Wiremu Te Morehu Maipapa Te Wheoro (1826–1895), also known as Major Te Wheoro and later as Wiremu Te Morehu or William Morris, was a 19th-century

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 ...

member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Te Wheoro was born in the

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 ...

. His father was Te Kanawa, a chief of the

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 ...

and

Ngāti Naho Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand ...

iwi. He was a strong supporter of Pakeha economic concepts and institutions; at a great meeting at Paetai, near Rangiriri, in May 1857, he spoke against a proposal to install Te Wherowhero of Ngati Mahuta as Maori King arguing that the title of "King" appeared to place Te Wherowhero above the Governor. In 1862 he was appointed the chief assessor, who acted as local magistrate and chief of police, in charge of the official ''runanga'' at Te Kohekohe, south of Meremere. He asked that a wooden courthouse be built there for magistrate John Gorst, and suggested that Maori youths be drilled to keep order. Timbers for the courthouse were thrown into the river in March 1863 as tensions between Kingites and the government grew. Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron appointed him a captain in the colonial militia and Te Wheoro joined Waata Kukutai in ferrying supplies from steamers at the Waikato Heads to the Camerontown redoubt, until the supply line was severed by a Ngati Maniapoto attack in September 1863. From late 1863 Te Wheoro began to act as intermediary between the Government and the King movement and in 1865 became an assessor in the Native Land Court. In 1873 he was appointed major in the colonial forces and two years later was appointed a native commissioner, continuing to assist in negotiations between the King movement and the Government. Te Wheoro resigned as a native commissioner in 1879, disenchanted with his role and believing his people were treated unfairly. On 8 September 1879 he was elected to Parliament as the representative for

Western Maori Western Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Eastern Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, and ...

, defeating defeated

Hoani Taipua Hoani Te Puna i Rangiriri Taipua (1839 or 1840 – 29/30 September 1896) was a 19th-century Māori member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He was born at Rangiuru Pa, Ōtaki to his parents Te Puna I Rangiriri and Te Ria Hauko ...

after Hoani Nahe's retirement. In 1879 there were doubts about his election, and the ''Elections Validation Act, 1879'' validated the election of Cobeck and two other MHRs, William Henry Colbeck and Honi Mohi Tawhai. In the , he had three challengers, but received 69 percent of the vote. In the , he was one of eight candidates and came third. He was defeated by

Te Puke Te Ao Te Puke Te Ao (1834 – 28 October 1886) was a 19th-century Māori member of the House of Representatives. Te Ao was a chief of the Ngāti Raukawa tribe. Early in his life, he was converted by missionaries. Te Ao was a sheep farmer at Ōtaki ...

, with

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 second place. In the , he came second out of five candidates. In the , he came second out of five candidates.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Te Wheoro, Wiremu 1826 births 1895 deaths New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1884 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians