I whānau a Hūria Mātenga ki Whakapuaka, i ngā takiwā o Whakatū (Nelson) i Te Waipounamu, i waenganui i ngā tau 1840 ki 1842 pea. I tōna whānautanga ka huaina ia ko Ngārongoā Kātene, ēngari ko Ngā Hota tētahi anō o ana īngoa, ā, i muri mai hoki, i mōhiotia ia ko Hūria Mātenga. He uri ia nō Te Āti Awa, nō Ngāti Tama, me Ngāti Toa, i taea hoki e ia te whakapapa mai i a ia i tētahi tupuna o runga i te waka o Tokomaru. Ko tana tupuna ki te taha o tana matua ko Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi, he kaingārahu nō Ngāti Tama, he toa rongonui. Ko te rerekētanga, ko ōna mātua, ko Wikitōria Te Amohau o Ngāti Te Whiti, me Wiremu Kātene Te Pūoho, i aru i ngā akoranga rongomau a Te Whiti-o-Rongomai III rāua ko Tohu Kākahi, ko rāua nei ngā rangatira o te papakāinga i Whakapuaka.
I te tau 1858 he mea whakarite tōna mārenatanga ki a Hēmi Mātenga Wai-punāhau. Kāhore rāua i whai uri, ēngari i whāngaitia e rāua tētahi kōtiro, ko Mamae tōna īngoa. Ko Hēmi Mātenga te tama a Metapere Waipunāhau o Kapiti rāua ko George Stubbs, he kaiaru tohorā, he kaihokohoko; ā, he nui hoki ōna whenua i te rohe o Waikanae. Ko te tūranga teitei o ngā whānau e rua nei i kitea i roto i te tokomaha o ngā rangatira Māori me ngā rangatira Pākehā i hui ki te mārena i te whare karakia o Te Karaiti i Whakatū, i te 7, i te 8 rānei o Hepetema.
I whakahōnoretia a Hūria Mātenga i te tau 1863 mō tana mahi whakaora tangata i aituātia ki te moana. I te pō o te 3–4 o Hepetema, i a ia e haere atu ana i Whakatū ki Ahuriri (Napier), i tūpono te kaipuke Delaware ki te āwhā, ka porowhiua ki runga i ngā toka i raro i ngā pari i Whakapuaka. Waimarie i kitea e Hūria Mātenga, rātou ko tana tāne, me tētahi tokotoru, kua raruraru ngā kaimahi o te kaipuke. Ka haere rātou ki te āwhina. Ahakoa i te taupatupatu ngā kōrero mō ngā mahi i mahia e Hūria, e whakapaetia ana ko ia tētahi i kauhoe atu i te karekare o te moana ki te tiki i te taura i makaia mai e te kāpene o te kaipuke. I whakamaua te taura ki tētahi toka nui i te ākau, ēngari nā te tino kaha o te āwhā, me te aurara o te kaipuke, kāhore te taura i kikī. I kauhoe atu a Hūria Mātenga rātou ko ana hoa tokorua i roto i te karekare o te moana ki te kawe i ngā kaimahi ki uta. Kotahi anake kāhore i ora.
Ahakoa ehara i te mea tauhou tēnei mea te paeārautanga, ā, e pānuitia ana i roto i ngā nūpepa, ko ngā mahi me te tuawahinetanga o Hūria Mātenga i a ia i whakaora ai i te hunga paeārautia, i titi ki ngā hinengaro o te katoa. I whakanuia ia mō tana toa, me tōna ātaahua hoki. I te wā o ngā whawhai i Taranaki me Waikato, ko ngā mahi a Hūria Mātenga mā i kitea, he whakapuāwaitanga i te hononga o ngā iwi e rua. Ko tā te kāwanatanga takoha ki a ia e £50, ā, ko tā te iwi o Whakatū he wati kōura he mea utu nā ngā iwi katoa. I te hui whakanui i te hōro nui o Whakatū i te 14 o Noema, i whakaritea a ia ki a Grace Darling, nāna nei i whakaora tētahi tokowhā i tētahi paeārautanga i waho atu i ngā moutere o Farne i te tau 1838. E toru ngā whakaahua o Hūria Mātenga i panipania e Gottfried Lindauer, ā, he maha noa atu anō ōna whakaahua, ko ētahi nā William rāua ko James Tyree o Whakatū. Kotahi rau tau i muri mai kei te whakanuia tonutia ia: i te tau 1983 i tapaina tētahi waka tō o te Poari Whanga o Whakatū ki a ia.
Ahakoa ko ēnei mahi āna i kitea e te ao Pākehā, he wahine whai mana hoki ia i roto i tōna ake kāinga me ōna iwi. He whenua ōna i Taranaki, i Pari-ā-rua (Porirua) tae atu ki Whakatū. Haere ai ia ki ēnei wāhi ki ngā hui ā-whānau, ki te whakaīngoa tamariki, me te whakarite mārena. I muri mai i te matenga o tana matua i te marama o Āperira 1880, ka whiwhi ia ki ngā pānga whenua i Whakapuaka, 17,739 eka te nui. I whakahētia e Wiremu Kātene te tuku o ngā whenua o Ngāti Toa i Te Waipounamu i te tau 1853, kāhore hoki ia i tango i tētahi wāhi o te £5,000 i utua. I tautokotia e Hūria tōna tū, ā, i muri mai i kīia he wahine kaha ia ki te whawhai, otirā mō ngā kaupapa whenua.
Nā tana kore e pai ki te hoko whenua me te kaha o tana tāne ki te whakatōpū rawa, i taea ai e ia i muri mai te noho rangatira. He mea whakanoho he hipi i runga i te whenua ka rīhitia ki ngā Pākehā. He wahine whai rawa i te wā kua tata ngaro ngā mahi e ora ai te Māori i a ia anō. Nā tēnei āhuatanga ka kitea te rerekētanga o tāna momo noho ki tērā o tōna iwi. Ko ngā kōrero o reira i kī ko te kāinga o ngā Mātenga he nui tonu, he nui hoki ngā papa pātītī, ā, he papa tēnehi hoki tō rāua. Whakatūria ai e Hūria Mātenga ētahi hākari nui, i runga i ngā tikanga Māori me ngā tikanga Pākehā. I whakamanuhiritia ngā poropiti a Te Whiti rāua ko Tohu i te tau 1882 i te wā o tō rāua peitanga. Ko ētahi atu manuhiri, ko Pīhopa A. B. Suter me Alexander Mackay, te kōmihana mō ngā whenua rāhui Māori, ā, i muri mai he kaiwhakawā nō te Kōti Whenua Māori, he hoa hoki ia mō tētahi wā roa nō te whānau. Nā runga i tana rongonui he rite tonu te puta o te pōwhiri ki a ia ki ngā hui nui o te rohe.
Mō te 20 o ōna tau whakamutunga i uru a Hūria Mātenga ki tētahi raruraru whenua, he tini ōna āhuatanga, i Whakapuaka. I tukuna mai te mana whenua ki a ia, ēngari i whai wāhi ētahi atu o te whānau ki te noho me te whakamahi i te whenua, tae atu hoki ki te whakarite tikanga mō aua whenua a mua atu. I te tau 1883, ka whakatauhia e te Kōti Whenua Māori ko te whenua, motuhake nō Hūria Mātenga anake. I waenganui i ngā tau 1896 ki 1934, e 15 ngā pitihana whakahē i tēnei whakataunga i tukua ki mua i te aroaro o te Pāremata.
Ko ngā kaipitihana tino nui ko ētahi atu anō o te whānau. I kī rātou i taka a Hūria ki raro i te awe o Hēmi Mātenga, ā, nā Hēmi i whakakorea ai e Hūria tana kī taurangi ka whakamaua e ia ō rātou īngoa ki ngā taitara whenua. I whakaputaina ngā kōrero, arā nā Hēmi rātou i pei atu i ngā whenua. Ko tēnei raruraru te pūtake o tētahi pōuri nui ki a Hūria i a ia ka tata te mate. I haere tonu ngā tautohetohe, me ngā whakawākanga, i muri noa mai i tōna matenga. Nō te tau 1936 rā anō kātahi anō ka tatū te take nui, i te whakawehetanga me te tukunga o te kotahi eka i roto i te whā o ngā eka 11,381 e toe ana i taua wā, ki ērā atu o te whānau. I te matenga o Hūria Mātenga, ka riro katoa i a Hēmi Mātenga ana taonga. Ka noho a Whakapuaka hei whenua Māori tae noa ki te tau 1954.
I mate a Hūria Mātenga ki Whakapuaka i te 24 o Āperira 1909; ka tāpuketia ki reira i te 2 o Mei. Neke atu i te 2,000 ngā tāngata i tae ki te tangi ki a ia. He tauira whakahirahira tōna mana, me āna mahi ki ana uri, ki tana whānau me te iwi whānui tonu. Ko āna mahi tuawahine ki te whakaora i ngā kaimahi o te kaipuke Delaware i tohua ai ia ko tētahi o ngā wāhine Māori torutoru nei o tōna wā, kua whai wāhi tūturu ki roto i ngā kōrero Pākehā me ngā kōrero o tana rohe.