Personal details
Full Name:
- Tāmati Wāka Nene
Lifetime:
- 1780?–4 Aug 1871

Renowned Ngāpuhi chief, Tāmati Wāka Nene, was an early friend of Pākehā. He was one of its most influential supporters in the debate at Waitangi over the Treaty and he was among the first to sign.
Read more...Events In History
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11 March 1845The fall of Kororāreka
After hundreds of Ngāpuhi fighters led by Kawiti and Hōne Heke attacked Kororāreka (Russell), most of its inhabitants were evacuated by sea. For the fourth and last time, the flagstaff on Maiki Hill was cut down. Read more...
Articles
The Northern War
The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots marked the beginning of the wider North Island conflicts that are often referred to as the New Zealand Wars.
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Page 4 – Puketutu and Te Ahuahu
Māori learnt an important lesson at Puketutu: the British were a formidable foe in open battle. This would influence Māori tactics in future clashes
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Page 6 – The quest for peace
George Grey became governor in November 1845. When talks with the 'rebels' broke down in early December, Grey ordered Despard to move against Kawiti's new pa, Ruapekapeka.
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Page 7 – Ruapekapeka
Ruapekapeka may have been a tactical victory for the British, but many consider the outcome a draw. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with their forces largely intact, and the terms
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Page 8 – Peace breaks out
Historian James Belich contends that Grey won the propaganda war and Kawiti and Heke won the real war. Others argue that Belich's revisionism goes too far and maintain that
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- ngapuhi
- NZ Wars memorial
- battle for puketutu
- maori leaders
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- declaration of independence
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Main image: Wāka Nene NZ Wars memorial
The headstone for Ngāpuhi chief Tāmati Wāka Nene at Christ Church, Russell