Mātene Te Whiwhi signed Te Tiriti at Kāpiti on 14 May 1840. The son of Te Rangitopeora, the next signatory, he was a strong advocate for the protection of Māori land.
He played an important role in the birth of the King movement. In the 1850s the central North Island had little Pākehā settlement and he wanted it to stay that way. However increasing pressure from government and settlers saw many Māori ready to resist by force. By 1860 Mātene Te Whiwhi, also an advocate for peace, was firmly opposed to the movement he had helped to found.
Like his cousin Tāmihana, the previous signatory, he is one of the few rangatira to write his own name on this Treaty sheet, with most others signing with parts of their moko or other marks.