Apihai Te Kawau

Lithograph portrait of Apihai Te Kawau by Joseph Jenner Merrett, 1842
Hand-tinted lithograph of Apihai Te Kawau (seated) and his nephew Rēweti Tamahiki at Ōrākei, by George French Angas, 1847

Apihai Te Kawau (died November 1869) was a paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau), New Zealand in the 19th century.[1]

Te Kawau's father was Tarahawaiki and his grandfather was Tūperiri, the principal leader of Te Taoū hapū (sub-tribe) of Ngāti Whātua who overran the Tāmaki isthmus in the 1740s, defeating the Wai-o-Hua. Te Kawau's mother was Mokorua, who was descended from the Wai-o-Hua.[1] Te Kawau was born at Ihumātao, near the Manukau Harbour.[2]

Te Kawau is thought to have fought against the Ngāpuhi iwi in the Ngāti Whātua victory of Battle of Moremonui in 1807 or 1808. He then helped lead the 1,000 mile long Ngāti Whātua and Ngāti Maniapoto cannibalistic war expedition known as Te Āmiowhenua (encircling the land) from 1821 to 1822. After a major defeat to Ngāpuhi at Te Ika-a-ranga-nui in 1825, Te Kawau and his people left the Tāmaki isthmus (the future site of Auckland) for several years.[1][3]

On 20 March 1840 in the Manukau Harbour area where Ngāti Whātua farmed, Te Kawau signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the te reo Māori translation of the Treaty of Waitangi).[3] Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from Ngāpuhi as well as a reciprocal relationship with the Crown and the Church. Soon after signing the Treaty, Te Kawau made a tuku (strategic gift) of 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) of land on the Waitematā Harbour for the new capital of Auckland.[4][5][6][7][8]

Te Kawau was associated with the Church Mission Society (CMS) since meeting Samuel Marsden in 1820, and the two men become friends. During the 1840s, some time after becoming a Christian, he was baptised by Bishop George Selwyn at the chapel near Ōrākei Pā and was given the baptismal name of Āpihai, Māori for the biblical warrior Abishai.[1]

In the 1850s Te Kawau was an assessor involved with settling disputes between Māori in Auckland. Known then as a peaceful man, he spoke publicly against land sales, but was unable to stop Governor George Grey's evictions and confiscations. In 1868 he secured the title to the last 700 acres of Ngāti Whātua land in Ōrākei for his iwi.[1][9][10]

Te Kawau was the uncle of Paora Tūhaere, who succeeded him as a leader of Ngāti Whātua.

In 2018 Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the Ports of Auckland created a memorial to Te Kawau for his gifting of land to Governor Hobson and commemorating his contributions to Auckland, while marking the place where the city was founded on 18 September 1840.[11][12]

  1. ^ a b c d e Pihema, Ani; Kerei, Ruby; Oliver, Steven. "Āpihai Te Kawau". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ Stone, R. C. J. (2001). From Tamaki-makau-rau to Auckland. Auckland University Press. p. 65. ISBN 1-86940-259-6.
  3. ^ a b "Āpihai Te Kawau". Research and Publishing Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Apihai Te Kawau". Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Cultural Values Assessment in Support of the Notices of Requirement for the Proposed City Rail Link Project" (PDF). Auckland Transport. pp. 14–16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Tāmaki Herenga Waka: Stories of Auckland". Flickr. Auckland Museum. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. ^ Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust (2 June 2021). "Statement of evidence of Ngarimu Alan Huiroa Blair on behalf of the plaintiff" (PDF). ngatiwhatuaorakei.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Deed of Settlement" (PDF). govt.nz. 5 November 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Ngāti Whātua and the Treaty of Waitangi". Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  10. ^ "New Zealand: its Advantages and Prospects as a British Colony Page 36". T. & W. BOONE. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Tribute to Te Kawau unveiled by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei". Te Ao: Māori News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  12. ^ "New memorial marks founding of Auckland". Radio New Zealand (RNZ). Retrieved 3 August 2019.