Te Āti Awa leader Wiremu Tako Ngātata was one of the first Māori members of the Legislative Council. He opposed legislation threatening Māori possession of land.
Te Ati Awa
Articles
Go-betweens
An important feature of early cross-cultural contact in New Zealand was the role of intermediaries (kaiwhakarite) who acted as go-betweens – people from one culture who lived within the other culture and helped bridge the gap between the two. Read the full article
Page 2 - Pākehā-Māori
Europeans who settled in Māori communities and adopted a Māori lifestyle were described as 'Pākehā-Māori'
Biographies
Elected to Parliament as the member for Western Māori in 1871, Wiremu Parata, took part in several high-profile court claims over Māori land.
Te Ati Awa leader Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke's refusal to give up his land at Waitara led to the outbreak of the Taranaki War. In later life joined the pacifist community at Parihaka.
Te Whiti was a Taranaki leader and prophet. A resistance movement based at Parihaka was led by him and Tohu Kākahi. Te Whiti was arrested following the infamous raid on Parihaka by Armed Constabulary in 1881.
The prophet Tohu Kākahi of Te Āti Awa helped led the peaceful resistance movement at Parihaka. He was arrested by Armed Constabulary in 1881 and held without trial until 1883.
Tom Ellison was captain of NZ's first official rugby team in 1893. He invented the wing forward position and in 1903 wrote one of the game's first coaching manuals.
In 1862 Te Ua Haumēne established a new religion, Hauhau based on the principle of pai marire – goodness and peace. Most settlers viewed Hauhau as a anti-European religion that became synonymous with ‘violence, fanaticism and barbarism’.
Sir Paul Reeves was Archbishop of New Zealand and in 1985 became this country's first Māori governor-general.
Main image: Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke
Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, circa 1846. Taken by an unidentified photographer.
