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Te Ānaua, Hōri Kīngi

?–1868

Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi leader, assessor

This biography, written by Steven Oliver, was first published in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography in 1990. It was translated into te reo Māori by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography team.

Te Ānaua, of Pūtiki Wharanui pā, near the mouth of the Wanganui River, was the leader of Ngāti Ruaka of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi in the early and mid nineteenth century. Descended from Hinengākau, his father was Te Aewa; his mother was Titia. He was baptised by the missionary John Mason at Pūtiki on 25 December 1842, and took the name Hōri Kīngi (George King). He was also known as Tū. He had two wives. The first, Te Hukinga, also known as Wikitōria, was of Ngāti Ruru. Te Ānaua and Te Hukinga were married at Pūtiki on 29 May 1843. After Te Hukinga's death in December 1860 Te Ānaua married Ramarihi Taukari, also known as Te Aotārewa, of Ngāti Ruaka, on 21 October 1861 at Pūtiki. It is not recorded if there were children of these marriages.

Te Ānaua and his brother Te Māwae were among the leaders of the Wanganui tribes in the tribal wars of the early nineteenth century. In 1819 or 1820 he fought at Pūrua, near the mouth of the Wanganui River, against the expedition of northern, musket-armed tribes led by Tūwhare, Patuone and Nene. When the Amiowhenua northern war expedition of 1821-22 attacked Wanganui, Te Ānaua fought against it at Mangawere, where two of his brothers were killed. He ambushed a section of the war party at Mangatoa and pursued it as far as Taupō.

In the early 1820s Ngāti Raukawa, migrating south from Maungatautari, invaded the upper Wanganui. Te Peehi Tūroa of Ngāti Patutokotoko besieged them at Makakote pā, where Ngāti Raukawa leader Te Ruamaioro was killed. It is said that when the pā surrendered Te Ānaua took charge of the prisoners, and later, in a peaceful settlement, released them to Te Whatanui at Rānana. As a result, when Ngāti Raukawa and their allies captured Pūtiki Wharanui in 1829, Te Ānaua, with Te Peehi Tūroa, was allowed to escape unharmed. About 1824 Te Ānaua was involved in the attack by Wanganui and other southern tribes on Ngāti Toa at Kapiti Island, but escaped the defeat. He later fought against the Tama-te-uaua migration of Te Āti Awa to the south in the early 1830s.

In the mid 1840s Te Ānaua avoided conflict with war parties, led by Mananui Te Heuheu Tukino II of Ngāti Tuwharetoa, which were making their way from Taupo to Waitōtara. His brother Te Māwae followed the Christian injunction to feed his enemies by dividing a potato field for Mananui's warriors. The lower Wanganui tribes were strongly influenced by the CMS missionaries, whose mission station at Pūtiki was established in 1840. Te Ānaua was closely associated with Richard Taylor, and became an ally of the government. In 1846–47, when the European settlement at Wanganui was threatened by Te Mamaku of Ngāti Hāua-te-rangi, Te Ānaua provided men to help defend the town. In February 1848, at Governor George Grey's request, he went to Tuhua to try to conciliate Te Mamaku, and was present at the meeting some weeks later at which Te Mamaku pledged peace.

Te Ānaua signed the Treaty of Waitangi at Wanganui in 1840. He had earlier signed Edward Jerningham Wakefield's deed of purchase for Wanganui, but later described it as being of no significance. With other Wanganui leaders he was successful in gaining increased Māori reserves, and when the Wanganui purchase was finalised in May 1848 Te Ānaua divided the payment for the 80,000 acres among the hapū. Later that year he mediated between Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Apa over the sale of the Rangitīkei block. In December 1848 he was appointed a magistrate by Taylor, and in the 1860s was appointed an assessor by the government. He was awarded a government pension of £20 (later increased to £50) in 1859, and at the 1860 Kohimarama conference of Māori leaders was presented by Governor Thomas Gore Browne with a staff of honour from Queen Victoria, in recognition of his loyalty.

Te Ānaua was suggested for the Māori kingship in the early 1850s, but declined. In the 1860s he resisted the influence of both the King movement and Pai Mārire in the Wanganui area. In May 1864 he led a force which defeated upper Wanganui Hauhau followers at Moutoa, an island in the Wanganui River. In July 1865 he was with Grey at Weraroa, a Hauhau pā near the Waitōtara River, where he attempted to negotiate a surrender. After the Hauhau were driven from Pipiriki in August 1865 he assisted in arranging an end to hostilities on the Wanganui River.

In January–February 1866 Te Ānaua took part in Major General Trevor Chute's campaign in South Taranaki, and is credited with having persuaded the Wanganui Māori troops to take part in Chute's inland march around Mt Taranaki. Later that year he travelled with Grey around both the North and South Islands. Te Ānaua died at Pūtiki on 18 September 1868, and was buried at Korowhata hill, overlooking Pūtiki, on 23 September. He is thought to have been about 75 years of age at his death.

How to cite this page:

Steven Oliver. 'Te Ānaua, Hōri Kīngi', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t24/te-anaua-hori-kingi (accessed 29 March 2024)