Background
Pere was a participant in the Te Kooti's War, one of the New Zealand Wars. When Te Kooti's forces were defeated at the siege of Ngatapa, in 1869, around 270 people were taken prisoner. Along with four other survivors (Hetariki Te Oikau, Matene Te Karo, Rewi Tamanui Totitoti, and Wi Tamararo), Pere was taken to Wellington, where he was put on trial for high treason against the British crown. Pere and Tamararo were also charged with murder. Three of the accused, Te Oikau, Te Karo, and Totitoti, began their trial on 20 September 1869, and were found guilty after four days. They were sentenced to be hanged, then beheaded, and then quartered — this was the mandatory sentence for treason, although the judge indicated that perhaps the beheading and quartering would not actually be carried out. Pere and Tamararo were to be tried separately, as they were accused of murder as well as treason. Tamararo's trial began on 27 September, although treason charges were dropped, leaving only charges of murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to the same punishment as the others.Trial and execution
When Pere himself began his trial, the murder charges were dropped, leaving only the charge of treason. Pere's defence focused on three primary claims: *That Pere had been conscripted into Te Kooti's army by force. *That even if Pere hadn't been conscripted, the cause he saw himself as fighting for (resisting the encroachment of those who were stealing his land) was just. *That Pere did not realise that Britain regarded itself as sovereign over New Zealand, and that he, therefore, did not understand himself to be committing treason. Pere was supported in his trial byRecent re-examinations
More recently, Hamiora Pere's case has been re-examined, with some claiming that he was treated unfairly. It has been alleged that if the three other accused had their sentences commuted, Pere should have been treated the same way — there was no corroborated evidence that Pere had actually committed murder. (It is argued that the Crown realised this, and that this is why the separate murder charge was dropped.) According to some theories, Pere was executed not because he was deemed to have deserved it, but because the government "needed someone to hang" to satisfy public opinion or to serve as an example. Wi Tamararo, against whom the strongest evidence of murder was presented, deprived the government of a hanging by committing suicide, leaving Pere as the only real candidate. In the minutes of the Executive Council, an opinion was noted that "one execution will be suseful as more would have been by way of example and caution".References
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pere, Hamiora Year of birth missing 1869 deaths New Zealand criminals Executed New Zealand people People executed for treason against the United Kingdom People executed by New Zealand by hanging People of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century executions by New Zealand 1860s crimes in New Zealand 1869 crimes in New Zealand