“He Taua! He Taua!”—A War Party! Sounding the Alarm of an Approaching War Party

       After the original by J. McDonald, Wellington

I

       Introduction

       Table of Contents

      In compiling this history, I desire to narrate in as brief and clear a manner as possible the doings of the ancient Tamaki tribes, as recounted in the folk-lore of their descendants.

      I have, as far as possible, confined the history to the tribes of the Auckland Isthmus itself—referring to the history and peoples of other parts only so far as is necessary to the clearness of the general narrative.

      There may be some doubt as to the chronological sequence and to many of the details of incidents herein related—such is inseparable from the legendary history of all races who did not possess written records.

      However, the narrative as I now present it is in the form accepted by the people—as related to me by that generation of chieftains now almost passed away.

      THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF TAMAKI

      Ancient Maori culture did not embrace the knowledge of letters. We therefore possess no written records of the pre-European times. Our information is confined to the tribal folk-lore and folk-songs of the people.

      We do know, however, that from a very remote past the Pacific had been peopled by races of a more or less Polynesian type, and that branches of these had also reached New Zealand.

      Legend tells us that the earliest settlers in Ao-tea-roa were a race of giants—the “Kahui-tipua.” Of that ilk was one Mata-aho, who had no doubt arrived from lands of a more genial temperature. He called upon his Fire-Goddess (Mahu-ika) to produce subterranean fires to warm his limbs. Hence the volcanic outbursts which have left evidence of the efficiency of that ancient invocation in the form of the extinct volcanic cones and lava flows of the Tamaki Isthmus.

      Then, again, there was an equally ancient, but more human-like people resident hereabouts—the “Patu-paiarehe”—so-called “Fairies,” from whom, indeed, many of the leading chieftains of to-day proudly claim descent. Concerning these people we are told of their industry in the arts of peace, fishing, hunting, weaving, etc.; nor were they, it would seem, deficient in the sterner art of war, for they were involved in much inter-tribal strife. One of these struggles resulted in a weaker faction deciding to emigrate across the Waitemata. In order to do so they began to erect a stone causeway. However, the sun arose on their uncompleted toil, and dried them all up! The ruin of this ancient attempt to bridge the Waitemata remains to this day in the form of that long reef “Te Toka-roa,” off Point Chevalier. The unsentimental geologist will tell you it is actually an old lava flow from Mount Albert.

      Despite the mists of legendary lore which surround the doings of these ancient people, both “Giants” and “Fairies,” it is probable that they had actually existed here. They were, perhaps, the earliest of the immigratory races which were continually arriving. Over the Pacific Ocean canoe voyages were taking place in all directions. The motive which impelled these undertakings was doubtless that stated in the legends—overpopulation involving warfare, causing the weaker factions to seek safer homes over the water to live in. No doubt the food supplies of over-populated islands also necessitated sections of the people to swarm off; the mere spirit of adventure, ever in the human heart, was probably an important contributory cause.

      Whoever these ancient people were—and the probability is that they were Polynesians similar to the immigrants of a later time—they were a numerous people who “covered the land like ants”; such is the proverbial description of them.

      II

       Toi-te-huatahi[1]

      Some time about 1150 A.D. there arrived in New Zealand a chief named Toi-te-huatahi, the leader of a large immigration, who settled at Whakatane, and his people, known as Te Tini-o-Toi, rapidly spread throughout the land, conquering or merging with their predecessors. Tamaki was soon populated by them. Oho-mai-Rangi, said to be a son of Toi, lived at the Waikato Heads, and to him is generally attributed the tribal name “Nga-Oho”—a people of Toi who occupied a wide area in the south, Waikato and Tamaki. A great-grandson of Toi was one Kauea, who carried the conquests of his people into the Kaipara and the far north.

      By the middle of the fourteenth century we find the Nga-Oho dominant over all this area, having various sub-tribal names, such as the Nga-riki, Wai-o-hua, etc.

III

       The Arrival of the Fleet—1350 A.D.

       Table of Contents

      About 1350 A.D. came another wave of immigrants from Polynesia—for then arrived the historic fleet of canoes, the Arawa, Tainui, Matatua, and others.

      It may be remarked here that this was the last of the great Polynesian immigrations. From very remote times expeditions had been arriving in New Zealand, and many return voyages were likewise made to the Pacific groups. Why these voyages eventually ceased, at a time when among the Polynesians the arts of navigation had been brought to perfection, remains an unsolved problem.

      The fact remains that this immigration of about 1350 A.D. was an epoch-making affair, and from this time on Maori history assumes a definite form. We now reach an era of which we possess more definite detail as to the doings of the Tamaki tribes down to European times. From 1350 A.D. the next century or so is mainly a record of the settlement of the immigrants, involving much inter-tribal warfare.

IV

       The Tainui Canoe

       Table of Contents

      Of these canoes, the one which most directly affected local history was the Tainui canoe. This canoe, like most of the others, arrived on the East Coast. Coasting northwards (some say as far as the North Cape) she arrived at last in the Hauraki Gulf, and entered the Waitemata. Resting for some time at Te Kurae-o-Tura (Devonport Beach), the canoe continued its journey to Tamaki (Otaiki). At Taurere (Tamaki Heads) a chief named Te Kete-ana-taua remained with the local people, and became the ancestor of Ngai-tai of those parts; they were owners of all the Takapuna district as far north as probably Mahurangi, and included in their territorial areas the Kawau, Great Barrier and other islands of the Gulf.

      Arriving at Otahuhu, the people awaited the re-arrival of an important lady of their party, by name Marama. This lady, having landed at Hauraki, was doing “the overland trip.” On her ladyship’s arrival, the canoe was taken into the Manukau, whence they voyaged southwards to Mokau, eventually settling at Kawhia. From there they spread inland to Waikato, Hauraki, and eventually to Tamaki. Marama, with other members of the Tainui crew, also settled here, her descendants being known as the