Hemi Topine Te Mamaku (c. 1790 – June 1887) was a

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 in the Ngāti Hāua-te-rangi

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, an ...

from the

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 ...

. Te Mamaku was born and raised in the Whanganui area and as tribal chief commanded a pā at Tuhua, at a strategic position on the Ohura River, north of

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

. During 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 ra ...

Te Mamaku was sometimes allied with

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its ''rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston N ...

chief

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...

and sometimes fought against him. However at the outbreak of the Hutt Valley Campaign in 1846 he was firmly on the side of

Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855), was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life A member of the Ngāti Toa, he was born at Kawhia around 1780. Hi ...

in resisting the encroachment of European settlers on to Māori land. On 16 May 1846, Te Mamaku led a force of about 200 warriors in a devastating dawn surprise attack on British troops at Boulcott's Farm in the Hutt Valley. Afterwards, he sent letters to other chiefs in the Whanganui area urging them to join in the conflict. Some were intercepted and forwarded to the government, which may have precipitated

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

's decision to arrest Te Rauparaha. Returning to

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

(then known as Petre) in September 1846, Te Mamuku told the 200 European settlers that he had no quarrel with them and would protect them from attack by other Māori, but that he would not tolerate the presence of government troops. Two months later, the government decided to station troops at Petre. In April 1847, four Māori were hanged for the murder of a settler family. Te Mamaku believed they should have been handed over for tribal justice. Raids on the outlying farms intensified and then, in May, Te Mamaku led a war party of up to 700 warriors that besieged the town. A significant battle ensued on 20 July, resulting in about a dozen casualties on each side and the eventual withdrawal of Te Mamaku's forces up the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

to the

Pipiriki Pipiriki is a settlement in New Zealand, on the east bank of the Whanganui River, due west of the town of Raetihi and upriver from Whanganui; it was originally on the opposite bank. It is the home of Ngāti Kura, a hapū of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi ...

area. In 1857, Te Mamaku was offered the Māori kingship. He declined, but he did join the Kingitanga movement in their opposition to the sale of Māori land. He did not get involved in the Battle of Moutoa Island but was probably fighting alongside the

Pai Mārire The Pai Mārire movement (commonly known as Hauhau) was a syncretic Māori religion founded in Taranaki by the prophet Te Ua Haumēne. It flourished in the North Island from about 1863 to 1874. Pai Mārire incorporated biblical and Māori spiritual ...

forces at Ohoutahi in the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...

. Despite this, within a few years he was regarded as a man of peace and had the respect of the government. He opposed

Te Kooti Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. 1832–1893) was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatū religion and guerrilla fighter. While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Cha ...

but was firm in his belief that the

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

was sacrosanct Maori territory, even to the extent of executing one man who persisted in entering the area. In 1880, he joined

Te Keepa te Rangihiwinui Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (died 15 April 1898) was a Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. First known as Te Rangihiwinui, he was later known as Te Keepa, Meiha Keepa, Major Keepa or Ma ...

in trust to protect the Maori land of the upper Wanganui River from sale to the Pakeha. In his later years Te Mamaku appears to have accepted many of the changes that Europeanisation brought to his area. He died in June 1887 at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:TE Mamaku 1790 births 1887 deaths New Zealand Māori soldiers Musket Wars Military leaders of the New Zealand Wars People from Whanganui