IWI / HAPU AFFILIATIONS
Te Hapuku was also known as Te Hapuku Te Ikanui o te Moana. His
father was Kurimate and his mother was Tatari. His personal
household was large. Te Heipora, his principal wife, had become his
spouse in the late 1820s. She was the mother of his recognised
heir, Karanama (Cranmer). Other wives were Whaitiri, the mother of
Eke-nga-rangi and Arapata; and Hinerangi, the mother of Tangata-ke
and Te Pohuka. Other sons were Te Whakahemo and Nepia. Colenso knew
of eight wives in 1850; Donald McLean reported ten.1 Te Hapuku rejected Christianity
whilst permitting his people and his own children to become
converts.
Te Hapuku was a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi and an
ardent proponent of land sales for Pākehā settlement.2 He was remembered as a 'typical'
Māori chief in this account by a new settler at Te Aute where
Hapuku held extensive land holdings. The settlers had made a long
white road which snaked around the bush and hills, and were firing
off their newly acquired firearms using an old tree stump as their
target. Te Hapuku and his followers leapt out of the forest clad in
woven mats and brandishing taiaha and mere. Te Hapuku
wore large shark teeth as ear ornaments and his facial moko made him appear
fierce. The stump the settlers were firing at was a tapu area. The
matter was settled without loss of life.3
Te Hapuku died on 23 May 1878 at Te Hauke. His last illness
continued for five weeks. As he lay dying he asked to be placed so
that his eyes should close watching the sacred Kahuranaki hill. His
funeral took place 31 May and was attended by 400 Māori and Pākehā;
the service was conducted by Rev. Samuel Williams.4
NM
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