Nga Tohu

In 1840 more than 500 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. Ngā Tohu, when complete, will contain a biographical sketch of each signatory.


Signing

SignatureSheetSigned asProbable nameTribeHapūSigning Occasion
4Sheet 8 — The Cook Strait (Henry Williams) SheetKaheKahe Te Rau-o-te-rangiNgāti Toa, Te Āti AwaPort Nicholson 29 April 1840

Kahe signed Te Tiriti at Port Nicholson on 29 April 1840. She was the daughter of Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Matoha, who died before the signing of Te Tiriti. Kahe probably signed on behalf of her family and father. She is famous for her epic 1824 swim from Kāpiti Island to the mainland, with her daughter, Rīpeka, strapped on her back, to warn Ngāti Toa of an impending invasion. That stretch of sea is now called Rauoterangi Channel.


Read a full biography on Te Ara Biographies

If you have more information about this treaty signatory please add a community contribution below or contact us at [email protected].

Community contributions

No comments have been posted about Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi

What do you know?

Can you tell us more about the information on this page? Perhaps you have a related experience you would like to share?

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Comments will be reviewed prior to posting. Not all comments posted. Tell me more...