Tāmati Ngāpora (died 5 August 1885) was a

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 ...

Waikato leader, lay preacher, assessor and adviser to the

Māori King 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 Co ...

. Ngāpora was born in the early 19th century to parents Hore and Kahurimu, and belonged to

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia and Huntly areas of the Waikato region. History Ngāti Mahuta is descended f ...

. His father Hore was a brother of

Te Rauangaanga Te Rauangaanga (sometimes written Te Rau-angaanga or Te Rau-anga-anga) was the chief of the Ngāti Mahuta tribe of the Waikato tribal confederation and principal war chief of the confederation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His son Pō ...

, the chief of Ngāti Mahuta, and so Ngāpora was a cousin of

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took the ...

, the first Māori King. Ngāpora and his family became Christians, and he took the name Tāmati (Thomas). He married his cousin Hera. Although not initially in favour of an intertribal Māori kingship, Ngāpora acted as the King movement's representative to the Governor of New Zealand after Te Wherowhero became king in 1858. Te Wherowhero proposed that Ngāpora should succeed him, but others favoured Te Wherowhero's son Tāwhiao, who duly succeeded him. When the Government invaded the Waikato in 1863, Ngāpora took refuge in 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 ...

with Tāwhiao. Ngāpora changed his name to Manuhiri (meaning guest) to signify his exile. Ngāpora became Tāwhiao's closest adviser. His daughter Hera married Tāwhiao and was his principal wife and mother of the third Māori King,

Mahuta Mahuta is one of 11 islands in the Rakahanga atoll of the Cook Islands. It is on the east of the atoll, between the islets of Huananui and Okakara Okakara is one of 11 islands in the Rakahanga atoll of the Cook Islands ) , image_map ...

. Ngāpora remained living at Whatiwhatihoe, the royal village in the King Country, and died there on 5 August 1885. He was believed to be about 80 years old.

References

1885 deaths New Zealand Māori religious leaders Waikato Tainui people Ngāti Mahuta people Year of birth missing {{Māori-bio-stub