Signing
| Signature | Sheet | Signed as | Probable name | Tribe | Hapū | Signing Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheet 8 — The Cook Strait (Henry Williams) Sheet | Tuarau | Tuarau | Te Āti Awa | Ngāti Tāwhirikura | Port Nicholson 29 April 1840 |
Tuarau usually lived in Waikanae but signed the Cook Strait (Henry Williams) sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi on 29 April 1840 at Port Nicholson (Wellington). He was a Ngāti Tāwhirikura rangatira (chief) from the Te Āti Awa iwi (tribe). He was the grandson of both Tautara and Maheuheu, the son of Hineone, and the nephew of the former head rangatira of Te Āti Awa, who was nicknamed ‘Wide Awake’ by flax traders.
It is believed that Tuarau was the warrior who stood at the front of the canoe when theTory was welcomed into Port Nicholson harbour in September 1839.
In November 1839, Tuarau was sent in the Tory with Te Wharue, Te Puni’s eldest son, to Taranaki to advise Te Āti Awa there to sell land to the New Zealand Company.
See also Wellington City Council, Nga Tupuna o Te Whanganui-a-Tara: Volume 3, Wellington City Council & Wellington Tenths Trust, 2005, p. 61
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