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Te Puea Hērangi was born the granddaughter of the second Māori King, Tawhiao, in 1883.

Te Puea is recognised as having been a famous and influential leader for Māori, with many great achievements throughout her life. One of the most notable occasions where she was a rallying point for Māori people was during World War I, when she objected to conscription. Te Puea made her farm available to those escaping conscription – it was raided by police four times and nearly 200 people were arrested. WWI was a difficult time in New Zealand’s history – many people questioned the country’s involvement and the conscription of New Zealand men for a war so far away as to not pose a direct threat to the country, and it must be remembered that most Māori did not have the English heritage that European New Zealanders did. In the end, when considering the population of each Allied nation at the time, only England’s contribution of ‘eligible manpower’ was higher, and New Zealand became yet another country changed irrevocably by the War.

Te Puea has also been gratefully acknowledged for her large contribution for the revival and popularising of Māori performing arts. Amongst her efforts Te Puea raised funds for the building of Tūrangawaewae Marae (which has become a marae of national importance), by organising concerts.

Princess Te Puea Hērangi has been credited as being the person who brought the Māori monarchy to significance to New Zealand as a country, from its beginnings in the Waikato. She died after a long illness on 12 October 1952.

For more information about Māori royals, see this thread.

marmi Historical Royals, New Zealand Royals Te Puea Herangi

New Zealand was first settled by the Māori, and they were later followed (in the early 1800s) by European whalers and sealers, before gradually missionaries and traders arrived. On February 6 1840 the Treaty of Waitangi was signed; in the Treaty Māori ceded ’sovereignty’ or ‘guardianship’ to Queen Victoria, and in return they were granted the rights and status of British subjects. Later, problems began to arise as it became apparent that the British and the Māori had different concepts of what such terms (and others of large significance in the Treaty) meant. This poor situation was worsened even further in that the Treaty was signed in either English or Maori – and it has since been recognised that words in the different versions do in fact most likely have different meanings.

Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Crown began to purchase lands from the Māori. The election of a Māori King in 1858 was a response from the chiefs of the North Island; initially the Governor’s response to the new King was to seize three million acres of land.

It has been noted by historians that at the time the first Māori King was elected, there were other chiefs of equal rank, and they did not all want to cede authority to King Potatau Te Wherowhero. However, King Potatau and his son were successful in uniting many Māori people when it was greatly needed.

King Potatau Te Wherowhero was a chief in the Waikato, and he had not signed the Treaty. King Potatau reigned only until 1860, when he was succeeded by his son Tawhiao.

Following the death of the Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu, her eldest son Tuheitia Paki (born 1955) became the seventh Maori Monarch. He was proclaimed and crowned King on the day of his mother’s funeral, 21 August 2006. The unity that King Potatau Te Wherowhero and his son inspired in Māori in those difficult years in which New Zealand began the long process of finding her feet, is suggested to still hold strong and true today, securing the Māori King’s role in today’s society.

For more information about Māori royals, see this thread.

Photos from Wikipedia (public domain)

marmi Historical Royals, New Zealand Royals Maori