ngati-Porou chiefs, His Excellency said: “Your tribe has rivalled the Wanganuis in loyalty to the Crown, in goodwill to your English neighbours, and in gallantry in war.… Here, Ropata and Mokena, are your swords, presented to you by the Queen. May you long wear them in health and honour.”

Two years later, after careful consideration, the Governor summoned to the Legislative Council and to the Executive, “Mokena Kohere, of Waiapu, a chief of high rank and commanding influence in the great clan of the Ngati-Porous, and who was recently presented by Her Majesty with a sword of honour for his long and gallant services in fighting for the Crown during the second Maori War.”

Hauhaus Enter Ngati-Porou Territory

After the shocking massacre of the Rev. C. S. Volkner, at Opotiki, on March 2, 1865, the Hauhaus, led by the Taranaki native, Patara (Butler), wended their way towards East Cape. There was good reason for the move, for Ngati-Porou had already evinced sympathy with the kingite movement, by sending delegates to the great meeting held at Rangiriri in April, 1857.

Hoera Tamatatai, leader of the delegation, had delivered a great speech at the big conference, pointing out that the pakeha and Maori could never pull together. “You might as well,” he said, “yoke a horse with a bullock, for the horse would kick and the bullock use his horns” (“Ka whana te hoiho, ka tuki te kau.”) On the return of Hoera and his party they brought with them the kingite flag Rura. This was duly hoisted at Wai-o-Matatini, when the chief Popata Te Kauru was made king.

When the war in Waikato broke out in 1863 a contingent of Ngati-Porou sympathisers set out for the scene of war. Their progress was stopped by the Arawa at Kaokaoroa, but those who got through later took part in the Gate Pa and Te Ranga fights in 1864, and several of them were killed.

It may be remembered also that a Ngati-Porou chief, Te Kani-a-Takirau, was offered the Maori crown, which he wisely declined to accept, as he did not want any foreign title. Virtually he had always been a king.

As the rebels proceeded towards East Cape, tribes on the way easily succumbed by joining the party. The small Ngaitai tribe at Torere, under the chief Wiremu Kingi, and Houkamau's people at Hicks Bay held no parley with the rebels. On hearing of the approach of the Hauhaus the Rev. Mohi Turei, wearing a bandolier over his shoulders, made his way to Popoti, where the Aowera were holding a hui. Mohi was related to the sub-tribe. On seeing his military outfit they asked him what he meant. Briefly he told them that the Philistine Hauhaus were on the border of the Ngati-Porou territory and must be driven back by all means in their power. This appeal was sufficient to stir up the warlike Aowera, and very soon a war party armed only with native weapons was on its way to meet and drive out the intruders. The party came in contact with the enemy on the bank of the Mangaone stream, about two miles north of Tikitiki. The Hauhaus, armed with firearms, had the advantage over the ill-armed Aowera, who were compelled to retreat, leaving behind them several dead, amongst whom were the chiefs Henare Nihoniho

Father of the well-known Ngati Porou chief, Tuta Niho-niho.

and Makoare.

Encouraged by their success the Hauhaus entered the Waiapu Valley, the stronghold of the Ngati-Porou Tribe, and occupied the Pukemaire pa. Mokena Kohere, with a party of his own tribe, had come on to give support to the Aowera, but on hearing that the enemy had occupied Pukemaire encamped two miles to the east. He had sent a re- connoitringreconnoitring patrol, whom the enemy had surprised and chased. Mokena Kohere and his men had just time enough to get away, leaving behind them Mokena's relative, Hunia Huaki, whom the Hauhaus did not spare.

Mokena Kohere was fined on as he was crossing the Poroporo River, but escaped unscathed. He took up his stand at Rua-o-Pango, or Hatepe, as the stronghold was afterwards named. The Hauhaus had built for themselves a strong pa at Pakairomiromi, on the right bank of the Maraehara River. Almost every day the rebels fired on Hatepe and relied on incantations to render the loyalists’ bullets harmless. One fanatic approached the pa and held up his right hand, muttering incantation all the time. The loyalists fired and missed, but the notorious Hemi Tapeka took a steadier aim and put the fanatic out of action. Meanwhile the chiefs Pineamine Tuhaka, Arapeta Haenga, Wikiriwhi Matauru and others had entered Hatepe to render help to the besieged pa. It might have fallen, and Mokena Kohere and his small garrison, with women and children, might have been annihilated if relief had not arrived in time. T. W. Gudgeon says: “Hotene and Mokena, with the faithful portion of the people, retired to Hatepe, near the Waiapu beach, and wrote to Sir Donald (then Mr.) McLean, asking for guns. They were immediately supplied, and in all probability this prompt action saved the country half a million of money, for had not the arms and ammunition been sent at once, Ropata and Mokena would have been destroyed or forced to join the Hauhaus.”

Hotene was never in Hatepe pa. If the place had fallen Mokena Kohere and those with him would have been destroyed and Ropata would not have been touched, for he was out in the open.

“At the beginning of the Hauhau troubles in the Ngati Porou territory,” says James Cowan, “the chief Mokena Kohere took energetic measures to restore order and loyalty. He asked Mr. Titus White, R.M., to go to Auckland to procure arms for the friendly natives. Mr. White set out in a small schooner, but it foundered with all on board off White Island. Mokena then decided to go to Napier and see Mr. Donald McLean. His mission was successful.”

A body of thirty volunteers, under Captain Biggs, from Hawke's Bay was despatched by a small craft to Waiapu to render Mokena Kohere some assistance. Captain Biggs also brought with him arms and ammunition for Mokena Kohere's small garrison. Later a body of fifty men, under Captain Fraser, was despatched to Waiapu, Lieutenant Gascoigne also accompanying the men. They left Napier by the gunboat Eclipse, in command of Captain Fremantle. The Eclipse made a fast trip, reaching Awanui in thirty-six hours. This body of men was known as “The Fighting Fifty.” With the thirty volunteers already arrived under Captain Biggs the white troops now totalled eighty. The Hauhaus, numbering between 200 and 300, kept up investing Hatepe, but Mokena Kohere held on. Fortunately he had well strengthened the stronghold.

Pakairomiromi Taken

With the garrison strengthened by the addition of the white troops Captain Fraser took command, and, after consulting Mokena Kohere, decided to attack the Hauhau stronghold at Pakairomiromi on August 2, 1865. The attack was divided into three sections, commanded by Captains Fraser and Biggs and Lieutenant A. Tuke. The enemy had anticipated the attack, consequently reinforcements had come from Pukemaire during the night. It was considered necessary to take the Nuku, or “Sentry Hill,” as the soldiers named it, across the river, opposite Pakairomiromi, so that the stronghold could be fired into. This was taken, but to co-ordinate with other points of attack it was necessary to cross the river, climb up the steep bank and storm the stronghold. A bayonet charge was made and the pa was taken. For the number of men engaged it was considered the battle was one of the bloodiest in the whole of the Maori war. Eighty-seven of the enemy were killed, amongst whom was the fine chief Porourangi.

“This man (Paora te Wakahoehoe, a Waikari chief, not Porourangi or Paora Haenga) sent by Te Waru to Te Kooti in 1866, bearing a famous greenstone mere, called ‘Tawatahi,’ and accompanied by Te Waru's daughter, Te Maunikau; the understanding was that the acceptance of Te Kooti of the young woman as his wife and taking the greenstone heirloom would imply an obligation on his part to attack the Gisborne settlements and so avenge the death of the son of an important chief, Raharuhi Rukupo (of Manutuke), who had been killed in the assault on Pakairomiromi, Waiapu, by Fraser's force in 1865. How well Te Kooti carried out his part of the compact the massacre at Matawhero shortly testified. The greenstone weapon mentioned was found in Te Kooti's hut in the pa.”—James Cowan. The heirloom was given to Mr. J. D. Ormond.

Raharuhi Rukupo, father of the well-known chief, Pitau, of Manutuke. afterwards, as recorded in another chapter, became attached to Mokena Kohere.

An armed Amazon was also found amongst the killed. A large number of prisoners were taken. Before the pa was stormed the Eclipse, lying about four miles away, had shelled the rebel stronghold. One live shell was buried in the ground. The natives dug this up and threw it into the fire. Of course it exploded, killing nine natives.

After the fall of Pakairomiromi those of the enemy who escaped found shelter in Pukemaire. The loyalist force followed them up and attacked the stronghold. During a stormy night the rebels evacuated the pa and took the inland track to Kawakawa (Te Araroa). Hori Kohuru told me that in the retreat families suffered much from hunger. As one party tried to rest another would come along and leap-frogged over the family resting; then this family would in turn leapfrogged over the next or more families, for a family dreaded the idea of being the first. Leap-frogging was kept up all night long until the Awatere Valley was reached at daybreak. Here a store-house of potatoes was found. In order to roast the potatoes the whole house was set on fire.

I often wonder how the Hauhaus in their wanderings managed to secure sustenance. Even the well-organised white troops ran short of supplies. How did Te Kooti and his people, after their escape from Chatham Islands, manage to wander in the forest for months without proper arrangement to supply them with food. It speaks well for the toughness of the Maori, man and woman.

Fall of Hungahunga-Toroa

After the evacuation of Pukemaire by the rebels the loyalist force was divided into two. Captains Fraser and Biggs and Ropata Wahawaha pursued the rebels by the inland track while Westrupp and Mokena Kohere took the beach route via East Cape. The other party came up to the enemy strongly entrenched at Hungahunga-toroa. The terrace was about 200 feet above the bed of the Karaka-tuwhero River. On the east and west were deep gullies, and on the north were precipitous high cliffs.

The white troops and the friendly natives made a frontal attack, but it proved ineffective for the reason that the defenders were on a higher ground. It was left to Lieutenant Tuke to conceive the idea of scaling the precipitous cliffs behind the stronghold, and from that point of vantage to enfilade the enemy within the pa. Lieutenant Tuke took with him fourteen Maoris, who after a while succeeded in posting themselves where they could directly fire into the pa. The rebels were so confused that 500 of them surrendered, but not before the arrival of Mokena Kohere and Westrupp. The chief took in the situation at a glance, and saw that the rebels were indeed in a bad way. Amongst the enemy were about 500 of his fellow tribesmen, the Ngati-Porou. He asked that firing might cease while he negotiated with the rebels.

James Cowan says: “Mokena Kohere had sent a message to Ropata requesting him to make peace with the Ngati-Porou in Hungahunga-toroa; the Hauhaus from outside districts were to be killed.” I had written this chapter before reading both Gudgeon and Cowan. Again Cowan, who had access to official papers, corroborates what I had gathered from Maori informants.

He sent in Heni Kahiwa and another woman to ask the Ngati-Porou defenders to come out of the pa, otherwise they would be slaughtered without mercy. There was no response to the kindly request. A stubborn man, called Hare Paraone, had placed himself in the gateway, blocking all exit, and warning others not to trust the loyalists. Mokena Kohere once more sent in the two women, and this time the Ngati-Porou tribesmen came out, throwing down what firearms they possessed. The rebels from Taranaki, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and elsewhere knew they were doomed, so they cunningly followed close on the heels of the local tribesmen, and without ado slid down into the deep gullies and got safely away.

This ended the actual fighting in which Mokena Kohere was involved. There was fighting at Tokomaru and further south. The Hauhaus made a sortie against Houkamau, entrenched in his newly-built pa, Makeronia (Macedonia). The attacking party was repulsed, leaving behind their Taranaki leader, Te Wao. The other Taranaki leader, Te Wiwini, was killed at Pukemaire, struck by a bullet fired by Hemi Tapeka, who had posted himself in the fork of a puriri tree.

Mokena Kohere Pardons Rebels

Prisoners taken at Hungahunga-toroa were entrusted to the care of their fellow-tribesmen of Ngati-Porou and were taken to Mokena Kohere's headquarters at Hatepe.

At Te Pito, three miles south of East Cape, the chief Wikiriwhi Matauru gave the order that all prisoners were to be shot. This incident may sound improbable in the ears of those who do not understand the inner working of the Maori mind. To kill prisoners would be quite in order according to the law of ito or revenge, and Wikiriwhi Matauru would be quite capable of enforcing the law of ito. After the fall of Ngatapa, Te Kooti's stronghold in Poverty Bay, a large number of prisoners were taken. Amongst these were Renata Tupara and his relatives. Ropata Wahawaha was prepared to put these people to death. The more lenient natives appealed to Wikiriwhi to save these people, who were related to him since his ancestor Te Rangiteremauri had married Tahawai.

Wiki's reply was, “E kimoa atu!” (“Put them away quietly”).

Ropata ordered Renata Tupara and others to be shot.

Te Matauru Wikiriwhi's action in not interceding on behalf of his Poverty Bay relatives is not as callous as it might appear. An ancestor of his named Te Rangiteremauri, who had married Tahawai, was taken prisoner by a Poverty Bay party. At first it was decided to let him go, but afterwards his captors changed their minds and followed him. He was overtaken and killed.

When it dawned on the guard that Matauru was determined to kill his own fellow tribesmen they at once knew that the only way to save the doomed prisoners was to send for Mokena Kohere, who was a few miles behind the main body. Pape Hamapiria was to go at top speed to acquaint Mokena Kohere of the impending tragedy. The chief arrived in the nick of time to save the doomed prisoners, the second occasion within two days. The incident is authentically true, for Ngati-Porou composed a haka, containing the words, “Me he kore ana a Te Mokena, a nge!” (“But for Mokena, what then?”)

Amongst prominent men on the side of the loyalists who were killed during the Hauhau rising on the East Coast were Henare Nihoniho, Makoare and Hunia Huaki, a relative of Mokena Kohere's.

Arrived at Hatepe, Mokena Kohere ordered the Union Jack to be hoisted, and on a table at the foot of the flagstaff was an open Bible. Then, raising his voice, the chief cried out:

“E hoki ia hapu, ia hapu, ki te tahu i tana ahi, I tana ahi” (“Let each sub-tribe return home to re-kindle its own fire”).

In these few simple words Mokena Kohere on his own responsibility pardoned the rebellious Ngati-Porou. Time has amply proved that his magnanimous policy of pardon has been magnificently successful, for no more loyal and progressive tribe than the Ngati-Porou could be found throughout Maoridom.

Before finally dismissing the sub-tribes Mokena Kohere asked them to fall in line and march under the hoisted Union Jack and salute it and at the same time kiss the open Bible, swearing allegiance to the Great White Queen—Victoria. The most recalcitrant of the sub-tribes, like Whanau-a-Hunaara of Horoera, were suspended and kept under surveillance. Several of these were deported to the Chatham Islands, from which they escaped with Te Kooti in 1868.

Mokena Kohere Opposes Confiscation

Although Mokena Kohere had unconditionally pardoned the Ngati-Porou rebels the authorities were not satisfied. They demanded that a portion of the Ngati-Porou territory be confiscated and the boundary of the land to be confiscated was actually defined. It commenced at Awatere, near the Reporua settlement, crossed the Waiapu River at the mouth of the Mangaoparo, followed the course of the river, touched the foot of the Raukumara, followed Kokomuka ridge, turned towards the sea, along the Pukeamaru range, down to Iron Head, the southern arm of Hicks Bay, along the coast line, back to Awatere. It can be seen at a glance that much of the best land of the Ngati-Porou Tribe was within the land proposed to be confiscated, and there was land, too, belonging both to the rebels as well as to the loyal natives like Mokena Kohere and his hapu, Ngati-Hokopu. Mokena Kohere and other chiefs were uncompromisingly opposed to any suggestion of confiscation. When Captain Biggs arrived to arrange for the survey of the area he firmly stood his ground and told Captain Biggs to leave the district.

The next move of the Government was to offer Mokena Kohere a large sum of money in recognition of the services of the loyal natives. The chief knew that for him to accept the money would be to consent to the confiscatory measures. He absolutely refused to accept the money, remarking: “Mauria to moni, naku tonu taku riri ehara i a koe i te pakeha” (“Take your money away, the fight was mine, not the pakeha's”).

I once asked the late Bishop Herbert Williams whether he believed the Maori story that a large sum of money was offered to Mokena Kohere and he refused to accept it. He replied that it was improbable, and yet his own father, in East Coast Historical Records, states that a sum of £12,000 was offered to the Wairoa loyal chiefs and it was accepted. Hence large blocks of the best lands of the Ngati-Kahungunu were confiscated, or bought, according to one version, the greatest sufferers being the loyal chiefs like Pitiera Kopu. It was magnanimous on Pitiera's part to consent to the confiscation of his lands to atone for the sins of his disloyal fellow tribesmen. The fact proves how correct my Maori informants were, although not one European ever mentioned the fact that a large sum of money was offered to Mokena Kohere which the chief declined to accept because he knew very well that, to use Maori phraseology, the money had “teeth”—“he niho to te moni.” If the Wairoa loyal chiefs had been offered a large sum of money by the Government it is only natural to conclude that Mokena Kohere was also. Fortunately for the Ngati-Porou it was not accepted; otherwise they would have lost the best portion of their ancestral lands.

Keeper of the Peace

At Hastings some years ago I met Major Gascoigne and Mr. Hyslop, an old soldier. The former told me that but for the stand put up by the loyal chiefs the white settlers would have been driven into the sea. The stand of the loyal chiefs gave the settlers breathing space, time to organise their meagre forces and time for Imperial soldiers to arrive in New Zealand. Several of those chiefs lie in unmarked graves—forgotten. Mr. Hyslop told me that in an address he gave to the Philosophical Institute at Napier he stressed the services of Mokena Kohere, both in resisting the Hauhau movement on the East Coast and in keeping the peace. Mokena Kohere also paid a visit to the Bay of Plenty, where he told the tribes to study their own welfare by keeping the peace. In another chapter is related his visit to Whakatane to set free chiefs who had been prisoners of war.

“Pai Marire”

The sect known by the euphonious name Pai Marire (Good and Peaceful) was later called Hauhau, from the repeated use of the phrase, “Rire, Rire, Hau,” by the worshippers. It means nothing. The founder of the sect was a half-witted old man of Opunake, Taranaki, named Te Ua Haumene. At Pukemaire a tall pole or niu was erected in the centre of the pa. A few feet from the ground a staging was erected on which the conductor of the ceremony, called “Tiu” or “Jew,” stood. First he calls out to the people:

Po-po rini, hoia, Tiu. (“Fa-fall in, soldiers, Jew.”)

When the people, men, women and children, have fallen in he recites the following, the audience meanwhile marching round the niu:

“Po-po rini, hoia, Tiu. E-whe, era, teihana, Ta te Munu, tana niu. Ingiki, teihana. Rauna hanati, hau mene, Tiurai, Tiamana, teihana. Mene pana, riki mene, Nama wana, nama tu, teihana. Puritene, wai, kei, O pi teihana, Kiu, wana, tu, teri, po teihana. Rewa, piki rewa, rongo rewa, Tone, piki tone, teihana. Mautini, piki mautini, rongo mautini. Etc., etc.

I give what I think is the translation of this utter rubbish. It is simply transliterations of foreign words, strung together.

“Fa-fall in, soldiers, Jew, F. L. attention! It's Munu's, his niu. Ink, attention! Round shanty, how many. Jews, Germans, attention! Many fun, little many. Number one, number two, attention! Britain, Y. K. O. P. attention! Q. one, two, three, fa(all), attention! River, big river, long river, Stone, big stone, attention! Mountain, big mountain, long mountain. Etc., etc.

The people were so worked up after going round the niu so many times that they became giddy and frenzied.

I have taken the trouble to quote and translate a portion of the so-called incantation to show its absolute absurdity, and yet I have been told more than once that my grandfather was disloyal to his own race by fighting for the pakeha. I could hardly imagine my grandfather spinning round the niu with hundreds of frenzied fanatics. He was for his period of time remarkably free from superstition. The only superstition that I can remember, if he ever had one, was the itching of his nose, to which I refer in an earlier chapter.

And yet I have listened to incantations and pateres of which I could not make head or tail. It always seems to me that the essential thing is the mysterious jumble of words. And for that matter it is possible thousands of religious prayers and hymns are, in truth, no better than the Hauhau anthem.

Chapter 9 Two Eras in Ngati-Porou History

Two Eras are often referred to in Ngati-Porou history, viz., “Te Tau i a Rewharewha” and “Te Tau i a Waiwaha,” i.e., “The Year of the Epidemic” and “The Year of Waiwaha.”

A woman, Rakerake, composed a love song about the chief Mauriatea in which she refers to “the year of the epidemic.” The chief Mauriatea was a contemporary of Kakatarau and his brother, Mokena Kohere. The former, we know, was the leader of the Toka-a-Kuku expedition in 1836. We know also a very severe epidemic of measles broke out in the North Island in 1854, when it was estimated over 4,000 natives died of it. It was a prevalent notion among the natives that the best thing to do when the rash made its appearance was to plunge into cold water.

The other era is easily ascertained. It refers to Waiwaha's marriage to Naua, Rangimatanuku's son. Rangimatanuku was the paramount chief of the Whakatohea Tribe, and his home was Omarumutu, a native village to the east of the town of Opotiki. It occurred to Rangimatanuku that he would cement friendship with the Ngati-Porou Tribe. He first called on the chief Huripuku, who lived near Kawakawa (now known as Te Araroa). Accompanied by Huripuku, Rangimatanuku went to see Mokena Kohere at Waioratane. Rangimatanuku made known the nature of his mission to the Ngati-Porou chief, who readily agreed. Mokena Kohere proposed that his relative, Makere Waiwaha, should be the bride. Rangimatanuku, satisfied with the success of his mission, returned to his home in the Bay of Plenty, there to await the coming of his intended Ngati-Porou daughter-in-law.

It took months to prepare a convoy to escort the prospective bride to Opotiki. New canoes had to be constructed and suitable gifts as dowry for the bride were carefully collected and sorted. It was essential that gifts must be worthy of the occasion—the marriage of a member of a well-known family and of a tribe like the Ngati-Porou.

The convoy of canoes was a large one, the largest of its kind. It put in for the night at Raukokore, where it was received by the chief Aopururangi. Early next morning the fleet was again at sea, and, a good pace being kept up, early in the afternoon it entered Pakihi, the entrance into the river. The Ngati-Porou, with their moumouranga, or gift-bride, received a great welcome from the Whakatohea and the neighbouring tribes.

All the tribes were witnesses of the marriage when Naua was joined to Waiwaha and their respective tribes as well. There was, moreover, an ancient link between these tribes, which was welded further by the historic marriage.

Amongst the gifts offered by the local tribes to their guests from the East Coast was the Hanaia Hill, but it was never claimed. When Waiwaha's first child was old enough another large convoy of canoes was organised, the object being to bring Waiwaha and her heir to her people and so return the compliments. Great preparations were made for the entertainment of the visiting tribes, food was collected and extra houses were erected. Tribes as far north as Whakatane came in the convoy. In the entertainment of the visiting tribes two people were outstanding in their graceful movements. They were the famous chief Te Kani-a-Takirau and the chieftainess Rawinia Te Aungira. After a week's stay the guests returned to their homes in the Bay of Plenty.

Naua and Waihaha had several children who died childless. The youngest, Hiria Te Kiekie, left behind her one son, Henare, who unfortunately died without issue.

Mokena Kohere With his son, Tuhaka.

Major Ropata Wahawaha

Chapter 10 Two Outstanding Chiefs

Mr. J. G. Baker, son of a missionary who laboured on the East Coast from the year 1853 on, gives pen-pictures of both Te Kani-a-Takirau and Mokena Kohere. In his Sketch of Maori Church Work on the East Coast (unpublished) he comments:

“Before closing I should like to make a few remarks about the two chiefs specially referred to, they being conspicuously in advance of the ordinary ones and by their extraordinary influence controlled the actions of their people throughout the length and breadth of the land.

“Te Kani-a-Takirau was a man of princely appearance, tall, fair, and handsome, with curly auburn hair and possessing all the qualities of nature's gentleman. Being a man of extra high birth, he was looked upon as sacred by his people, who numbered from Cook's Strait in one direction to the extremity of the Bay of Plenty on the other side, whom he could sway in any direction by a word or wave of his hand. He did not associate generally with the ordinary people, but lived almost entirely apart by himself, simply tolerating two or three people of high rank to wait upon him, but when on a journey he always had a strong guard of honour following him at a distance. Te Kani, however, was a great friend and admirer of Europeans, and put off all restraint when associating with them; unfortunately he soon learned to love their indulgences, which ultimately brought him to an untimely end. Although such a good friend to missionaries, whom he always took under his special protection, he never accepted Christianity, nor would he attend public worship.

“Mokena Kohere, on the other hand, was a man of a different stamp. He was not of such high rank,

See genealogy on page 69.

but, being possessed of an indomitable spirit, he ruled the people by force of character. He was brave, powerful and yet of an extremely kind and gentle disposition, except when roused, when he was like a firebrand. Like Te Kani, he also formed a strong attachment to Europeans, and if necessary would defend them against any odds.

“On one occasion in Auckland I was conversing with Mokena Kohere when a gentleman (Captain Williams, of the revenue schooner), recognising him, came up and warmly shook his hand. I asked him if he knew Mokena.

“‘Know him?’ he said. ‘If anyone has reason to know him I have. I was captain of a small vessel many years ago and was wrecked on the Waiapu beach. The Maoris came and seized everything they could lay hands upon and also threatened my life, but this man appeared on the scene and made the fellows collect all my goods and carry them up to his house, where he stored them and entertained me and my mates until another vessel came along and picked us up.’ Mokena laughed at the man's story and said it was true.”

J. W. Stack, in Early Maoriland Adventures, gives an account of a visit to Te Kani-a-Takirau at Uawa (Tolaga Bay). He says: “While at Uawa I heard about the famous Maori chief of the Tolaga Bay district, Te Kani-a-Takirau, who was said to be descended from a very beautiful goddess who came down from the skies. The Maoris regarded his person as sacred, and treated him with great reverence and respect. He was very friendly to the missionaries, and my father paid him a special visit on the morning of our departure from Uawa.

“We crossed the river in a canoe and ascended the south bank, which was high and steep, and entered the pa where Te Kani lived. We found him seated on a mat, on the floor of the verandah which projected from the north end of his house. He was enjoying the sunshine, which streamed down upon him. He was clad in native garments and remained seated during our short visit. There was nothing about the surroundings to impress one. They were just as commonplace as those about any other Maori dwellings. But the man himself was quite different from anyone else I had ever seen. He possessed such an indescribable air of distinction that I felt quite awe-struck in his presence.”

S. Percy Smith, in his Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century, says of Te Kani-a-Takirau: “Te Kani-a-Takirau was without doubt the most powerful chief on the East Coast in the eighteenth century, being a grandson of the more celebrated Hinematioro, who was more like a queen than any other chieftainess of New Zealand. It was therefore no wonder that he was offered, in 1854, the Maori Kingite crown, an honour which he politely, but wisely, declined.”

The sources of our information about Te Kani-a-Takirau are up to now all pakeha, so it would be interesting to learn what the Maoris, especially of the East Coast, thought of him and his line. During the tangi over the death of Makarini, eldest son of Sir Apirana and Lady Arihia Ngata, in Porourangi house, Wai-o-Matatini, a chief from Wairoa, Hata Tipoki, asked the question: “Why was Te Kani-a-Takirau such a great man?”

Three Ngati-Porou people, one man and two women, replied that Te Kani was great because he was of the senior lines. Neri Maukau contended that Te Kani belonged to the same line as other Ngati-Porou chiefs, viz., Te Houkamau, Potae-aute, Matauru and Mokena Kohere, belonged. I pointed out that Te Kani-a-Takirau was no greater than other Ngati-Porou chiefs, and if there was anything extra about him he owed it to his Whangara and Tolaga Bay connections. Dick Leach, of Whangara, concurred with me. I also pointed out that the fact that Te Heuheu offered Te Kani the Maori crown was not because he was the greatest chief in Maoridom but because he was anti-British like his relative, Te Heuheu, a potential Hauhau. Both of them refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, and the crown could not be very well offered to a loyal chief.

Sir Apirana Ngata clinched the discussion by stating that Te Kani-a-Takirau did not always belong to the senior line, and that the Wharekahika (Hicks Bay) incident was a blot on the Te Kani-a-Takirau escutcheon. The “incident” Sir Apirana Ngata referred to is a well authenticated piece of history. On hearing that a war-party, led by the notable chiefs Konohi and Ponapatukia, was on its way, Rerekohu, chief of Wharekahika, boasted that by “laying his head inland and by stretching his legs to the sea” no enemy could pass over him. Konohi and Ponapatukia by-passed Wharekahika, and after fighting in the Bay of Plenty they called at Wharekahika to meet Rerekohu. There was no Rerekohu stretched from inland to the sea and not even a Rerekohu to be seen anywhere. What were there were two women on the Kaiarero beach, Ngunguru-i-te-rangi and Hinetaitua, both descendants of Rerekohu. The invaders understood, lifted the women and sailed on. Tanetokorangi, Konohi's grandson, took Ngunguru-i-te-rangi to wife, and the issue was the queenly Hinematioro. “The beautiful goddess who came down from the skies” was very human; in fact, a slave woman.

Again, it is Ngati-Porou history that for Hinematioro's insulting remarks a war-party invested Pourewa Island stronghold near Tolaga Bay. Hinematioro lived in the pa and inquired of the war-party who its leader was. On receiving the answer that it was Ponaho-nui-a-Tane, she put out to sea at night rather than fall into the hands of the Ngati-Porou chief, and was drowned. Her body, wearing precious greenstone pendants round her neck, was washed up on the beach. This incident does not show that Hinematioro had great respect for Ngati-Porou, nor Ngati-Porou for her, despite all that was said to the contrary.

I shall here quote from Percy Smith to show the great care Te Kani-a-Takirau's sub-tribe, Te Itanga-a-Hauiti, had for him: “Constant care for him was exercised by his people, and all of them grew food for his use. Whatever food was procured, whether from the sea or the forest, it was all taken to Te Kani. He never cultivated himself, like other chiefs, who grew food for themselves; his tribe always did this and presented the food to him.

“The following incident in the childhood of Te Kani illustrates the care exercised by his people for him. Whilst one of the pas on the Mahia Peninsula was being besieged, Te Kani was present as a child, and as there appeared to be danger of the pa being taken, the child was carried off by Kauhu, one of his own people and a relative. Potiki, a chief of Ngati-Maru, of the Thames, one of the leaders of the besiegers, saw Kauhu and his party escaping in a body, and he knew at once that some chief was being conveyed away. He gave chase with his own warriors, and soon overtook Kauhu carrying the child on his back. This was Te Kani-aTakirau.

Tiaki H. Mitera, in his book, Takitimu, contends that the child was Hirini Te Kani, of Poverty Bay, and not Te Kani-a-Takirau.

Potiki raised his tomahawk to kill the man and the child, when Kauhu called out to him: ‘Kaua ahau e patua ki te patiti takoto taha’—‘Do not kill me with a common tomahawk used for everyday use!’ He then produced from his belt a celebrated greenstone mere, named ‘Te Heketua,’ and handed it to Potiki, saying: ‘E ta! Ina te patu hei patu i ahau, kia whakarongo maeneene ake ai au!’—‘O Sir! Here is an appropriate weapon to kill one with, so that I may feel it softly’; or, in other words, be killed with an historical and chief-like weapon. Potiki, on seeing this valuable weapon handed to him, said to Kauhu: ‘Here, take the tomahawk in exchange, and make haste to escape with the child you are carrying, and so let him go in peace.’”

I have written all there is to be said about Te Kani-aTakirau, and I am at a loss to understand how this myth of great power was built up around Hinematioro and her grandson, Te Kani-a-Takirau. Their immediate sub-tribes must have been obsequious, for the more obsequious people are the more exalted their leaders would be in their own eyes and in the eyes of the world. In regard to Te Kani-a-Takirau's extra high birth amongst the Ngati-Porou, he was no higher than other chiefs and certainly he was junior to Mokena Kohere on their main line. Here is that line:—

So Mr. Baker's statement that Mokena Kohere “was not of such high rank” as compared with Te Kani-a-Takirau is not correct. The comparison can only be made on a common ground.

According to Mr. Baker, the old missionary, James Stack, father of J. W. Stack, whom his father succeeded at Rangitukia in 1853, thought so much of the chief Mokena Kohere that he regarded him as a royal prince.

I had written the following in regard to Te Kani-a-Takirau: “The latter (Te Kani) lived the traditional life of a chief—that was, a chief did nothing menial, even to feed himself.” On reflection I thought that was not true if I consulted my own knowledge of Ngati-Porou chiefs. I had read about priests being so sacred that they were not permitted to feed themselves. Candidly, I have never heard that any of our Ngati-Porou chiefs, from Tuwhakairiora down to later times, ever lived the life that Te Kani-a-Takirau lived. Tuwhakairiora travelled alone from Opotiki to East Cape. He was a fighting man, and surely he would not be bothered with absurd ceremonies and ritual. Rarawa and Kaapa were amongst Ngati-Porou's greatest fighting chiefs and I am sure they could not be handicapped with an effeminate life like Te Kani-a-Takirau's. Tamahae stalked through the Ngati-Porou country, unconcerned, unharmed and unchallanged. I am sure he did not want anybody to feed him. We know Te Kani-aTakirau joined the Toka-a-kuku expedition and with his elaborate ritual he could not live the life of a fighting chief in the field, and we know also he returned home and left his fellow chiefs in the lurch.

Both J. G. Baker and J. W. Stack give detailed accounts of the home life of Te Kani-a-Takirau which is that of a pampered fop. The picture is not what I would draw of a truly virile, great rangatira. The old saying quoted on the title page is inapplicable to the case of Te Kani-a-Takirau, viz., “When in a desperate situation stand by a chief and you will not be deserted.” In this instance it was a chief who failed to stick and left others in the lurch.

Mokena Kohere, on the contrary, being younger, was an all-round man (as we are told in Chapter 6). Mokena Kohere was a fighter, Te Kani-a-Takirau was never. Could a nonfighter like Te Kani-a-Takirau was, be a great chief?

The only strong point about Te Kani-a-Takirau was his good looks. The experience of the world has shown that handsome men, as a rule, are never strong characters—their very looks are often their downfall. J. G. Baker has told us that Te Kani came to an untimely end.

Captain Cook wrote of Te Ratu, of Poverty Bay, as a very great chief, and yet Ngati-Porou knew and know nothing about him except that there was a chief of that name. When the famous navigator asked the natives who was the chief they would naturally extol their own chief. He was, like Te Kani-a-Takirau another popular myth.

Te Kani-a-Takirau left no issue, but his half-sister, Kurunapu, has descendants living. They are Kaipaka Kingi, of Tolaga Bay, and his sister, Te Hei Hinaki, of Whangara. More unassuming people one cannot wish to find.

Chapter 11 Mokena Kohere's Fighting Descendants

My Father, Hone Hiki, was the eldest of a large family, of whom, besides my father, I saw only five— four uncles and one aunt. Some were born at Kamiti and others at Waioratane, both places being in Kautuku, or Marangairoa 1 D. My father must have been old enough to have carried a gun when the Hauhau war on the East Coast broke out in 1865, but I never remember hearing him refer to it. He was, however, exceedingly popular, especially during our long residence at Kawakawa (the name of which for postal reasons was changed to Te Araroa).

When my father died he left behind large herds of cattle, which, although he did not formally do so, he left to the whole of the local sub-tribe. At any rate, members of the tribe helped themselves to the cattle. He died at Te Araroa in 1887, but his body was carried to Kautuku, in the Waiapu Valley, where it was buried. (Strange to relate, in 1913 my people put in a claim before the Native Land Court for that portion of the Kautuku block, but Judge R. N. Jones dismissed our claim, and for over 35 years I have unsuccessfully striven to recover our heritage and three burial grounds.) There were five of us in our own family, four boys and one girl, I being the eldest. The boys were all educated at Te Aute College, and my sister had only two years at Hukarere.

After the death of my grandfather in 1894 my mother felt that the last tie to my father's family was snapped, and she returned to her old home at Pakihi, East Cape. There was not one of her people then living to give her a welcome or to offer her a home. It was left to the loyal chief, Wikiriwhi Matauru, relative of her long-dead aunt Wikitoria, to take her in. Here my mother found shelter for a few years until my sister, Kuata, and her husband later followed her and erected a temporary home. My brothers, Poihipi, Henare and Tawhai, followed later.

Lieutenant Henare M. Kohere

It was during their residence at East Cape that the scow Whakapai came to grief in the passage between the mainland and East Island. Captain Bonner, in order to facilitate the discharging of a load of timber at Tokomaru Bay, had run his little vessel on the beach. After the timber had been discharged it was found that the vessel had sustained damage to her hull. This was temporarily patched up and the scow left for Gisborne. Before it reached Gisborne it met with a southerly gale, and Captain Bonner was left with no choice but to run before the wind. The little vessel leaked badly, and when it reached East Cape it turned over. A crew of five for hours clung to the keel. One after another they were washed off and drowned, with the exception of one, named Bertie. Before the man lost his hold Henare had decided to go out to lend him a helping hand and bring him ashore. Bertie could not hang on any longer, and he slipped into the water. Fortunately the Maori had swum out and was just in time to hold up the exhausted man and to help him ashore. For this gallant deed Henare was presented with the bronze medal of the Royal Humane Society.

When a New Zealand contingent was sent to the Coronation of King Edward VII, in 1902, Henare was included in the Maori section. He turned out to be a very useful member of the contingent, for he was able to train a team of wardancers and to lead them in their performances. This made the Maoris very popular wherever they went in England and Scotland. Henare enjoyed everything he saw: Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, receptions, etc., etc., but he wrote home most enthusiastically of their visit to the estate of the Duke of Westminster.

It was at first suggested by the Home authorities that all native troops should be in a different camp from that used by the white troops. Mr. Seddon scotched the idea. The Maoris proved a perpetual centre of interest to hundreds of visitors.

The red-letter day for Henare and his cousin, Terei Ngatai, came when a wealthy English gentleman proposed to them to accompany him on a trip to Europe and an excursion on the River Rhine. The gentleman had previously taken Terei on a visit to Paris. Henare said in his letters that the man doted on them, and treated them as though they were his own sons. They stayed at the best of hotels and travelled first-class. Of course, the two young men were both educated and in looks there is no other word to describe them than handsome.

After leaving England they spent their first night at Brussels and their second at Cologne. In two days they passed through three different countries, viz., France, Belgium and Germany. Henare was very much interested in the changes he noticed, changes in manners, dress and houses. Their host was a linguist, consequently he was quite at home in French, Belgian and German, as he was in English. At Cologne meals were served in the open air and there was music everywhere. They learned by experience that at dinner they had to go through all the courses. Naturally they were much impressed with the magnificence of the cathedral.

From Cologne they went by boat up the famous river. The sights on the banks of the river—ancient castles, towns, cities —were interesting. They noticed that they two were the only dark-skinned people, although they could not by any means be described as black. The boat was crowded with tourists, and although they could see they were a centre of interest and curiosity they decided to keep to themselves. With the well-dressed crowd, music and varied scenery time passed very quickly. They stayed for the night at Mainz.

The next morning they took the train to Frankfurt, and then to Homberg. At the latter place the two young Maoris went to the top of a hill where there was an ancient Roman fort. They had a fine panoramic view here of the country, and they realised then that they were a long way into the heart of Europe. Henare said that their thoughts went back to their lowly homes at Rangitukia, where they for years, clad often only in shirt-tails, attended the village school. They laughed and laughed a laugh of delight.

They had heard that the Kaiser was in Homberg and was leaving that day for Berlin. They waited for two hours at a certain point but no Kaiser passed by. Little did Henare then think that he would be, a few years later, a victim of a disastrous war, planned by that very monarch and his warlords.

The young Maori tourists were glad to get back to England, although their visit to Europe was like a dream. Henare said that the moment they set foot on English soil they instinctively felt that they were in the land of the free. In Europe they felt all the time restrained.

On Henare's return to New Zealand he married Ngarangi, daughter of the Rev. Mohi Turei, of Rangitukia. They had two daughters and one son. The elder daughter, Huinga, became the wife of George Nepia, the great Rugby full-back.

When the first World War broke out in 1914 Henare volunteered. He felt free to go because he had lost his wife, and another reason why he was anxious to get away was because his younger brother, Tawhai, had already sailed for the Middle East.

News of our troops’ struggles on Gallipoli had thrilled the whole world, and the Maori people none the less. Maori blood had been shed in foreign lands, and the tribes felt the breach in the ranks must be filled. The fact that Henare Kohere had enlisted stirred up the Ngati-Porou tribe, and no fewer than sixty young men of the tribe volunteered at the same time. During training at Narrow Neck, Henare was popular with the men and the staff. I accompanied the Maori second contingent from Auckland to Wellington, and all along the line large numbers of Maoris were at stopping stations to say good-bye to the young soldiers. Many I noticed were in tears. The farewell function in the Wellington Town Hall was a memorable occasion. The Maoris had a transport all to themselves, H.M.T.S. Waitemata.

Henare was a good correspondent; he kept up his correspondence and tenderly inquired after his young children. During training in Egypt the Prince of Wales (who later became Edward VIII) visited the troops while encamped near Ismailia. The Maoris performed a haka, which delighted the Prince, and Henare, being the leader, was introduced to his Royal Highness.

Because Gallipoli was evacuated the New Zealand Division was shipped to France at a time when the Allies were just about holding their own. It was during the Somme push that Second-lieutenant Kohere met his death. I shall here quote Padre Henare Wainohu's letter to my brother Poihipi.

Somewhere in France, 26th October, 1916. Dear Poi, Greetings to you and your family. So far the Maori Battalion has fairly come out of the German conflagration. Neither paper nor pen can express the bitter sorrow for the young Maoris who have made the supreme sacrifice for King, the nation and the whole world. Members of leading families of the Maori people, of both the North and South Islands, now lie on the fields of France. We as Maoris feel it very much, and our thoughts constantly wander homewards to the parents and the people. The letters we receive from home are brave and comforting when they say that to die on the battlefield is to die an honourable death. The boys who have made the supreme sacrifice all died like soldiers, and those of us who still survive are all well. I suppose you and Reweti and all your family have learned that your brother Henare has gone with those who were prepared to die for King and Empire. We feel his death very keenly. Henare, like a true soldier, fell amongst his boys. Several of them, including Henare, were wounded by a bursting shell. On the 15th, the morning of the big push, after prayers, the enemy began shelling our position. Henare had given orders for his platoon to move forward to prepared trenches when a shell landed fairly close. The next shell caught Henare and a number of his boys. Although badly wounded in the arm and groin he inquired after his men. It was the wound in the groin that killed him. Before he was taken to the dressing station that night he expressed a wish to see Major Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa). To him he said, “I ask of you that after I am gone to place my boys, all from the Ngati-Porou Tribe, under my cousin, Lieutenant Pekama Kaa.” Major Buck replied, “Yes, I'll carry out your wish.” Then, looking up to the major and myself, he remarked, “I have no anxiety now, for I know the boys will be in good hands, and as for myself I shall be all right.” We never suspected that his wounds would be fatal. At midnight I buried those of his boys who were killed outright. After I went to have another look at him; he seemed quite calm. Before he was taken away he said, “I know the boys will be all right with you.” We didn't see poor Henare after that; none of us was with him when he passed away.

On September 16, 1916.

We heard of his death from the newspapers. I put off writing to you hoping that the newspapers might be mistaken. Only the other day we received the official notice that my very dear friend was no more. Henare was very popular with everybody—with the great as well as with the lowly, with the general as well as with the humblest private. Now he rests from his labours. Tawhai is bearing up very well, but we know he is feeling the death of his brother intensely. Pekama is getting on well with his boys. He is a fine boy, quiet but popular with his men. Thank you for your letter. Your old friend, Henare Te Wainohu.

The Passing of Kohere—A Rangatira's Wish

Under this heading in a London newspaper of 19th December, 1916, appeared the following article:—

Old Kohere was the chief of Ngati-Porou. He named Ropata Wahawaha to lead his taua for his prowess; and he himself sat in council in the New Zealand Parliament in his ripe years. Lieutenant Kohere lay on a stretcher in the dugout on the Somme. He was quite comfortable and happy. Two of the Pioneers were with him. In one hand he held a lighted cigarette; the other hand was smashed by a high-explosive shell. He was grievously wounded, too, in the groin. Kohere was a chief, and he was paying his small debts, his trifling mess accounts and so on, because he expected to die. The Major (Rangihiroa) thrust his head and shoulders in at the door, darkening the dugout. “How is it, Kohere?” he asked in Maori. “Ka nui te kino,” was the quiet reply. The tohunga might not know. But Kohere knew it was very bad, and he was squaring up with life like a chief. Kohere's grandfather had named Ropata for the war captain, because a chief always wishes well for the tribe. Was there anything Kohere wanted? “There is only one thing,” whispered the dying rangatira. “I want the platoon to go to Kaa.” It was the old tribal mana. Ngati-Porou had a full platoon of their own, and yet another platoon was chiefly of Ngati-Porou with a Ngati-Porou leader, Lieutenant Kaa. The rangatira wished to hand over his tribesmen to their chief. Kohere went down the line and died, and was buried, and far away at the Antipodes the greatest tangi of Ngati-Porou mourned his passing. “What is to be done?” said the Colonel to the Major when they talked of subsequent appointments.” Well, the first thing to do is to be square with Kohere. Kaa must have the platoon.” And Kaa leads the Ngati-Porou to-day.

Captain Pekama Kaa was killed while in charge of men carrying the wounded to a place of safety.

James Cowan, in his book, The Maoris in the Great War, states: “Lieutenant Kohere died of his wound on 16th September, 1916, at the Casualty Clearing Station, and his Ngati-Porou and other comrades deeply mourned him. He was a grandson of Major Mokena Kohere,

I always thought that Mokena Kohere must have had some military rank because of the important part he played in squashing Hauhauism on the East Coast.

who, with Major Ropata Wahawaha, fought the Hauhaus on the East Coast from 1865 on. The two Ngati-Porou leaders received swords of honour from Queen Victoria.… Lieutenant Kohere's wound was in the groin, but the high-explosive fragment had been deflected up into the abdomen.… Thus on a faraway battlefield in France there was re-enacted a scene that had occurred on many a Maori chieftain's death-bed in the homeland of Aotearoa. Whether college-bred platoon commander or old-time tattooed chief of a tribe, the warrior's last dying thoughts and instructions were for the welfare of the people he commanded.”

Sir Apirana T. Ngata composed a tangi or lament in Maori for the Maori Pioneer Battalion, the second verse of which refers to the East Coast tribes and Lieutenant Henare Kohere. The song became very popular throughout all the tribes. This unmetrical translation into English of the second verse is mine:

E te Ope Tuarua, The Second Party No Mahaki rawa, Came from Mahaki, Na Hauiti koe, From Hauiti also, Na Porourangi. And from Porourangi, I haere ai Henare When Henare went Me to “wiwi.” And his “wiwi.”
“Wiwi,” a Ngati-Porou colloquialism, meaning a party of young people.
I putu ki te pakanga, With misfortune they met Ki Paranihi ra ia. On the plains of France. Ko wai hei morehu, Was any left to bring Hei kawe korero, News and message Ki te iwi nui e. To all at home? Taukiri e! Alas! alas!

The news of Henare's death was received with a shock by the whole of the Ngati-Porou Tribe. Obsequies were observed at Tikitiki by special request of the chief Neho Kopuka, instead of at Rangitukia, Henare's own marae. The chief contended that Henare was Mokena Kohere's grandson, and the least the tribe could do in return for Mokena Kohere's great services to the tribe was to hold the tangi at some central tribal marae.

Tawhai Kohere

Tawhai Kohere, Lieutenant Henare Kohere's younger brother and grandson of Mokena Kohere, left in the first Maori contingent, and went through the whole of the illstarred but heroic campaign on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Although he was mentioned in despatches he was too easygoing to make a good officer. He was nicknamed by his mates “Corporal Fine Day” because of his suavity. Tawhai often says that he found on the peninsula that the best cure for hunger was to go to sleep and forget it at least for a time. The Ngati-Porou men contend that it was Tawhai who started the haka just before the Maoris went into action. In one of his letters written from the peninsula he states: “I see in the bay below the New Zealand hospital ship Maheno, looking resplendent with her white coat and large red crosses, but the sight of her makes me homesick.”

During the evacuation of the peninsula Tawhai was amongst the few New Zealanders who remained behind to cover the embarkation.

I may perhaps here place on record an incident that happened during the embarkation of the British troops from Gallipoli. It was told by Col. J. Gethin Hughes at a public meeting at Rotorua in 1916. I knew Col. Hughes when I used to play football for Te Aute College against his team. If I had heard the story from anybody else I would not have believed it. The meeting was well attended, one of those present being the present Bishop of Aotearoa. Col. Hughes said it was essential that the embarkation should be carried out as quietly as possible so as not to arouse the suspicion of the enemy. When everything was ready for the transport to move there was no movement in the engine-room. The C.O., puzzled, went on the bridge. Finding no captain there, he went into the captain's cabin and found him asleep-dead drunk.

After leaving Gallipoli they rested on Lemnos Island, in the Ægean Sea, from where he wrote: "I am writing this under the shade of trees. It is so beautifully restful here after the terrible time we had on the peninsula. It is so lovely to drop off to sleep, forget the world and all its worries, and feel perfectly safe. There's no more booming of guns; instead there's peace and plenty to eat—fruits in abundance.”

In an earlier letter to his widowed mother he says: “So another son of yours is coming (Lieutenant Henare Kohere). You should be a proud mother to have two sons engaged in this terrible war. Be hopeful, for I feel we shall see each other again. I am looking forward to seeing Henare and others, fresh from old New Zealand. My thoughts are ever with you at East Cape. God be with you till we meet again.”

Tawhai went to France, where his brother, Lieutenant Henare Kohere died of wounds. He afterwards went to England on furlough, but was sent home from there after three strenuous years.

Paratene W. Kohere

My elder son, Paratene (Tene), after training in New Zealand for five months, left in the Second Echelon on 1st May, 1940. After seven months in England the echelon left Liverpool on New Year's Day, 1941, for the Middle East. The New Zealanders were only about three weeks in Egypt when they were sent across to Greece. All along I had my own misgivings about the wisdom of the campaign in Greece. A friend of mine, a district nurse, had positively declared that the campaign there would be another Dunkirk, and a Dunkirk it proved to be.

Tene had always been fond of Byron, and we enjoyed his recitation of the great poet's poems. I naturally thought he would immensely enjoy his visit to Greece, where he could see with his own eyes places mentioned by Byron, but on his return home he said that the movements were so tremendous that he'd no time for Byron or anything else.

Tene said he had no idea that the army in Greece was so wretchedly unprepared for its gigantic job to meet the finest army in the world—the Nazi war machine. When they got to Thermopylac they discovered that air cover was absolutely inadequate. The Germans bombed them at their sweet will. I shall let Tene describe his toughest experience in Greece:

Lieut. Henare M. Kohere Died on wounds, September 16, 1916, during the push on the Somme.

Captain Pekama Kaa This officer took over Henare Kohere's platton and was later killed while rescuing the wounded.

Reweti T. Kohere

“Our platoon, in charge of Lieutenant Arnold Reedy, had gone on patrol to Scotina and we were supposed to rejoin the battalion at 9.30 that evening, but owing to miscalculation our platoon did not leave Scotina until 9 o'clock. We came across another platoon, who advised us to hurry back or we would be cut off by the Germans. We had gone up a steep hill only a quarter of a mile when darkness set in. What made it worse was that it began to rain heavily. Our way lay through a bush with dense undergrowth. The track was narrow, and zigzagged up the hill. It became so dark that we lost our way and could not see a yard ahead of us. But for the booming of our guns some distance away we would not have had the least idea where we were going to. The booming gave us our direction. Two of our most powerful men, Percy Goldsmith and Eitini Gage, hacked our way through with their bayonets, and now and then tore with their hands branches that barred our way. (Both Goldsmith and Gage were killed.) Occasionally we took brief spells and awaited the booming of the guns. We kept calling out all the time, lest some of us would wander off in the pitch darkness. The track seemed endless. All the time men were slipping, sliding down a bank, and stumbling all the way. Fortunately we travelled light. One man carried an anti-tank rifle.

“At last to our great relief we reached the top of the hill, but this was not the end of our troubles. We pushed on down the hill and arrived at the battalion headquarters at 2.30— five and a half hours of terrible work. However, we found the battalion gone in the general withdrawal and left us to our fate. We had a long walk down to the road towards Olympus Pass, and pushed on the best way we could. We were becoming awfully worn out, and to lighten our swags we threw away our blankets. The booming of the guns was our sure guide. Here the road became so slippery that we actually dragged ourselves through the mud, and it kept raining all the time. I had a touch of the 'flu, and this increased my troubles. I must say that I was so fatigued that I actually slept on my feet. A bump against a tree or a fall brought me to my senses. We were only too glad to rest in the mud when the order was given to rest.

“We slept soundly; the only one awake was our officer, Lieutenant Arnold Reedy. To keep awake he marched up and down. When the order was given to move on we were so done up that some of us could not awaken and were left behind. We had another sleep in the mud. We came to some men guarding the road. It was a welcome sight and we felt safe. The officer asked us if we had seen the Maori Battalion. Our platoon had actually passed it. Suddenly we heard the tramping of a large number of men, and, to be on the safe side, we rushed up the side of the hill. The engineers were ready to smash up the road but for the absence of the Maori Battalion. We found trucks waiting for us; we jumped in and dropped off to sleep, forgetting the world and its horrors. When we arrived at the rendezvous the men there gave rousing cheers, for the news had come through that the battalion had been cut off. I believe it was owing to superb leadership the battalion escaped by taking a detour.

“I was one of the lucky ones to escape from Greece when so many of my friends were taken prisoners. The New Zealand Division, instead of going across to Egypt and safety, stayed on the island of Crete. We thought then we were in Paradise. After we had been on the island for about a month a message was received from Greece that the Germans would attack the island within ten days. Sure enough, the Germans came in about that time. The Royal Navy prevented the enemy's landing on the island, but they took to the air. Handicapped as we were for the want of aeroplanes, tanks, etc., we were helpless. I really think that the olive groves everywhere saved us. They gave us cover. The Germans came on thick and fast, and the only thing we could do was to make bayonet charges. The New Zealand Division would have been overwhelmed if not for a grand bayonet charge by the Maoris. It was a fearful thing to hear the shouts and shrieks of the Maori Battalion. The Germans could not stand it, and so they took to their heels. If they only had had the courage to stand their ground and turn on their machine-guns the Maoris would have been wiped out. The result of the charge gave the Division respite. I met with my first wound during the bayonet charge. A German officer suddenly confronted me, and, raising his revolver, fired point blank at my head when he was only about ten yards from me. Luckily I had also raised my rifle. The bullet entered my wrist and later came out below my shoulder. My arm deflected the bullet which was meant for my head and I am alive to-day. Before the German could fire again he was dead.

“The next day at the dressing station I was once more hit in the same arm by shrapnel. Two of my fingers were hanging by the skin and I tried to pull them off. Again I was lucky, for some white soldiers were killed outright by the bomb. I tried to walk across the island when a truck overtook me. An officer, revolver in hand, made the driver take me. With Bluejackets and a doctor fussing about us on a destroyer, attending to our wounds, supplying us with hot coffee and cigarettes, we began to forget our troubles.

“I must say something about the German paratroops. It was a pathetic sight to see such brave men descending only to be riddled with bullets. When a parachutist suspected danger he looked below and felt in a bag for his hand grenade. Before he could use it he was riddled with bullets, his head drooped and legs dangled stiff.”

Tene was reported missing, and this caused intense grief at home. He was amongst the earliest casualties and one of the first to come home.

Sergeant Ian Tawhai Kohere

Ian Tawhai Kohere, second son of the Rev. Poihipi M. Kohere and great-grandson of Mokena Kohere, left in the Sixth Reinforcements in 1941. After training in Egypt he went with the New Zealand Division for rest in Syria, was in the memorable journey of the Division from Syria to Egypt and in the great battle of Alamein, was severely wounded and was lucky to escape with his life. A bullet grazed his back and entered under his right shoulder into his lung. When convalescent he went to Palestine on furlough. He saw everything there to be seen. What interested him most was the orange groves and the fine farms. In November, 1942, he went with the Division to Italy, landing at Bari. He was at Cassino and went as far as Fienza, where he returned to Egypt.

When asked what was his unique experience in Italy, Sergeant Kohere said it was the intense cold at Orsogna. All the time they were there they could not get warm. It was a terrible experience. Their boots were wet night and day, and the only thing they could do was to change their socks once a day. Even with their greatcoats and blankets wrapped round them they could not get warm. He wondered how the poor muleteers could stand the cold and carry out their job. They had to choose night time to visit the lines with their mules to bring food and ammunition, and they did it in spite of the intense cold and snow. The Germans were only about fifty yards from them. It was a happy day when they left Orsogna.

Lieutenant Hiki Kohere

Hiki Kohere, only son of Lieutenant Henare M. Kohere and great-grandson of Mokena Kohere, enlisted in January, 1941. After six months’ training he left for the Middle East as a member of C Company, composed of members of his own tribe, Ngati-Porou, under Captain Tureia. He saw his first action at Sollum Bay in November, 1941. Captain Tureia was killed here. In a later action he was slightly wounded. He was appointed staff-sergeant (July, 1942) and second lieutenant (April, 1944). The rest of his time was spent in Egypt as adjutant. While in Rome Hiki was amongst the officers who saw and had a chat with the Pope. In Palestine he was much struck with the communal farms of the Jews and with the cleanliness of Tel Aviv as compared with Cairo.

Our family is amongst the lucky ones, for all our boys returned home. My son-in-law, Lieutenant A. Bennett, in his very first action at Cassino, was missed and practically given up for dead. While a tangi was being held over his presumed death an official message came that he was a prisoner of war in Germany. It was remarkable that his wife never once wavered in her faith that her husband would come home.

Lieutenant Bennett, who was severely wounded, was picked up by a German officer and practically carried to the dressing station two miles away. The prisoner of war camp was near the city of Kessel, and he was the only Maori in it. The prisoners knew fairly well all was not right with the Germans when the Allied armies had penetrated into Europe. This belief was confirmed when they received orders to pack up and leave camp. They were on the road several days. While encamped in a large barn for the night they received orders to move. Their English officer refused, as they were utterly fatigued. The German officer hesitated, then, saluting, gave orders to his guard to move, and thus they were left to their own devices.

Early next morning some men climbed to the roof of the barn and excitedly cried out that they could see tanks moving rapidly. It was General Patton's army. They knew then that at last the day of deliverance had come. Men broke down and wept. Others crowded into the little church to return thanks for their deliverance. They were taken by aeroplanes to Brussels and the next day they were in England.

Lieutenant Bennett said that as prisoners they were fairly well treated. The saddest sight he witnessed in Germany was the enslavement of Russian and Polish women, who were employed in repairing railways. They wore rags and some men's old trousers. He even saw mothers with their babies tied on their backs wielding pickaxes and shovels. Thank God that's all over now!

Chapter 12 The Native Land Court: a Long Litigation

It has been said that the history of Kautuku (or Marangairoa 1 D) is the history of Mokena Kohere, so it would not be out of place to say something of the case in which I have been a litigant for over 35 years and in which I mean to fight until I recover my people's ancestral home and sacred places.

It is a well-known saying of the Maoris, “He wahine, he whenua, ka ngaro te tangata” (“For women and land men perish”). And everybody is familiar with Macaulay's words:

To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late; And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his gods!

On the outbreak of the Hauhau troubles on the East Coast in 1865 Mokena Kohere and his people were living at Waioratane, on Kautuku. He left there and moved on to the flat land below, where he and his people erected a temporary camp, which he called Kati Kautuku, or The Doorway to Kautuku. It was his intention to prevent all trespassers setting foot on Kautuku. Later he moved on to Hatepe, where he built a strong pa.

Readers have already learned how Mokena Kohere and his small garrison defended Hatepe and would have been crushed but for the timely arrival of white troops from Napier. They must have come to the conclusion that Mokena Kohere, as a Maori chief, was no ordinary person. They will be in a position to judge whether the comments of the Native Land Commission on Mokena are justified or not.

By a special enactment of Parliament a Commission composed of Chief Judge G. P. Shepherd and Judges J. Harvey and E. M. Beechey, sat in 1942, to hear petitions in respect of the block. This hearing was to be final. I was not struck with the personnel. Two were new judges and the third I knew as a clerk in the Gisborne office and later as a registrar of the Native Land Court at Gisborne. I know very little of Judge Harvey or whether he had been engaged in the investigation of titles to native lands. He is not a lawyer, as I think the other members of the Commission both are. Were they to bring finality to a long litigation in which experienced judges had failed? The fact that Parliament has granted our petition several times proves conclusively that it has very strong grounds. I have always held that to ascertain the ownership of native lands is not at all difficult. It is simply finding out who occupied the land. The fact of the proper occupation of any native land must rise to the surface amidst prevarications, cunning and bluff.

The judgment of the Commission, after a lapse of three years, was delivered at Tikitiki on 10th March, 1945. It was a devastating decision for me and my people. What we regained in thirty years we lost at one stroke of the pen. The Commission was not unanimous, the Chief Judge dissenting.

In the majority judgment Judges Harvey and Beechey said:

Part of his (Mokena Kohere's) importance or mana no doubt arose from his connection with the Government, and his position of Government agent.… Part no doubt arose from his able and aggressive personality, and his desire to foster the interests of his people. But no research on our part of the Court records has been able to convince us that his position amongst his people arose from the importance under ancestral rights.

I may here remark that no Maori could exercise mana unless he belonged to the sub-tribe who owned the land. Early in this book it is pointed out that Mokena Kohere never entered the Native Land Court, so to search Court records in order to obtain a proper estimate of the chief's life would be a useless task. I hope Judges Harvey and Beechey will some day read this book if they wish to know properly what sort of man Mokena Kohere was. I shall now briefly give the opinions of people, both pakeha and Maori, who knew Mokena Kohere intimately.

We know already he was instrumental in suppressing the Hauhau rising on the East Coast in 1865 and thereby he helped to save the country from disaster. On his own responsibility he pardoned the rebels and he resisted success- fullysuccessfully all attempts to confiscate the Ngati-Porou lands. He also refused to accept from the Government a large sum of money.

Harawira Huriwai, whose opinion is that of an expert, said on different occasions:

“Mokena Kohere saved land from being confiscated.”

“I heard of Government money being returned by Te Mokena.”

“At Wharekahika (Hicks Bay) Major Ropata (Wahawaha) and (Col. T. W.) Porter wanted land sold, Mokena said to Wi (Wanoa) and Wiki (Matauru), his tamarikis, ‘Keep the land as a playground for yourselves and your tamarikis,’ meaning Marangaroa No. 1.”

Keeti Ngata Ngatai said: “Kohere's mana was before Hauhauism” (not bolstered up by pakeha).

Neho Kopuka, one of Ngati-Porou's leading chiefs, referred to Mokena's action in saving Ngati-Porou from the Government, and Paratene Kamura said: “Mokena saved Mr. W. Baker, Government agent, from his enemy in 1862.”

Henare Rukuata said: “Mokena gave Tarata to the Government,” and Hapi Haerewa remarked (in 1891): “Mokena was a man of position; he has claims to lands under his proper ancestors.”

Hori Waikari: “Mokena managed the mill at Waikaka” (a water mill).

Paratene Kamura: “I never heard Mokena restricting Hahau, but I did hear of his doing so with Marangairoa No. 1.”

Enoka Rukuata, a leading Ngati-Porou chief: “Mokena placed Ngaitane at Titaka (1 D. 15), an assertion of right.”

Harawira Huriwai: “It was through Te Mokena that Anaru Kahaki went and pulled down the trig station (on Pukekiore).”

Bishop William Williams, first Bishop of Waiapu says of Mokena Kohere in his Christianity Amongst the New Zealanders: “Four years ago I was travelling along the Bay of Plenty, in company with the Rev. Rota Waitoa and Mokena, the leading chief of Ngati-Porou.”

I have elsewhere given Mr. J. G. Baker's fine tribute to the memory of Mokena Kohere.

In his address before the first Appellate Court Paratene Ngata testifies to Mokena Kohere's action in restricting Ngati-Porou lands from sale. He also said: “Occupation is everything.”

According to the Commission, Mokena Kohere had no right to Marangairoa 1 D. Yet I remember Judge McCormick saying in the first Appellate Court: “How could it be possible that Mokena Kohere had no interest in this land when he is of your own flesh and blood?”

The first Appellate Court (Judges McCormick and Rawson) found on that occasion: “There is no doubt as to the occupation of Mokena Kohere, but that may perhaps be accounted for otherwise than by ancestral right from Mataura. We are of opinion that his occupation was of right, though not of right from Mataura.”

I am puzzled that two experienced judges should have made this qualifying statement. What does it matter how the right is derived so long as it is a right? The Appellate Court did not give Mokena Kohere a single acre. He was banished from Marangairoa 1 D., the very land he restricted from all alienation—banished as though he were a foreigner instead of being the paramount chief.

Judge Carr tried to give us some relief, but Judges Harvey and Beechey quashed his decision.

I have wondered what was the purpose of Judges Harvey and Beechey in criticising my grandfather's mana. They could crush him without all this. While I was speaking on the point of mana before the Commission Judge Harvey suddenly interrupted: “I must see that my friends are not misled.” It seemed obvious that he had read up the case beforehand, and every time I disagreed with what he had gathered he interrupted. Another time Judge Harvey interrupted me about my grandfather's residence at his main home, Waioratane. It dawned on one that he must have read the first Appellate Court's blunder when it stated that my grandfather's occupation at Waioratane could not help my case, for the place was outside the block. In his report Judge Browne stated that the Appellate Court had made a blunder. Probably Judge Harvey had not read Judge Browne's report.

Our opponents were represented by a very able conductor, Mr. Mafeking Pere. When on his rounds Mr. Tiaki Omana, now member for the Eastern Maori District, engaged Mr. Pere as his secretary. One of the party, Manakore, publicly stated that a tragedy had been committed in Marangairoa when the Native Land Court had given away Kohere's ceme- teriescemeteries. He could have received the information only from Mr. Mafeking Pere (who had represented our opponents). That is the general opinion amongst Maoris not personally interested in the case. My opponents know very well that my cause is just, only I am bumping my head against a stone wall. The fact that our three burial grounds, in one of which my own father was buried, were given away proves without a shadow of doubt that there is something utterly wrong. For judges to argue in order to convince me that my people were wrong in burying their dead in Kautuku is only to add to my sufferings. Judge R. N. Jones, the first Appellate Court, the second Appellate Court and down to Judges Harvey and Beechey, of the Commission, never refer to Ngati-Hokopu's cemeteries in their decisions.

Judge McCormick, at the sitting of the first Appellate Court (1920), when I was speaking on our lost cemeteries, suddenly interrupted me by saying: “Mr. Kohere, it is inconceivable that a land court should give away tribal cemeteries.”

The last two judges waxed eloquent to show how the occupation of Mokena Kohere and his people means nothing; although the occupation was admitted by the court and our opponents, it was alleged it was without right or take. The two judges imply they are bound to accept the statement of our opponents that the occupation was without right. Our word is of no value as compared with that of our opponents. This was also the attitude of Judge R. N. Jones.

Judge Browne, in his report to Wellington, said:

“There is no doubt as to Mokena Kohere's occupation at Waioratane, and admissions made in the evidence before the first Court went to show that his ancestors occupied at Hurimoana pa, which is to the south of Waioratane but within the alleged overlap, and this occupation is, in my opinion, not altogether referable to the Hauhau rebellion. The ancestral ‘takes’ set up are usually of such doubtful authenticity and the evidence regarding them so unreliable that it seems to me to be always the safest course, when undoubted occupation was by right and not on sufferance.”

What is wrong with this report? And why are Mokena Kohere and his descendants not reinstated in their own land?

Quoting Judges Harvey and Beechey again: “The ease with which Mr. Kohere supported his claim alike to land within the Pukekiore boundary or without by references to Keeti Ngatai's evidence and the so-called admissions of opponents denoted exceptional agility but no more.” What is the inference here? Surely the Commission must accept the words of Judges Browne and Carr, more experienced men than the three members of the Commission. They saw no “exceptional agility” in me, not even ordinary agility.

As to Judge Jones's admission of our conquest, here are his own words: “It was a bloodless victory, for the parties ran away, but the Court does not think any land was taken in respect of the event, so that claim of conquest is dismissed.”

If this is not an admission of conquest, what is it? And because the war-party found their intended victims had fled was not that an extra reason for seizing the land? Judges Harvey and Beechey mean that the warlike Ngati-Hokopu lived on the land because Wiremu Mangai married Hiria te Kiekie, of the runaway tribe. That explanation, given by our opponents, was accepted by Judges Jones, Harvey and Beechey. It never occurred to them that the wives might possibly have lived on their husbands. At any rate, Chief Judge Shepherd, chairman of the Commission, differs from his two colleagues. He states: “On the whole, I am inclined to think that the second court (Judge H. Carr) was right in deciding for confiscation, followed by occupation.” He also mentioned, amongst those who occupied, Mokena Kohere

I have referred in a previous chapter to Mokena Kohere's stolen and costly pig. It was stolen from Okahu.

and his sister, Irihāpeti. Neither of the two married into the conquered people. Why did not the other members of the Commission find that Mokena and his sister occupied Okahu?

Before I leave Okahu I would briefly refer to the Kanapa (Shining) Stream, on the northern boundary of the land, one of the prettiest spots I have ever seen. It is truly a fairy dell. For about ten chains the stream runs over its rocky and pebbly bed, and overhead the native trees meet so that the place is in partial darkness. At a point where the Kanapa junctions with another stream and curves sharply is a symmetrically made hole about three feet in diameter and five feet in depth. This is known even to-day as “Whakaumu-aTamarore” (“The Pit of Tamarore”). It was customary in bygone days to dig a hole on a boundary line. This hole was dug evidently by Tamarore, a prominent member of the Ngati-Hokopu Tribe, when the boundaries of the confiscated land were laid down by the invaders.

The most dramatic battle fought on Kautuku was between our people, led by Mataura, and an attacking party led by Paka (already referred to in Chapter 3). To save his people and the land Mataura, our ancestor, was compelled to hand over to Paka his young granddaughter, Whirituarangi. We claim that Mataura defended his own home, but our opponents claimed that he was only a refugee in the pa. The refugee story was believed by Judges Jones, Harvey and Beechey.

About the year 1871 Mohi Turei's house at Te Rapa, on the adjacent Hauhau block, was burnt down. A Maori committee of inquiry found that the incendiaries had no right whatever to the land. It was an instance of pure spite and fanaticism. Mohi Turei afterwards moved to Waikoriri, on Kautuku block, and built a comfortable home there for himself and his family. Even to-day trees planted by Mohi are to be seen, old and gnarled. Whilst living happily and peacefully Mohi Turei and his family were one day suddenly set upon by a man named Wi Tupaea and others of the same hapu as those who had burnt down his house at Te Rapa. Men and women pulled down Mohi's fences, and but for Mohi's intervention blood would have been shed. While this was happening Mokena Kohere was at Wellington. The matter was referred to a Maori committee with a quasi-legal status in 1889. Mohi Turei and Ngati-Hokopu claimed the land as the papatipu of Mataura, while their opponents, led by the Chief Anaru Kahaki, claimed on an alleged gift made by a woman named Hinetangi to the chief Hihi (Pakura's brother and thus a member of the Ngati-Hokopu Tribe). Granted there was a gift, Hihi never occupied Waikoriri, for he died shortly after, nor did his descendants occupy. Anaru Kahaki enumerated the people who occupied, viz., Te Paraone Pohokura, Hakaraia Kauariki, Te Ratu, Pakura and his children and others down to Mohi Turei himself. “Pakura's children” would be Kakatarau, Parata, Mokena Kohere, Te Kooti Tipoki and Irihāpeti, all members of Ngati-Hokopu. He never mentioned descendants of Hihi as having occupied. I cannot understand why Mohi Turei has not regained his old home, from which he was mercilessly driven off. The claim under gift to Hihi cannot be established under any cir- cumstancescircumstances. Anaru Kahaki and all those who took part in the Waikoriri trouble were not descendants of Hihi, so their action was purely gratuitous! Was there ever such a weak case? And yet it succeeded and still stands.

The history of the case is given in what is known as the Waikoriri Committee Book, which is considered official and has been translated into English. It is very valuable, for it contains the testimony of the elders. It also mentions that members of the Whanau-a-Takimoana, whose ancestral home is near East Cape, first entered the Waiapu Valley in 1882. The Whanau-a-Takimoana are amongst our chief opponents. Their elders were buried at Takapautahi, but recently they have been burying their dead at Aratia, a cemetery belonging to Mokena Kohere and Crown-granted to us his descendants. Naively, the Whanau-a-Takimoana have erected at Aratia a large monument to the memory of their grandsire, Takimoana. So devoid are they of any sense of humour that they could not see how ridiculous the monument could be.

Naturally, a good occupation like that at Waikoriri would result in the formation of a tribal cemetery. Taumatapakihore, an exclusively Ngati-Hokopu cemetery, is situated on the ridge above Waikoriri. Here Mohi Turei's elders, Paaka (the man with the hatchet), Pohokura, Omanga and others were buried; here Maraea Puahau and Mereana Puwharariki, Hemi Tapeka's mother, were laid to rest. The latter died at Tikapa, across the Waiapu, but her body was brought to Taumata-pakihore and buried there. As late as 1930, many years after the decision of the Native Land Court, Waiaka, Mohi Turei's eldest daughter, at her last wish, was buried with her forbears. My duty is to record, not to comment.

Although Mokena Kohere was not included in Taupo or 1 D. 10, my grandmother, Marara or Hinekukurangi, was. I also put in a claim for this portion on behalf of my people and was given a few shares, the descendants of Tauramotuhia taking the larger portion of the block. Our petition (re Marangairoa 1 D. or Kautuku) alleges “that the decision of the lower court was arbitrary and that our ancestor, Kotihe, was alone entitled to the land, as only he and his descendants were proved to have occupied.” On this Judges Harvey and Beechey commented: “The sweeping claim made in the petition is so far unsupported as to make the claim ridiculous.” And yet Chief Judge Shepherd, chairman of the Commission, himself produces evidence in support of our claim. In his judgment he says: “There was ample evidence to prove that she (Kotihe) occupied on the boundary between Taupo and Pakihi and that her descendants, Marara Kukurangi and Maata, were born on the land.” (If the two women were born on the land it naturally follows that their parents occupied the land also.) On the other hand, there is not a scrap of evidence to show that Tauramotuhia and his descendants ever occupied the land.

Our joke has not yet been appreciated that because Marara and Maata were born on Taupo, our opponents offered us ten shares out of 500, and because they were born at Tikapa, a long way off, they gave themselves 490 shares. I don't remember seeing anybody laugh; even the judge kept a solemn face.

During the hearing before Judge Jones in 1913 I asked the chief Enoka Rukuata whether he admitted my people's occupation of Kautuku, from our ancestor Mataura down to the time of Mohi Turei. His reply was: “Yes, but your people occupied as relatives.”

I compute that from Mataura to Mohi Turei would be a period of 250 years. In accordance with the philosophy of Judges Harvey and Beechey that occupation of two centuries and a half would be of no advantage to my people, who according to Enoka Rukuata occupied “as relatives” without rights.

The Herupara No. 1 case was heard by the Commission, and the judgment was given before that of Kautuku. Judge Harvey in his decision paid no heed whatever to occupation. I knew he had plenty of time for Sir Apirana Ngata, so early in the hearing of the Kautuku case I put in Sir Apirana's opinion on native land tenure before the Commission. It is as follows:

“Physical occupation of land is absolutely essential to title, whether derived from discovery, conquest, gift or inheritance.”

The Maori People To-day, page 101.

I never expected that Sir Apirana Ngata's opinion on Maori land tenure would be criticised by anyone, much less by a pakeha. Judge Harvey took exception to it by remarking: “There's much in take.” So from the very commencement of the case he and I were fundamentally at variance.

For the Commission to accept Sir Apirana Ngata's opinion on Maori land tenure would be for it to acquiesce in our claim, for it is fundamentally founded on occupation, and that is not to say that the occupation was not founded on right or take or in accordance with Maori custom and usage. For the Commission to have accepted Sir Apirana's opinion on occupation would be to end the long litigation.

Before appeals pending against Judge Jones's decision were heard he was appointed Acting Chief Judge and later Chief Judge and Secretary to the Native Department. It was a mistake to promote him at that time, for his Kautuku decisions would certainly have been questioned since his decision in Pakihi, the adjacent block, was reversed by the Native Appellate Court (consisting of Chief Judge Jackson Palmer and Judge Rawson).

Judge R. C. Sim, a very able judge and thoroughly conversant with Maori customs, states in his Wharekahika judgment:

“It is clear that the greater part of Wharekahika Block became eventually the property of the descendants of Hukarere and Makahuri, principally those of Hukarere, firstly by virtue of the gift by Tamanuhiri and afterwards by gradual extension of the occupation.”

Here we see a very able judge recognising occupation outside defined boundaries. I may point out as a matter of history that Judge Sim threw out a claim by Paratene Ngata for the Wharekahika Block in 1908. Before the case was finished he was dismissed from the Native Land Court bench and for years he had to maintain himself by appearing as a conductor before the Native Appellate Court.

The Native Land Court always appreciated the testimonies of the elders. I placed before the Commission one such testimony. As far back as 1886 the chief Paora Haenga, speaking in the Pohautea case, stated: “The boundary of Mataura's land followed the river, which ran into the sea further north than it does now; the land south of this land and on the opposite side of the Waiapu River belonged to my ancestor, Huanga, the land directly opposite belonged to Hinepare.”

There is nothing more conclusive than this evidence, for it well describes Kautuku, a large portion of which we claim under our ancestor Mataura. Of course, I staked much on this piece of evidence, but the Commission says nothing about it. Paore Haenga never once sponsored our claim under Mataura, whose land has yet to be discovered.

With one more statement I conclude. The preamble to the joint judgment of Judges Harvey and Beechey states:

“It has been remarked in different judgments that the evidence given in relation to this land is very conflicting, and we have found this to be almost an understatement, and it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to discover where the truth lies.”

I do not agree with the above statement; there is nothing difficult in arriving at the truth if you go about it the right way—namely, find out who occupied. Our opponents never occupied and have no cemeteries on the land. Not one court has ever stated that our opponents did occupy Kautuku, at least the portion of it we claim.

It is never denied we have burial grounds on the block. It is never denied Mokena Kohere lived at Waioratane. It is never denied he lived at Katikati. It is never denied NgatiHokopu lived at Waikoriri. It is never denied Ngati-Hokopu lived at Ipuarongo (1 D. 20). It is never denied Marara and Maata were born on Taupo (1 D. 10). It is never denied Mokena Kohere and his sister, Irihāpeti, lived at Okahu (1 D. 6). It is never denied that the elders of Ngati-Hokopu lived in Hurimoana Pa. It is never denied that Mataura defended Pukekiore Pa and sacrificed his young grand-daughter, Whirituarangi, in order to sue for peace, and thereby to save both his people and the land. The only thing denied us is justice.

To My Father in the Grave O, my father! awake; Thy restless couch forsake. Why sleepest thou so calm? Fling away Death's shackles; stretch forth thine arm; For a slavish race has presumed to tread On thy hallowed ground that should be its dread. O, my father! awake. Why restest thou? Arise and let earth quake, For high benchéd incompetence has willed Thy bed that mine hands so lovingly frilled Is no longer thine own, Oh! that thou, like Denmark's ghost, pale and lone, Would'st kindle in me the Crusaders’ zeal, To strike, to die—my broken heart to heal. —R.K.T.

Appendix

Judge James Alexander Wilson, of the Native Land Court, levelled a very serious charge at the Maori people, in his book, Te Waharoa. He said Maoris did not know how to be grateful, that the phrase, “Thank you!” was foreign to them. Because of this failing in the Maori character, according to Judge Wilson, the Maori had no word for gratitude in his language, and the word “Whakawhetai,” often used nowadays to convey the idea of gratitude, was borrowed from Tahiti. It was not a Maori word at all.

In one of Shakespeare's plays (“As You Like It”), because of the intrigues of his brother to secure for himself the estate, the Duke, with his family and his friends, went out to live in the forest of Arden. Here they lived happily, having left behind them envy, intrigues and evils of the world, forgetting, too, the discomforts of forest life. Even in winter they still enjoyed themselves, regardless of the falling snow and the howling gales. They still kept up their singing—

Blow, blow, thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen. Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, Thou dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot; Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remember'd not.

One might infer from his complaints of ingratitude and the absence of consideration that Shakespeare had a taste of the cruel teeth of ingratitude.

During the Hauhau war on the East Coast in 1865 a powerful chief chose to stand by the Government. The rebels were defeated. And the prisoners would have been slaughtered at the instigation of another loyal chief if the aforesaid chief had not intervened. He said to the prisoners: “Let each tribe go home to re-kindle its fire.” Although the majority of the Ngati-Porou Tribe threw in their lot with the rebellious movement, they did not lose a single acre by confiscation, as other tribes suffered. The Government did take steps to confiscate the land, but the chief firmly stood in the way. The Government even went as far as to offer the chief a large sum of money in consideration of the services of the friendly natives. This was his reply: “Take your money away, I don't want it; the fight was mine, not the pakeha's.” And it is known this chief never entered the Native Land Court.

Where can we find such magnanimity? But it was not appreciated. This chief did not get a single acre of the lands he saved. And, what is worse, his descendants were mobbed in the Native Land Court. They lost their lands where once their forbears flourished, they lost their three cemeteries and the ashes of their sires. The whole thing is a tragedy.

Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, Thou dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot; Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remember'd not.

—Translated from the Maori journal, Te Reo o Aotearoa, March, 1929.

Judge F. O. V. Acheson, sitting as a member of the Native Appellate Court at Tikitiki in 1933 to hear petitions in the Kautuku or Marangairoa 1 D. case, said to the Ngati-Porou Tribe, in these words:

“Perhaps you people do not realise how fortunate you have been that you had Mokena Kohere as a friend at court to plead your cause, to stand between your lands and confiscation. If you knew what plight other tribes are in to-day because of the loss of their lands through confiscation by the Government you would appreciate your good fortune.”

Biographical Sketch of the Author

Reweti Tuhorouta Kohere was born at Orutua, near East Cape, on April 11, 1871. He was the eldest son of Hone Hiki, eldest son of the Hon. Mokena Kohere. His mother was Henarata Pereto.

There being no school at Kawakawa (now Te Aroroa), he attended the Waiomatatini School for a few months. In 1882 his father sent him to Te Aute College, but because the college was full and because he knew very little he was sent home. Instead of taking him home his father decided to leave his son at Gisborne, where he attended the central school for a year and a half. In 1885 his father once more tried to get his son into Te Aute, and this time succeeded. In five years Reweti Kohere passed the matriculation and was appointed to the college staff. In 1892 he went to Canterbury University College, Christchurch. He had not completed his B.A. degree when he was appointed assistant tutor at Te Rau Theological College, Gisborne. While there he gained the L.Th. degree. In 1904 he married Keita Kaikiri Paratene.

On the transfer of the Rev. F. A. Bennett (now Bishop of Aotearoa) from Nelson to Taranaki his Maori paper, Te Pipiwharauroa, was published at Te Rau College, and Reweti Kohere took on the editorship. He was editor until the end of 1908, when, with his family, he shifted to Te Araroa. Te Kawakawa pastorate being vacant, Reweti Kohere was placed in charge at a stipend of £75 per annum. He carried on the work for thirteen years, when, owing to difficulties and an increasing family, he was compelled to send in his resignation. He retired with his family to a farm at East Cape, where he has been ever since.

In 1938, when the Labour Party was in a quandary, Reweti Kohere agreed to contest the Eastern Maori electorate against Sir Apirana Ngata, the sitting member. Although he was unable to traverse the large electorate he would have defeated the sitting member by a fair margin if the Labour vote had not been split by Tiaki Omana, the present member.

When it was decided to appoint a Maori Bishop the Maori Clergy of the large Auckland Diocese unanimously decided to nominate Reweti Kohere for the position.

While Reweti Kohere was still at Te Aute College he organised a party of three to visit the main settlements in Hawke's Bay, preaching social reform. The three lads—Maui Pomare (later to become Sir Maui Pomare), Timutimu Tawhai and Reweti Kohere—undertook the trip on foot. These three have always been credited with launching the Young Maori Party.

Reweti Kohere has been for wellnigh thirty years a member of the Matakaoa County Council and for twenty years chairman of the East Cape School Committee. He was for a term chairman of the Te Araroa High School Advisory Committee and the Te Araroa Tribal Committee.

He has now in hand four Maori MSS ready for publication.

A Simple Lesson in Maori Pronunciation

Pronunciation of Maori is exceedingly simple compared with other languages, for it is a purely phonetic language, and yet mispronunciation of it by Europeans is painful. They simply don't care, and yet I have been corrected for mispronouncing German and French words. We have Maori place names all around us.

To pronounce Maori it is essential to master the sounds of the five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and to accentuate the first syllable of a word, except in the case of some words with what is called the causative prefix whaka, when the accent falls on the third syllable—that is, the first syllable of the root word. For example, in the word whakamate (to destroy) the accent falls on ma, the first syllable of the word mate.

The best way, for most people, to learn the vowel sounds is by using examples in English. A Maori vowel has but one sound, although the sound may be either short or long:—Short a as in amiss, long a as in father; short e as in pet, long e as in fed;

Both the e in fed and the a in sawn are short, therefore the student is asked to arbitrarily sound them long, as indicated.

short i as in pit, long i as in feed; short o as in saw, long o as in sawn; short u as in put, long u as in food. A is never as in hat or hate; e is never as in eat or eel; i is never as in bite; o is never as in obey, oh, pole or halloo; u is never as in cut or cute.

Because of the wrong sound given to the vowel a the words Taranaki, Waikato, Matamata, Otaki, etc., are, as a rule, mispronounced by Europeans, particularly by air announcers. The vowel e meets with a similar fate, despite the fact that the English e is more often sounded like the Maori e, e.g., ten, enter, amend, etc. Pakehas never dream of pronouncing the words as teen, eenter, ameend.

Why Bishop Williams adopts in his Maori Grammar the French word fété to illustrate the Maori e sound I don't know, unless he follows the Anglicised pronunciation fate. In this case he must sound the Maori e as ay, which no Maori would accept. This un-Maori sound given to the vowel e has led astray English writers. Te is not tay. Take, for instance, the word ten, and by cutting out the n you have the correct pronunciation. It is certainly not tay. Professor Arnold Wall, led astray in his New Zealand English, tells us to pronounce Awatea as Awataya. No Maori would accept that. Curiously enough and unprofessorlike, he tells us to pronounce weka as wěka, which is correct. but weta as wayta. To be consistent he should pronounce weka as way-ka.

In regard to the Maori o we find the nearest sound to it in the words saw and awe—most positively not in pole. Surely po (night) has not the same sound as po in pole.

The consonants h, k, m, n, p, r, t, w, ng, wh have no sound unless a consonant is followed by a vowel—it is the vowel that gives a consonant its sound. Ng and wh are single letters. Sound ng as in si-ng and it is never hard, as in gate. Sound wh as in when, never as f. To sound wh like f is certainly degenerate Maori.

The initials of the name Whare Ngatai are Wh. Ng., not W. N.

Sources Consulted

J. G. Baker: Sketch of Maori Church Work.

J. Cowan: Maori Wars, Maoris in the Great War. 1914–1918.

T. W. Gudgeon: Reminiscences.

Thomas Lambert: Old Wairoa.

McLean Papers: Turnbull Library.

Marsden: Letters and Journals.

Native Land Court, Waiapu Minute Rooks.

Mrs. Douglas Blair: Land of Toi.

Lindsay Buick: Treaty of Waitangi.

A. H. Reed: Early Maoriland Adventures.

W. Williams: Christianity Amongst the New Zealanders.

W. L. Williams: East Coast Historical Records.

Percy Smith: Maori Wars.

Poverty Bay Herald.

Te Pipiwharauroa.

Te Kopara.

Te Toa Takitini.

Te Reo o Aotearoa.

Waikoriri Committee Book.

Whakapapa

Note.—The line on left is that of Whanau-a-Apanui and that on right is that of Ngati-Porou. The lines are not brought up to the present.

Index A

Acheson, Judge, F. O. V., 100

Aohuna, 41

Aomihia, 3, 8

Aopururangi, 63

Aotaki, 5, 10

Aotauru, 12, 13

Apanui-mutu, 8, 23

Atahaia, 18

Aowehea, 2, 8

Atakura, 4

Atawhiua, Te Piki, 23

Auahikoata, 4, 5

Aute, Potae, 9

Aungira, Rawinia, 64

Axe poised, 48

Baker, J. G., 37, 65, 70, 71

Baker, W. B., 39

Battalion, Maori, 81–83

Bennett, Lieut. A., 84

Biggs, Captain, 54, 56, 59

Bowen, Sir George, 52

Buck, Major Peter, 76, 77

Carroll, Lady, 39

Confiscated, Land to be, 59

Crete, Campaign, 82

Commission, Land, 85

Court's, Appellate error, 90

Crayfish pots, 45

Eclipse, H.M.S., 55, 56

Fighting Fifty, 55

Fleet, Ngati-Porou, 28, 29

Fraser, Captain, 55, 56

Gage, Eitini, 81

Gascoigne, Major, 55, 60

Gisborne, Sale of, 40

Greece, Campaign in, 80, 82

Goldsmith, Percy, 81

Grey, Sir George, 38

Haha, 46

Haenga, Arapeta, 51

Hamia, 16

Hamo, 3

Hapurapoi, 30

Haronga, Taipu ki, 21, 22

Hatepe (Rua-o-Pango), 54, 57

Hauhau, 39, 51, 52, 61

Hauhau Incantation, 61

Hauhau wars, 56

Hihi, 13–16

Hikapooho, 20, 21

Hikatoa, 8

Hikitai, 19, 20

Hikurangi, 1, 20

Hinekukurangi, 31, 36, 93

Hinematioro, 69

Hinemihi, 11

Hinetapora, 18, 20

Hirau, 10, 13

Historians of Hauhau war, 50, 51

Horua, 23

Houkamau, 9, 21, 45

Hughes, Col. J. Gethin, 79 (note)

Hunaara, 8, 9

Hurimoana Pa, 14, 27

Huripuku, 29, 63

Hungahunga-toroa Pa, 56, 57

Hyslop, 60

Ihiko, 2

Ingratitude of Maori, 99

Jack, Union, hoisted, 39, 40, 41, 58

Kaa, Capt. Pekama, 76, 78

Kahiwa, Heni, 57

Kaimoe Block, 39

Kakatarau, 9, 13, 14, 24, 25, 27

Kamiti, 15

Kamura, Paratene. 31, 46

Kanapa Stream, 91

Kapa, 9, 20, 21, 25, 28

Karaha, Rawiri, 42

Karani, 22

Katikati, 27

Kauhu, 38

Kawakawa (Te Araroa), 35

Kennedy's Bay, 29

Kino, 20–22

Kirimamae, 3

Kiterangi, 4

Kingi, Wiremu, 53

Kohere Henarata, 72

Kohere, Lieut. Henare, 72, 75, 78–80

Kohere, Ian Tawhai, 85

Kohere, Lieut. Hiki, 84

Kohere, Hone Hiki, 72

Kohere, Mokena, 1, 2, 7, 9–14, 16, 24–41, 44, 48, 56–58, 86, 89

Kohere, Paratene, 80–83

Kohere, R. T., 32, 33, 101

Kohere, Tawhai, 79

Kohere, Tuhaka, 31

Kohuru, Hori, 57

Konohi, 67

Kopuka, Neho, 79

Kopu Pitiera, 60

Korau-whakarau, 20

Kowhaki, 2

Land Court, 38

Landless Race, 50

Loyal chiefs saved the country, 60

McLean, Sir Donald, 41

Mahuika, Hamana, 47

Mahupuku, Hikawera, 36

Makahuri, 12, 18, 20

Makaea, 49

Makeronia Pa, 57

Makirikiri Stream, 3

Maniaroa Battle, 8, 23, 28

Manupokai, 3

Marino, 25

Makoare, 53

Mataura, 10, 27, 57

Matauru, Wikiriwhi, 21, 56

Maunganui, fern bed, 14, 15

Mangamate adze, 9

Mangaone fight, 52

Mereana, schooner, 29

Mihi Heni, 47

Money refused, 60

Muriwai's Cave, 44

Muru custom, 31

Navy, Royal, 82, 83

N.Z. Division, 82, 83

Nihoniho, Henare, 53

Nuku or Sentry Hill, 55

Nukutaurua, 24, 25

Okahu, 16, 48

Okauwharetoa, 4, 8

Ohu (working bee), 28

Otauru, 30, 32

Orutua, 27

Otutemahurangi Pa, 1

Paaka's hatchet, 47

Paka (Pukekiore), 9

Paikea, 3

Pai Marire incantation, 60

Pakairomiromi battle, 55, 56

Pakaku, 49

Pakura, 13–16, 22

Pakura, Karaitiana, 1 (note)

Parata, 27

Paratroops, 83

Parororangi cemetery, 12

Patara, 52

Patton's army, 85

Paturangi Pa, 1, 27

Pere, Wi, M.P., 43

Piri Tatari, 29

Pig, costly, 46

Pito, incident at, 57

Pito-rua (torch), 4

Porioterangi, 24

Porou, 11, 12

Poroumata, 2–5, 9

Porourangi, chief, 55

Porourangi Hotene, 54

Puahanui Pa, 18

Pukekiore Pa, 10, 27

Pukemanuka Pa, 27

Puputa Pa, 18

Putoanga, 18, 19

Rarawa, 11, 12, 71

Rakahurumai, 29

Ratapu, Mere Kingi, 39, 40

Rakaitemania, 10

Rangatira, a, 1

Rangimatanuku, 63

Rangitawaea, 1, 2

Rangitukia, 24, 34, 35, 47, 79

Rebels spared, 57

Reedy, Lieut. Arnold, 81

Refugees protected, 49

Rerekohu, 67

Rewharewha, era, 63

Ruahuia, 9, 20

Ruatapu, Tamihana, 39

Ruataupare, 1, 2, 5

Ruinga, 13, 27

Rukupo, Raharuhi, 42

Ropuhina, 9

St. John's Church, 35

St. Stephen's Church, 35

Stack, James, 70

Sim, Judge, R. C., 95

Tahu, 3

Takimoana, 15

Takirau, Te Kani-a-, 1, 9, 25, 64–69, 70

Takitimu, house, 36

Tamahae, 18, 19–22, 70

Tamakoro, 9

Tamaitekapua, 7, 8

Tamarore's pit, 91

Tamatatai, Hoera, 53

Tamataurei Pa, 19, 20

Tamurehaua, 4

Tapeka, Hemi, 54, 57

Taumataakura, 26, 48

Tangitaheke, 24

Te Kani, Hirini, 41

Te Kooti Rikirangi, 30, 39, 40, 48, 55

Te Kauru, Popata, 52, 53

Te Rapa incident, 92

Te Ratu, 71

Te Rangimatemoana, 16, 25

Te Rangiteremauri, 58

Te Uhutu, Maka, 24

Te Waranga, 8

Te Wao, 57

Te Wera, 24, 25

Tinatoka, 7

Tiritahua, 14

Toka-a-Kuku, 25

Tuhaka, Pmeamine, 51

Tuhorouta, 7–9, 48

Tuhauanu, 2

Tuiti, 10

Tuke, Lieut., 55, 56

Tumoana-kotore, 19

Tupara, Renata, 58

Turangi, Paratene, 39, 40, 58

Tureia, Captain, Parekura, 84

Turei, Mohi, 2

Tutangaahau, 44, 45

Tuteranginoti, 25

Tuwhakairiora, 1, 2, 5–7, 12

Tuwhakairiora's Pa, 4

Uanga, 22

Uehenga-paraoa, 4

Upaerangi, 31

Upoko-o-te-ika Pa, 7

Upoko-ngaruru Pa, 21

Victoria, Queen, 59

Wahawaha, Major Ropata, 5, 32, 58, 77, 78

Waiheke Island, given and returned, 29

Waikoriri, 92, 93

Wainohu, Padre Wepiha, 75

Waioratane, 15, 27, 89

Waitoa, Rota, 35

Waitotoki, 11

Waiwaha, Makere, 63, 64

Waremau, 9

White, Titus, 54

Williams, H. W., 43

Williams, William, 26

Williams, W. L., 40

Wiwini, 57

Ngaitahu, 3

Ngaitekete, 40

Ngamoe, 4

Ngata, Sir Apirana, 42, 43, 45, 67, 78

Ngata, on occupation, 95

Ngata, Makarini, 67

Ngata, Paratene, 25, 27, 38, 51

Ngatihau, 3, 4

Ngati-Maru, 41, 49

Ngatai, Terei, 73, 74

Ngatapa, 49, 58

Ngati-Hokopu, 1, 13, 23, 34, 47, 53

Ngati-Porou, 3, 4, 16–29, 32, 35, 36, 42, 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 63, 64, 67, 68, 71, 76, 79. 88

Ngati Ruanuku, 4, 5

Ngunguruiterangi, 67, 69

Whanau-a-Apanui, 18–20, 22, 24, 25, 30

Whanau-a-Hunaara, 32, 59

Whanau-maro, 12

Whanau-a-Rerewa, 13, 27

Whaita, 3

Whakatohea, 63

Whakawhitira, 24, 26

Wharekahika, 4, 10

Wharekura, 23

Whakangaue, Pita, 38

Whangaparaoa, 4

Whangara, 3, 8

Wheat growing, 28

Whirituarangi, 10