Hēni Te Kiri Karamū (1840 – 24 June 1933), known later as Hēni Pore (anglicised as Jane Foley, after her second husband's surname), was a New Zealand

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 Co ...

'woman warrior'. In later life she worked in the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...

(WCTU NZ), and was elected corresponding secretary of its Ohinemutu chapter and served as the WCTU NZ honorary secretary for the Māori Mission of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

Biography

Hēni Te Kiri Karamū was born in

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

, New Zealand, in 1840. Of descent she belonged to the Ngāti Uenukukōpako and

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Her mother Maraea (also known as Pihohau or Pikokau) had been taken by

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

to Northland, after the iwi had taken

Mokoia Island __NOTOC__ Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera c ...

. She spent much of her childhood in mission schools in

Maketu Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand. It is located roughly from Paengaroa, from Te Puke, from Tauranga, from Rotorua and from Whakatane. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow, ...

and

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, becoming an assistant teacher at the Wesleyan Native Institution in

Three Kings In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

. When her parents moved back to Northland she followed, marrying Te Kiri Karamū, a

Ngāti Rangiteaorere Ngāti Rangiteaorere is a Māori iwi of the Te Arawa confederation of New Zealand. The iwi is based on the eastern shores of Lake Rotorua, also sharing interests with other iwi on Mokoia Island and in coastal lands near Maketu. Te Arawa FM is ...

kauri gum digger, and living at

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand's North Island, located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

. In 1861, she left her husband after a disagreement, taking her children to live at

Maraetai Maraetai is a coastal town to the east of Auckland in New Zealand, on the Pōhutukawa Coast. Part of the traditional rohe of Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki, the area developed into a coastal holiday community in the early 20th Century. Geography Maraet ...

with her mother.

New Zealand Wars

Hēni Te Kiri Karamū and her family fought in the

Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

and the

Tauranga campaign The Tauranga campaign was a six-month-long armed conflict in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty in early 1864, and part of the New Zealand Wars that were fought over issues of land ownership and sovereignty. The campaign was a sequel to the invasion ...

of 1863 and 1864 among Ngāti Koheriki (a group of

Ngāti Pāoa Ngāti Pāoa is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) that has extensive links to the Hauraki and Waikato tribes of New Zealand. Its traditional lands stretch from the western side of the Hauraki Plains to Auckland. They also settled on Hauraki Gulf islands ...

led by Wī Kōkā), supporting the

Māori King Movement 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 ...

. During the war, Hēni Te Kiri Karamū was known for carrying a baby on her back during the war. During the conflict, Hēni Te Kiri Karamū created three flags during this time for Ngāti Koheriki, including a red silk flag named Aotearoa, now housed at the

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

. She was the only woman present at the

Battle of Gate Pā The Tauranga campaign was a six-month-long armed conflict in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region, Bay of Plenty in early 1864, and part of the New Zealand Wars that were fought over issues of land ownership and sovereignty. The campaign was a se ...

(1864), having stayed as she was recognised as a capable warrior, and to not leave her brother Neri behind. During the battle, Hēni Te Kiri Karamū gave water to the wounded British soldiers. After the Battle of Gate Pā, Hēni Te Kiri Karamū moved to Hapokai on Mokoia Island. In 1865 and 1866, she aligned with the British Crown to fight

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 sp ...

. Working alongside her uncle Mātenga Te Ruru, they captured

Ngāi Te Rangi Ngāi Te Rangi or Ngāiterangi is a Māori iwi, based in Tauranga, New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal area) extends to Mayor Island / Tūhua and Bowentown in the north, to the Kaimai Range in the west, south of Te Puke and to Maketu in the east. ...

leader Hōri Tūpaea. In 1865, Hēni Te Kiri Karamū fought among Te Arawa, against Pai Mārire-aligned iwi near

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

. In 1869 she married Denis Stephen Foley, moving to Katikati, and having three daughters and three sons. At this time, she was more widely known as Hēni Pore. In 1870, Hēni applied for a protection order against Foley who had drunkenly attacked her, later returning to

Temperance movement

In later years, she worked as an interpreter, and was active with the

Women's Christian Temperance Union New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand (WCTU NZ) is a non-partisan, non-denominational, and non-profit organisation that is the oldest continuously active national organisation of women in New Zealand. The national organisation began ...

(WCTU NZ). She is first mentioned in the WCTU NZ ''White Ribbon'' reports in September 1896 as the secretary of the largest of the Māori Unions with 52 members (which included 13 male members of whom three were chiefs) and several departments: temperance, social purity, Sunday school, Band of Hope, sewing class and Bible class. Signing her name as J. Foley, she wrote to the WCTU NZ president,

Annie Jane Schnackenberg Annie Jane Schnackenberg ( Allen; 22 November 1835 – 2 May 1905) was a New Zealand Wesleyanism, Wesleyan missionary, temperance and welfare worker, and suffragist. She served as president of the Auckland branch of the Women's Christian Tempera ...

, in March 1897 to complain that the 200 members of the Rotorua area Unions had not been notified of the national convention that year in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. She stated that their membership dues had been paid but no further communications had been received. Schnackenberg replied with apologies and looked forward to seeing their delegates at the next annual convention. In advance of the national convention, Foley travelled with Ellen Ann Hewitt, the WCTU NZ superintendent of Māori work, to Maketu then Te Puke and Te Ngae. In 1898 she was featured in a WCTU NZ public meeting in Napier where she spoke about her loyalty to her brother as the reason she joined the rebel forces against the British during the wars. By 1900

, the new WCTU NZ superintendent of Māori work, paid for her to become the honorary secretary for all of the Māori mission in Rotorua. She was still the secretary for the Ohinemutu Union. Her report to the national convention of the WCTU NZ describing her work that previous year can be found in the ''White Ribbon'' April 1900 issue. She was at Rotorua to represent the WCTU NZ during the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1902, and she continued to work for the WCTU NZ through 1903. She died in June 1933 in Rotorua and is buried at the Rotorua Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Kiri Karamu, Heni 1840 births 1933 deaths 19th-century women politicians 20th-century New Zealand translators Interpreters New Zealand educators New Zealand women educators New Zealand Māori soldiers New Zealand temperance activists 19th-century New Zealand translators Te Arawa people People from Kaitaia New Zealand Māori women