Story: Te Āti Awa of Taranaki

Page 3. War and a kind of peace

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Te Teira and Wiremu Kīngi

In 1859 an opportunity to deal with the ‘Kīngi problem’ arose when the land Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke was living on at Waitara was offered for sale by Te Teira, one of the tribe’s junior chiefs. The offer was made to the government’s land purchasing officer Donald McLean. Kīngi and Te Teira had fallen out, and Te Teira’s offer was designed to hurt Kīngi. Though officials knew that Kīngi was the paramount chief and Te Teira had no right to sell the land, they chose to accept the offer.

Kīngi and his allies refused to leave the land in question and prevented a survey of the block. The Crown issued Kīngi and Te Āti Awa with a written ultimatum. They were required to move or the Crown would send in troops. Kīngi’s refusal to vacate his home in March 1860 led to the first shots of the New Zealand wars being fired by the British at Te Kohia , just south of Waitara.

Consequences of resistance

There was widespread Māori support for Te Āti Awa, but the war ended inconclusively after a year of fighting. The Crown accused the tribe of rebelling. In 1865, the government used the 1863 Suppression of Rebellion Act and the New Zealand Settlements Act to confiscate all of Te Āti Awa’s Taranaki land.

Confiscation’s aftermath

Despite Te Āti Awa claims that they were simply defending house and home from an aggressive military attack, the confiscation proceeded. It created unprecedented political, social and cultural disruption, from which the tribe still suffers. The tribe’s traditional leadership was undermined and the main tribal political structures, which then included over 90 sub-tribes, collapsed to the present six of Ngāti Rāhiri, Ōtaraua, Manukorihi, Pukerangiora, Puketapu and Ngāti Te Whiti.

How to cite this page:

Peter Adds, 'Te Āti Awa of Taranaki - War and a kind of peace', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/te-ati-awa-of-taranaki/page-3 (accessed 30 March 2024)

Story by Peter Adds, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 1 Mar 2017