Personal details
Full Name:
- Rua Hepetipa Kēnana
Lifetime:
- 1868/1869–20 Feb 1937

Rua Kēnana was a Tūhoe prophet who set up a community at Maungapōhatu in the Urewera mountains. In 1916 he was arrested for sedition for his opposition to Māori conscription in the First World War. His trial was one of the longest in New Zealand's legal history.
Read more...Events In History
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2 April 1916Arrest of Rua Kēnana
On Sunday 2 April 1916, 57 police raided the Ngāi Tūhoe settlement of Maungapōhatu in the Urewera Ranges. Read more...
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6 May 1869Colonial troops invade the Urewera
The main purpose of the operation was to punish Tūhoe for supporting Te Kooti Rikirangi, whose ‘rebel’ force they had sheltered after it was defeated at Ngātapa, inland from Poverty Bay, in January. Read more...
Articles
Treaty timeline
See some of the key events between 1800 and 1849 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.
- Page 3 - Treaty events 1900-49Discover some of the key events between 1900 and 1949 relating to the Treaty of
Māori and the First World War
Māori reactions to serving in the First World War largely reflected iwi experiences of British actions in the 19th century.
- Page 3 - Māori objection to conscriptionMāori served in the First World War in the Maori Contingent. At home, some Māori strongly opposed
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Main image: Rua Kēnana, resisting police
Charged with sedition and several other crimes Rua Kēnana was convicted only of resisting police, for which he was sentenced to one year in prison and 18 months’ reformative detention