King Tāwhiao

📍Ngāruawāhia, Waikato, New Zealand

“Ko au ko Tāwhiao, te Kīngi tuarua o te Kīngitanga. I was born around 1825 of Waikato and Ngāti Mahuta descent, and I became the second Māori King in 1860 following the death of my father Pōtatau Te Wherowhero. My reign was defined by the Waikato War of 1863-64, when the Crown invaded the Kīngitanga heartland and confiscated over a million acres of Waikato land. I led my people into exile in the King Country — Te Rohe Pōtae — where we lived beyond the aukati, the boundary that kept the Crown out, for many years. I sought peace with dignity — I travelled to England in 1884 to petition Queen Victoria directly for justice. She received me but the land was not returned. I died in 1894 still seeking what had been taken. Ngāruawāhia was always home, even from exile.”

Sources: Belich, J. The New Zealand Wars (1986), Auckland University Press; Mahuta, R. The Maori King Movement (1995), University of Waikato; King, M. Te Puea (1977), Hodder & Stoughton