Te Rauparaha | |
|---|---|
 Sketch of Te Rauparaha | |
| Born | c. 1768 Kāwhia, Waikato |
| Died | 27 November 1849 (age 80–81) Ōtaki, Colony of New Zealand |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Ngāti Toa |
| Years of service | 1819–1848 |
| Battles / wars | |
Te Rauparaha (c. 1768 – 27 November 1849)[1][2] 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 southwards, receiving the epithet "the Napoleon of the South". He remains one of the most prominent and celebrated New Zealand historical figures.
Born in Kāwhia in the 1760s, he participated in land sale and negotiations with the New Zealand Company at the beginning of the colonisation of New Zealand. Te Rauparaha's conquests eventually extended Ngāti Toa authority from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson.[3]
An early signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi, Te Rauparaha was later central to the Wairau Affray in the Marlborough District, considered by many to be the first of the conflicts in the New Zealand Wars. Before he died he directed the building of Rangiātea Church in Ōtaki, a town north of Wellington conquered by Ngāti Toa.
Te Rauparaha transformed Ngāti Toa from a small regional tribe to one of the richest and most powerful in New Zealand, permanently changing Māori tribal structures.[4] He was also an accomplished composer of haka with "Ka Mate" being well known due to its performance in sport.[5] In 2005, a panel of historians and journalists ranked Te Rauparaha 16th out of the 100 most influential figures in New Zealand history.
- ^ Oliver, Steven. "Te Rauparaha – Biography". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ^ "Te Rauparaha – New Zealand in History". history-nz.org. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ [NZETC: HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF THE MAORIS OF THE WEST COAST, NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND, PRIOR TO 1840 – Ngati-Ira of Port Nicholson. p408-410]
- ^ Steven Oliver. 'Te Rauparaha', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t74/te-rauparaha (accessed 9 April 2024)
- ^ Jackson, SJ; Hokowhitu, B (2002). "Sport, Tribes, and Technology: The New Zealand All Blacks Haka and the Politics of Identity". Journal of Sport and Social Issues. 26 (2): 125–139. doi:10.1177/0193723502262002. ISSN 0193-7235. S2CID 144368028.