Te Mātenga Taiaroa ( 1795 – 2 February 1863) was a leader of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, 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, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

, 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 Co ...

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. ...

(tribe) of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. Taiaroa belonged to Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki and Ngāti Moki

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of Ngāi Tahu, which were centred on Taumutu, at the southern end of

Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is a shallow coastal lake or waituna, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long, ...

. From the 1830s to the 1860s, he was a leader at

Ōtākou Otakou ( ) is a settlement within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour. Though a small fishing villag ...

on the

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula () is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Ot ...

in association with his cousin

Karetai Karetai ( – 30 May 1860), also known as Hone Karetai and Jacky White,Thomson, J. (ed.) 1998) "Southern people: A dictionary of Otago Southland biography." pp. 263–264. was a New Zealand tribal Māori leader. Of Kāti Kurī, Kāti Māmoe ...

. In the 1830s, he fought against

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...

and

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...

, sometimes in conjunction with

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 ...

. He was later involved in peacemaking with Ngāti Toa. In 1856 he attended the meeting of Māori chiefs at

Pūkawa Pukawa or Pukawa Bay () is a bay and a small township on the southern shores of Lake Taupō on New Zealand's North Island. It is off New Zealand State Highway 41, State Highway 41 between Turangi and Taumarunui, in the Taupō District and Waika ...

, Lake Taupō, which elected

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...

as the first Māori King. In 1860 he attended the Kohimarama conference of Māori chiefs in Auckland, organised by the government. In 1859 Taiaroa was baptised by a Methodist minister and took the Christian name of Te Mātenga (Marsden). Hōri Kerei Taiaroa was one of his children.

References

1790s births 1863 deaths Ngāi Tahu people Musket Wars Ellison family {{Māori-bio-stub