Te Wahanui Reihana Te Huatare (also Te Reihana Whakahoehoe; died 5 December 1897) was a diplomat and leader of the

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the ...

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 ...

. Wahanui was born probably in the late 1820s. His father was Te Ngohi-te-arau, also known as Te Huatare, of Ngāti Maniapoto. His mother was Tarati, who belonged to Ngāti Waiora of Mokau and came from the Piopio area. Wahanui was raised in the Waipā Valley as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and attended the Wesleyan Native Institution at Three Kings College in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, afterwards returning to Te Kopua to live with his people. In the late 1850s Wahanui organised a mail service between

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilto ...

and Napier, and set up a tribal administration and law enforcement system which attracted the positive attention of John Gorst. He also participated in debates around the setting up of the

Māori King Movement The Māori King Movement, called the in Māori, is a movement that arose among some of the Māori (tribes) of New Zealand in the central North Island in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the British c ...

. left, Wahanui's wife, Te Wairingiringi, by Kate Sperrey, 1930s. Wahanui became increasingly opposed to

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

institutions and government, and fought at

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. Th ...

, Ōrākau, and was wounded at Hairini during February when the colonial government and British forces invaded the Waikato in 1863–64. After the war ended he became an important leader of Ngāti Maniapoto and a principal adviser to the Māori King,

Tāwhiao Tāwhiao (Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894) was leader of the Waikato tribes, the second Māori King, and a religious figure. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta (Hapū) of Waikato. Biography T ...

. He was opposed to Ngāti Maniapoto and

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, 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 Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

selling land, but he and fellow Ngāti Maniapoto leaders

Rewi Maniapoto Rewi Manga Maniapoto (1807–1894) was a Ngāti Maniapoto chief who led Kīngitanga forces during the New Zealand government Invasion of Waikato during the New Zealand Wars. Kinship Rewi, or Manga as he was known to his kin, was the child of ...

and Taonui eventually realised the inevitability of their territory, 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 ...

, being opened to Pākehā. In the early 1880s, he invented the Māori King's Tarahou - a device which signifies the dawn. Wahanui, Rewi and Taonui signed a petition which was presented to Parliament in June 1883; they criticised the government for legislation which ran contrary to the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

. In April 1884, Wahanui was approached by

Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...

who, according to Wahanui, had promised that no hotels would be built, no liquor would be sold, and no land courts would operate in the Ngāti Maniapoto area as long as land would be provided for a new railway that would run between Auckland and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He was also given a gold medallion which would allow his family free travel via the railway for a few generations, but every promise made by Stout was ignored by the Government. He was later offered a seat in the Legislative Council, but did not take it up. Wahanui married Te Wairingiringi from

Kawhia Kawhia Harbour (Maori: ''Kāwhia'') is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwe ...

before May 1884. Their children including Tuwhangai, Hounuku, and Tuaarau were all adopted. One of their grandsons was Te Apaapa Kaweni Maniapoto of

Ōtorohanga Ōtorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located south of Hamilton and north of Te Kūiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming district. ...

References

External links

Wahanui Huatere's entry
on the

Auckland War Memorial Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira (or simply the Auckland Museum) is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Aucklan ...

's Online Cenotaph {{DEFAULTSORT:Wahanui Huatare 1820s births 1897 deaths Māori tribal leaders Ngāti Maniapoto people Year of birth missing