Tarore ( – 18 October 1836) was a

Christian martyr In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at th ...

and

child prodigy A child prodigy is defined in psychology research literature as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to young people who are extraor ...

. She was the daughter of Wiremu Ngākuku, a (chief) of the

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 ...

(tribe)

Ngāti Hauā Ngāti Hauā is a Māori people, Māori iwi of the eastern Waikato of New Zealand. It is part of the Tainui confederation. Its traditional area includes Matamata, Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge, Maungakawa, the Horotiu district along the Wai ...

in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

of New Zealand. Her story is treasured by the New Zealand church as an example of forgiveness after her father chose not seek revenge against her killers following her death, and her gospel book was key to the spread of Christianity amongst Māori.

Ministry

In April 1835, a mission station was opened in Matamata by Reverend Alfred Brown and his wife, Charlotte, for the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

. In 1836, Tarore was given an early

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

copy of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volu ...

, and from the book, Charlotte Brown taught Tarore to read. Because of her ability to memorise much of the gospel, Tarore was considered a prodigy. She would recite portions of the gospel to crowds of 200–300 of her people and was supported by her father as a

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

Murder

In October 1836, Tarore was evacuated with the other pupils from her Church Missionary Society school in Matamata, because of a violent and cannibalistic conflict between iwi. She took her father's rare Māori Gospel of Luke in a small (basket) she wore around her neck. Whilst stopped for the night of 18 October near the Wairere Falls in the Kaimai Ranges, her party of 24, including her peace-loving father, was attacked by a

Ngāti Whakaue Ngāti Whakaue is a Māori iwi, of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand. The tribe lives in the Rotorua district and descends from the Arawa waka. The Ngāti Whakaue village Ōhinemutu is within the township of Rotorua. Ngāti Whakaue tra ...

war party from

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, Tārore was murdered and the book stolen by

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

Paora Te Uita. Her ritualistically mutilated body was carried back to the Matamata mission station and was given a Christian burial. The Māori law of required revenge for her death, but at her (funeral) her Christian father spoke words of forgiveness and said "do not rise up to obtain satisfaction for her. God will do that."

Aftermath

Several weeks later, back in Rotorua, Uita asked visiting ex-slave, mission school educated Ripahau (also known as Matahau) of

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

to explain the book to him. This led him to become a Christian and to ask for forgiveness from Ngākuku, leading to their reconciliation. The book, identified by Ngākuku's inscribed name, was then taken south and ended up in the hands of Ripahau again in Ōtaki. It continued to play a key role in Māori evangelising to Māori for years to come, including the introduction of the gospel to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

for the first time.

Legacy

Tarore's grave was located in 1976 at the Matamata (fortification) site near the village of

Waharoa Waharoa is a rural community in the Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hami ...

, and the following year a white cross headstone and plaque were created to commemorate her death, her father's forgiveness and the spread of Christianity through New Zealand that was influenced by her book. In 1997, ''The Legend of Tarore'' documentary was broadcast on New Zealand national television. In 2009, Joy Cowley and Mary Clover Bibby wrote the children's book, ''Tārore and her Book''. The same year, the Churches Education Commission gave 240,000 free copies of the book to New Zealand primary schools because of its historical significance to both Māori and Christianity in New Zealand. Tarore's story has been described as "''the'' iconic narrative of the early missionary period" in New Zealand. The

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

's Representative to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, Sir David Moxon described Tarore's story and gospel book as "amongst the ''

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...

'' (treasures) of the Church in

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...

Notes

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