Karaitiana Takamoana (died 24 February 1879) was a prominent

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

chief of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative ...

, and a New Zealand Member of Parliament for the

Eastern Maori Eastern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, an ...

electorate. Recognised by many as a founding father of the modern

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

, he was a veteran of the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms rac ...

and the East Coast campaigns of the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...

, including the

East Cape War The East Cape War, sometimes also called the East Coast War, was a series of conflicts fought in the North Island of New Zealand from April 1865 to October 1866 between colonial and Māori military forces. At least five separate campaigns wer ...

and

Te Kooti's War Te Kooti's War was among the last of the New Zealand Wars, the series of 19th century conflicts in New Zealand between the Māori and the colonising European settlers. It was fought in the East Coast region and across the heavily forested centra ...

. He represented the

electorate from until 1879, when he died.

Early life

Takamoana was said to have been born in

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

to mother Te Rotohenga and father Tini-ki-runga. He was of the Ngāti Hawea hapu of

. Takamoana derived chiefly rank among Ngati Te Whatu-i-apiti and Ngati Kahungunu in Heretaunga through his mother, Te Rotohenga, also known as Winipere. Henare Tomoana, also a prominent politician, was his half-brother.

Musket Wars

In the 1820s Takamoana fought at the battle of Te Roto-a-Tara against northern tribes. Around 1824, Takamoana was captured at Te Pakake pa and taken captive by Waikato forces who invaded the Mahia area, but was later released.

Political career

After an unsuccessful attempt in 1868, Takamoana entered Parliament in 1871 as member for Eastern Māori, succeeding Tareha Te Moananui. Takamoana held office until his death in 1879.

Later life

Karaitiana Takamoana is said to have had three wives in the 1870s, with some speculating he could have renounced his Christianity. When Takamoana died at Napier on 24 February 1879, he was said to be between 60 and 70 years old. He was buried at Pakowhai in a brick tomb opposite the site of his house.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takamoana, Karaitiana Year of birth unknown 1879 deaths New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 19th-century New Zealand politicians Ngāti Kahungunu people