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 A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

of the

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 ...

Māori

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. ...

in the southern part 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, and was based predominantly on Ruapuke Island. He gained his nickname from early interactions with Foveaux Strait whalers on account of his red coats bought off soldiers in Australia that he and his whaling crew wore. Born at Inch Clutha in South Otago in the early years of the 19th century, he gained prominence in about 1833 when a war-party led by him defeated the

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 ...

chief Te Rauparaha at Lake Grassmere. The Ngāti Toa leader escaped with his life only through luck. Four years later, a war-party led by Tūhawaiki and Taiaroa inflicted severe damage on Ngāti Toa troops in a number of raids. Around the same time, Tūhawaiki became Ngāi Tahu chief upon the death of his uncle, Te Whakataupuka. He gained a reputation as a bold and intelligent military

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

, as well as shrewd and insightful in his non-military dealings with

pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

settlers. On 10 June 1840, Tūhawaiki signed a copy of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

aboard at Ruapuke. Tūhawaiki became involved in numerous sales of land to

settlers A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

s, notably that of the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

Block to Frederick Tuckett, Symonds, and Clarke for £2,400 in July 1844. During the spring of 1844, Tūhawaiki drowned south of

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

when his boat hit rocks at a location now known as Tūhawaiki Point. Other New Zealand places named in his honour include Jack's Bay and the nearby Tūhawaiki Island in the Catlins, as well as Tuhawaiki Mountain in Fiordland's Darran Mountains. A number of artefacts belonging or relating to Tūhawaiki still exist in New Zealand museums. The Southland Museum and Art Gallery has a bayonet and a 12-pounder cannon reputedly owned by Tūhawaiki, the Otago Museum has a revolving flintlock rifle thought to be Tūhawaiki's, and the Hocken Collections,

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

has a document signed by Tūhawaiki in both English and moko-form.

References

''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography''

''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
* FG Hall-Jones. 1943. ''King of the Bluff,: The life and times of Tuhawaiki ("Bloody Jack")''. The Southland Historical Committee. * http://www.waitangitribunal.govt.nz/scripts/reports/reports/27/FC6CC8F7-422F-4F30-8429-02D475BB68E9.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuhawaiki 1844 deaths People from Otago Musket Wars Signatories of the Treaty of Waitangi Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Deaths by drowning in New Zealand Ngāi Tahu people Year of birth uncertain People from the Catlins People from Ruapuke Island