Tuhoe and the Origins of Te Urewera National Park
Te Urewera National Park was established in 1954, but it’s origins date back to the New Zealand Wars and the rongopai (peace compact) agreed between Tuhoe and the Crown in 1871.
After invasion and unjust confiscation in 1866, and three years of the Crown’s brutal ‘scorched earth’ tactics from 1869-1871 – which devastated the district and left one in eight Tuhoe dead (most from starvation and illness) – peace was welcome. In exchange for Tuhoe continuing to preserve the peace, the Crown pledged to leave what was left of Te Urewera as an inviolate protectorate within which Tuhoe – through Te Whitu Tekau (their ‘council of seventy’) – would manage their own affairs.
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Tūhoe to 1865
The mana motuhake of Tūhoe evolved over many generations. The iwi emerged from a period of conflict in the early nineteenth century having resolved historic rivalries and grievances with neighbouring iwi and distant tribes through a combination of military engagements and a series of tatau pounamu (peace agreements), which were often accompanied by chiefly marriages.
The many hapū of Tūhoe exercised customary control over their collectively-owned lands and resources; each exercising an independent mana born out of strong leadership and distinct whakapapa.
Invasion and Confiscation Northern Te Urewera, 1865-1867
In 1862, the Taranaki spiritual leader Te Ua Haumene developed the peaceful, biblically based doctrines of the Pai Marire faith. In the context of warfare his doctrines were misinterpreted and misapplied by some of his emissaries. In February 1865 the Pai Mārire emissaries Kereopa Te Rau and Patara Raukatauri arrived at Tauaroa (western Te Urewera), en route to Turanga.
Waikaremoana, 1865-1867
In December 1865 fighting between the Crown and Māori on the East Coast spread to Waikaremoana when Pai Mārire adherents arrived from Turanga. The group, which did not include Tūhoe, were fleeing after being defeated by Crown forces at Waerenga-a-Hika near Gisborne.
”Scorched Earth” and the Pursuit of Te Kooti, 1868 - 1872
Peace negotiations. In November 1867 about 400 Tūhoe met at Waikaremoana and deputed Paerau Te Rangikaitupuake to negotiate a peace settlement with the Crown. Those at the meeting wanted to prevent war spreading into the interior of Te Urewera and to ensure no more Tūhoe would be sent to the Chatham Islands. The terms of peace offered by the Crown were for Tūhoe to come in and take the oath of allegiance, hand over some arms as a token of submission, and hand in those wanted for specific killings. In return the Crown would not punish those involved in previous hostilities or exile any more Tūhoe.
Te Pūru
This haka was composed in 1864 as a Tūhoe response to the colonial invasion by the British Empire. Tūhoe with Ngāti Maniapoto, Raukawa, Ngāti Manawa, Ngāti Whare and other iwi allies confronted the colonial forces at Orākau near the present site of Kihikihi township. Read more...