Personal details
Full Name:
- Tūkāroto Pōtatau Matutaera Tāwhiao
Lifetime:
- ?–26 Aug 1894
Tāwhiao's father Pōtatau was the first Māori King, and on his death in 1860 Tāwhiao inherited the kingship and the spiritual leadership of his people. He was king for the next 34 years, including the most turbulent period in New Zealand's race relations history.
Read more...Events In History
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26 August 1894Death of second Māori KingTāwhiao had led his people through the traumatic period during and after the wars of the 1860s. He was succeeded by his son Mahuta. Read more...
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21 November 1863British capture RangiririMore British soldiers were killed at ‘Bloody Rangiriri’ than in any other battle of the New Zealand Wars, but their eventual victory opened the Waikato basin to the imperial forces. Read more...
Articles
Māori King movement - 1860-94
King Tāwhiao's reign was dominated by the Waikato War and the fallout from it.
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Page 2 – Build-up to war
Like his father, King Tāwhiao had no intention of becoming involved in the war in Taranaki. The government, however, remained unconvinced of this. In July 1860 Governor Gore
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Page 4 – Raupatu
Under the terms of the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 the government confiscated huge areas of Māori land in late 1864.
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Page 5 – Maintaining Te Kīngitanga
By the early 1870s, the Kīngitanga was struggling. Living conditions within the Rohe Potae (the Māori King's territory) were poor. Allies such as Ngāti Hauā had resumed selling
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Page 6 – Tensions ease
It was clear by the 1870s that the Kīngitanga could no longer fight a war. Attempts were made to ease relations between the king and the colonial government.
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Page 7 – The death of Tāwhiao
Tāwhiao died on 26 August 1894. He was buried at Taupiri after a tangihanga attended by thousands.
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Main image: Tukaroto Matutaera Potatau Te Wherowhero Tawhiao
Carte de visite portrait of Tukaroto Matutaera Potatau Te Wherowhero Tawhiao, the second Maori King, taken, probably in the 1880s.
