Tāwhiao
Leader of the Waikato tribes and second Māori King (c. 1822–1894) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Kīngi Tāwhiao (Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao,[1] Māori: [taːɸiao tʉːkaɾɔtɔ matʉtaeɾa pɔːtatau tɛ ɸɛɾɔɸɛɾɔ];[2] c. 1822 – 26 August 1894),[lower-alpha 1] known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to the King Country, Tāwhiao was also Paramount Chief of the Rohe Pōtae for 17 years, until 1881. A Waikato Tainui nobleman, rangatira, and religious figure, Tāwhiao amassed power and authority during a time of momentous change to become de facto leader of the Waikato tribes. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta hapū, who comprise the kāhui ariki (the Māori royal family).
Matutaera Tāwhiao | |||||||||
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Te Kīngi Māori | |||||||||
Māori King | |||||||||
Tenure | 25 June 1860 – 26 August 1894 | ||||||||
Coronation | 5 July 1894 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Pōtatau Te Wherowhero | ||||||||
Successor | Mahuta Tāwhiao | ||||||||
Ariki of Te Rohe Pōtae | |||||||||
Tenure | 5 April 1864 - 11 July 1881 | ||||||||
Predecessor | Position established | ||||||||
Successor | Position abolished | ||||||||
Born | Tūkaroto Pōtatau Te Wherowhero c. 1822 Orongokoekoea Pā, Te Takiwā o Waikato Tainui, Aotearoa | ||||||||
Died | 26 August 1894 (aged 71–72) Ngāruawāhia, Colony of New Zealand (former King Country) | ||||||||
Makau Ariki | Rangiaho Hera Aotea | ||||||||
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House | Ngāti Mahuta | ||||||||
Father | Pōtatau Te Wherowhero | ||||||||
Mother | Whakaawi | ||||||||
Religion | Pai Mārire |
The son of kīngi Pōtatau te Wherowhero, Tāwhiao was elected the second Māori King after his father's death in 1860, becoming both the political and spiritual leader of the new dynasty.[3][4] Unlike his unenthusiastic father, Tāwhiao embraced the kingship, and responded immediately to the challenge of ongoing Tainui support for Te Āti Awa during the First Taranaki War. In 1863, Tāwhiao was baptised into the Pai Mārire faith, taking his regnal name, before leading the response to the invasion of the Waikato. Defying Governor George Grey's demand for Tainui to move south, Tāwhiao remained where he was and led the Waikato defences. The Kīngitanga suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Rangiriri, and war crimes were subsequently committed against Tainui Māori at the trading centre of Rangiaowhia.[5] Outnumbered, Tāwhiao led the exodus of Tainui to the King Country on the land of Ngāti Maniapoto, establishing a secessionist state called Te Rohe Pōtae.[6][7] Warning all Europeans that they risked death if they crossed the aukati of the King Country, he governed Te Rohe Pōtae as an independent state for almost 20 years.[8]
Although the leader of an isolated sovereign Māori Kingdom with some remaining allies, Tāwhiao's power began to decline significantly in the 1880s, especially as relations with his benefactors of Ngāti Maniapoto began to decline.[8] He formally sued for peace with Grey in Pirongia on 11 July 1881,[9] allowing the construction of the North Island Main Trunk railway line, which opened up the King Country to the outside world for the first time.[10] Attempts by Tāwhiao to regain personal sovereignty or establish co-governance in convention to the Treaty of Waitangi failed, and the Kīngitanga began to lose its supporters. The king died suddenly in August 1894, and was succeeded by his son Mahuta Tāwhiao.
Tāwhiao's legacy includes building the kingitanga from a union of mid-Northern tribes into "one of New Zealand’s most enduring political institutions", becoming a powerful adversary of the Crown that endured even after the exodus into the King Country and the eventual loss of its sovereignty.[11] He is credited with establishing several key Kīngitanga institutions, including Te Whakakitenga, the bicameral legislature of Waikato Tainui, and the annual Poukai conference, as well as the initial Kīngitanga Bank, which collapsed, and then the successful Bank of Aotearoa. Tāwhiao has also been the subject to controversy, such as the chaos erupting from the forfeiture of the Kīngitanga Bank, and his conversion to Mormonism.