Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi (died 1836 or 1837) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. 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 ...

, he identified with the

Ngāti Tama Ngāti Tama is a historic Māori iwi of present-day New Zealand which whakapapas back to Tama Ariki, the chief navigator on the Tokomaru waka. The iwi of Ngati Tama is located in north Taranaki around Poutama. The Mōhakatino river marks the ...

and

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 ...

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, ...

. Te Pūoho was born in Poutama,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

, New Zealand, possibly in the late eighteenth century. Late in his life, he moved to the South Island and settled at Parapara. In 1836, Te Pūoho led a 100-person war party (), armed with

muskets A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

, down the West Coast and over the Haast Pass / Tioripatea: they fell on the

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

encampment between

Lake Wānaka Lake Wānaka is New Zealand's fourth-largest lake and the seat of the town of Wānaka in the Otago region. The lake is 278 meters above sea level, covers , and is more than deep. "Wānaka" is the South Island dialect pronunciation of , which ...

and

Lake Hāwea Lake Hāwea is New Zealand's ninth largest lake. The lake is in the Otago Region at an altitude of 348 metres. It covers 141 km² and reaches 392 metres deep. Lake Hāwea is named after a Māori tribe who preceded the Waitaha people in ...

, capturing ten people and killing and eating two children. Some of the Ngāi Tahu fled down the

Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs some south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the � ...

to the coast; Te Pūoho took his captives over the Crown Range to

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...

and thence to

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

where he was killed and his war party destroyed by the southern Ngāi Tahu leader

Tūhawaiki Tūhawaiki ( – 10 October 1844) — often known as ''Hone Tūhawaiki'', ''John Tūhawaiki'' or ''Jack Tūhawaiki'', or by his nickname of "Bloody Jack" — became a paramount chief of the Ngāi Tahu Māori iwi in the southern part of the S ...

References

Ngāti Tama people Ngāti Toa people Year of birth missing 1836 deaths New Zealand Māori soldiers People from Taranaki {{Māori-bio-stub