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Manihera Te Toru, 1802?-1884

Below is an online version, from Nga Tupuna o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Volume 2 (2003), of the biography for Manihera Te Toru, reproduced with the kind permission of his whānau.

Cover of Nga Tupuna o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Volume 2

Published Text

"Manihera Te Toru". In Nga tupuna o Te Whanganui-a-Tara, volume 2. (2003)

Manihera Ngatoru or Manihera Te Toru was also known as Te Manihera Matangi. He was the son of Rawiri Matangi, of Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Tawhirikura, Ngati Hamua hapu of Te Ati Awa and Pikia Te Rangi of the Ngati Te Whiti and Tawhirikura hapu. His parents were first cousins. He was the grandson of Wahanga and thus descended from Aniwaniwa and Tawhirikura which made him a close relation of Te Puni and Wharepouri as well as Ngatata and Pomare. He had a sister Kakea Te Rangi whose daughter Neta Pikia married Heta Te Manurua of Ngati Ruanui. His successor was Taare Waitara the son of Hana Waitara.

Manihera left Taranaki with his father Matangi, Te Puni, Wharepouri, Wi Tako and followers in 1832 after the Battle of Otaka. They settled at Te Uruhi near Waikanae. Shortly afterwards Te Mana who was living at Petone invited Matangi and his son to come and share his cultivations at Ngauranga. Before he left for Wharekauri, Pomare, from Matiu Island, allotted areas to certain chiefs. Matangi and Manihera Te Ngatoru were given the care of Petone and Ngauranga to one side of the Ngauranga stream. Ngatata was given the area at Kumutoto and the Wellington City side of the Ngauranga stream. Mohi Ngaponga was given Te Aro and Paekawakawa. Ngati Tama claimed Kaiwharawhara, and Moturoa, claimed Pipitea through his relationship to Patukawenga. The various claims to Ngauranga were discussed in an extensive Maori land case regarding ownership in 1868.

Just after the migration to Wharekauri in 1835, Wharepouri returned to Okiwi from Wairarapa and was invited by Matangi to settle with his family at Ngauranga which he did. About 5 months before Wharepouri settled at Ngauranga Hemi Parai was invited by Ngatata-i-te-Rangi to come and settle there. He sent Mohi Ngaponga from Waikanae to cultivate at Ngauranga and then Hemi Parai's people joined him. Later because of Mohi Ngaponga's interests at Te Aro, Manihera confiscated Mohi's potatoes at Ngauranga.

The first house built at Ngauranga was that of Te Mana followed by Matangi and then Manihera Te Toru. In 1859 Manihera Te Ngatoru built a plank house at Ngauranga and lived there till he leased it to Mr Wallace in 1864. He also built a house called Te Raho o Te Kapowai at Petone. In 1844 when Major Richmond was making further payments for the Port Nicholson land he offered Manihera payment for Ngauranga during negotiations over the Deeds of Release but the money was refused. In 1847 Manihera Te Toru signed the McCleverty agreement for both Ngauranga and Petone and in September that year was made a Maori land assessor for Ngauranga. In 1860 Manihera Ngatoru, Porutu and Epiha Wairaweke represented the Ngatiawa of Wellington at the Kohimarama conference convened by Governor Gore Browne. When the Maori Land Court was established in September 1862 he appeared as a witness in various cases and Manihera Ngatoru also signed with a number of other chiefs the agreement for payment concerning Wellington City Reserves in January 1877.

Later in life he regularly used the name Te Manihera Matangi and after settlement lived for a period at Pipitea before going to live at Taita.

Te Manihera Matangi died on the 27th October 1884 and was buried in the cemetery at Christ Church Taita beside Hana Waitara who died in 1882. A memorial erected on his grave is still maintained by Matangi descendants.

References:

See also documents listed in Alexander Turnbull Library Archives Catalogue.

(MB = Minute Book)

I Te Reo Māori -

Ko Manihera Ngatoru, ko Manihera Te Toru, ko Te Manihera Matangi hoki ngā ingoa o tēnei tangata. Ki te taha o tōna pāpā o Rawiri Matangi, ko Ngati Rahiri, Ngati Tawhirikura, me Ngati Hamua ngā hapū, ki te taha o tōna māmā o Pikia Te Rangi ko Ngati Te Whiti me Tawhirikura ngā hapū. He moenga rangatira hoki ōna mātua. Ko ia nei te mokopuna a Wahanga, uri o Aniwaniwa rāua ko Tawhirikura, nō konā anō e whanaunga tata ana hoki ki a Te Puni, ki a Wharepouri, ki a Ngatata, ki a Pomare hoki. Ko tana tuahine ko Kakea Te Rangi, ka moe hoki a Neta Pikia, tamāhine a Kakea, i a Heta Te Manurua nō Ngati Ruanui. Ko tōna whakakapinga ko Taare Waitara, te tamaiti a Hana Waitara.

Nō te tau 1832, i muri mai i te pakanga o Otaka, ka wehe mai a Manihera rātou ko Matangi (tana pāpā), Te Puni, Wharepouri, Wi Tako mā i Taranaki. Ka noho rātou ki Te Uruhi, takiwā ki Waikanae. Muri tata mai ka pōwhiritia a Matangi me tana tamaiti e Te Mana o Pito-one, ki ana mahinga kai ki Ngauranga. Mai i Matiu, i mua i te haere atu a Pomare ki Wharekauri, ka tohatohaina e ia ngā whenua ki ngā rangatira. Riro ana i a Matangi rāua ko Manihera Te Ngatoru ngā whenua o Pito-one me Ngauranga tae atu ki te mangawai o Ngauranga. Ki a Ngatata ko Kumutoto, me ngā whenua o te taone o Pōneke mai i te mangawai o Ngauranga. Ki a Mohi Ngaponga ko Te Aro me Paekawakawa. Nō Ngati Tama te takiwā o Kaiwharawhara, ā, nō Moturoa te takiwā o Pipitea, nōna i a Patukawenga. He mea āta kōrero hoki ngā whenua ki Ngauranga, i tētahi kēhi whenua Māori i te tau 1868.

I muri tata o te rironga o te iwi ki Wharekauri i te tau 1835, ka hoki mai a Wharepouri i Wairarapa ki Okiwi, ka tonoa ai e Matangi kia nohoia e rātou ko tana whānau te ahi kā ki Ngauranga. E rima pea ngā marama i mua atu o te noho a Wharepouri ki Ngauranga, ka tonoa a Hemi Parai ki reira noho ai, e Ngatata-i-te-Rangi. Ka tukuna atu a Mohi Ngaponga i Waikanae hei ngaki whenua ki Ngauranga, i muri mai ka tatū atu te iwi o Hemi Parai. I muri mai o tērā, i te hiahia kē o Mohi Ngaponga ki Te Aro, ka murua e Manihera ngā taewa a Mohi i Ngauranga.

Nō Te Mana te whare tuatahi i hangā ki Ngauranga, whai muri ko tō Matangi, ā, ko tō Manihera Te Toru. Nō te tau 1859 i hangā ai e Manihera Te Ngatoru tētahi whare papa rākau ki Ngauranga, ā, noho ai ia i reira tae noa ki te tau 1864 ka rīhitia atu ai ki te tangata nei ki a Wallace. Nāna hoki i hanga whare ki Pito-one, ko Te Raho o Te Kapowai te ingoa. Nō ngā hokohoko whenua i Pōneke a Major Richmond i te tau 1844, ka tarai atu ia te utu i a Manihera mō ngā whenua o Ngauranga, otirā kāore i whakaaea nā te tino iti kē rawa o te moni. Nō te tau 1847 ka hainatia e Manihera Te Toru te tuhinga o McCleverty mō Ngauranga me Pito-one, ā, nō te Hepetema i taua tau tonu i whakatūria ai hei kaiarotake whenua Māori i Ngauranga. Nō te tau 1860 ka tae atu a Manihera Ngatoru rātou ko Porutu ko Epiha Wairaweke hei māngai mō Ngati Awa ki Pōneke, ki te hui karangahia ai e Kāwana Gore Browne ki Kohimarama. Nō te tūnga mai o te Kōti Whenua Māori i te marama o Hepetema 1862, ka noho ia hei kaitautoko i ētahi kēhi katoa, ā, nō te Hanuere o te tau 1877 nā rātou hoki ko ētahi atu rangatira katoa, te tuhinga utu mō te Wellington City Reserves i haina.

Kaumātua noa ai ia ko Te Manihera Matangi anō tētahi ingoa ōna, ā, i te ūranga mai o tauiwi, ka noho ia nei ki Pipitea, ka hūnuku ki Taita noho ai.

Nō te 27 o Oketopa 1884 i mate ai a Te Manihera Matangi, ka nehua ai ki te urupā o Christ Church Taita, ki te taha i a Hana Waitara i mate i te tau 1882. ātawhai tonuhia ana e ōna uri, tōna urupā me te tohu mau mahara rā ki tō rātou tupuna.