Hariata Rongo

 Early Life:

Hongi, Hariata, 1815-1894, Rongo, Harriet, 1815-1894, Rongomai, Hariata, 1815-1894

Born in 1815. Daughter of Hongi Hika. Married Hone Heke Pokai in Kerikeri chapel on 30 Mar 1837. There were no children from this marriage. She was a forceful character, inheriting much of her father's drive and self-confidence. Hariata had lived for some years with the family of James Kemp, a CMS missionary. Married later on Arama Karaka Pi (d 1872), whom she also survived as his widow. She died 9 Jan 1894 at Kaikohe, Northland.

What she did?

Daughter of famous Ngāpuhi chief Hongi Hika and his senior wife Turikatuku. 

For a number of years Rongo lived with James and Charlotte Kemp, who were with the Church Missionary Society in Kerikeri. When her father got sick she nursed him until his death. Rongo then attended the Mission School for Māori Girls at Kerikeri. Here she became literate in both languages. With her whakapapa and intelligence, she was equal to some men and superior to many: He wahine toa ia.

 

In March 1837, Rongo (then going by the Christian name Hariata Rongo) married Ngāpuhi warrior leader Hōne Heke in the Kerikeri Chapel. Hōne Heke soon after became famous for his stand against the British authorities.

 

With a good education from the missionaries, Rongo served as Hōne Heke's secretary and scribe and was active throughout the treaty war of 1845, supporting her husband in the field and acting as a conduit between him and his enemy, the pro-British warrior Tāmati Wāka Nene. Some scholars believe there is evidence that some of the correspondence was written by Rongo.

 

 

Hongi Hika Minibiography

 Early Life:

Hongi Hika was born near Kaikohe, in northern New Zealand: he told French explorers in 1824 that he had been born in the year of Marion du Fresne's death, which was in 1772; and he was a mature man at the height of his powers when he died in 1828. He was the third son of Te Hōtete, born of his second wife, Tuhikura, of Ngāti Rēhia. He was descended through nine generations from Rāhiri, the ancestor of Ngāti Rāhiri, who was in turn descended from Puhi-moana-ariki, the ancestor of Ngāpuhi. In addition to Ngāti Rāhiri and Ngāti Rēhia he was most closely associated with Ngāti Tautahi and Ngāi Tāwake.

His Career:

The defeat of Ngāpuhi by Ngāti Whātua in the battle of Moremonui, at Maunganui Bluff, in 1807 or 1808, was an important event in Hongi's early life. Pōkaia, the uncle of Hōne Heke, had been at war with Te Roroa and two closely related Ngāti Whātua hapū for a long period. Although some Ngāpuhi were armed with muskets, Murupaenga, leader of Ngāti Whātua, successfully ambushed them, taking advantage of the time they needed to reload their weapons. Pōkaia was killed, together with the fathers of Te Whareumu, Manu (Rewa) and Te Koikoi, and two of Hongi's brothers. Hongi and Te Koikoi saved themselves by hiding in a swamp. At nightfall they and a handful of others were able to escape. After this battle Hongi appears to have succeeded Pōkaia as war leader. These experiences left Hongi with an obligation and strong personal wish to avenge the Ngāpuhi defeat. In campaigns against Te Roroa, Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri in the north he became convinced of the usefulness of the new muskets, if employed in sufficient numbers. By 1815 Hongi was the undisputed leader of his people. His oldest brother, Kaingaroa, born to their father's first wife, Waitohirangi, died in that year.

Tamaiti Waka Nene Minibiography

 Early Life:

Nene was born probably in the 1780s. He was the second son of

Tapua, leader and tohunga of Ngāti Hao of Hokianga, and the younger brother of

Patuone, the inheritor of their father's mana. By descent and marriage this family was

connected to many of the major chiefs of Hokianga, Whangaroa, the Bay of Islands

and other places. Through his mother, Te Kawehau, he was related to Hongi Hika, and

also to the brothers Rewa (Manu), Moka and Te Wharerahi. His sister Tari married

Te Wharerahi. Nene could trace his descent from Rāhiri, ancestor of Ngāpuhi, through a

number of lines.

His Career:

In early manhood Nene began to distinguish himself as a war leader. He may have

fought his first battle around 1800, helping Te Hōtete, the father of Hongi Hika, avenge

the sack of his pā Ōkuratope, at Waimate North, by Ngare Raumati, the people of

Te Rāwhiti in the Bay of Islands. Thereafter Nene would have taken part in a series of

battles involving Te Roroa, Ngāpuhi and his own people. These conflicts left a

number of unresolved issues; some Māori believed that they led Nene to oppose

Hōne Heke in the northern war of the 1840s.