RC2009/2/07/07 - Matutaera and Huria Matene

Matutaera. King Tawhiao.

 

Son of the great fighting general Te Wherowhero, first King of New Zealand. Tawhiao was a man of few words, much in the habit of giving laconic answers to questions. He was a well intentioned man, but like Wahanui he was not noted for bravery or personal prowess. He had a cast in one eye, which caused by being struck with a splinter of wood.

A party of Natives arrived at his settlement and he thought his slaves were dilatory in cooking food for them. He started to cut firewood, and a splinter flew and inflicted a wound on his eye. The bystanders said it was punishment for presuming to do slaves work.

Tawhiao was present at the Rangiriri fight and narrowly escaped capture on that occasion.

Huria Matene - or Katene.

 

Was born at Nelson about 1845. Her father Wiremu Katene te Manu was a chief of the Ngatitama tribe of Taranaki, and her mother Wikitoria te Keha, belonged to the Ngatiawa tribe of the same district. Huria Matene is the holder of a considerate area of valuable land at Nelson, which her father declined to sell to Mr McLean, Chief Land Purchase Commisioner in 1854. She and her husband are very hospitable people and much respected by the European residents at Nelson.

 

RECEIVED

11 AUG 98

Answered_________

Tukua mai āu nā kōreroSubmit your story

Tāhuhu kōrero

Contributed stories

Do you have a story related to this letter from the Partridge Correspondence? Maybe you have images of the person who wrote it? If you would like to see your story published on this website, please submit it here. All stories are reviewed before publishing.

Waiho mai he paku kōrero Leave a comment

Pito korero about Latest comments about RC2009/2/07/07 - Matutaera and Huria Matene

We welcome your comments on the Partridge Correspondence here.

* Mandatory fields

Waiho mai he paku kōrero Leave a comment

  • 900 characters
  • Tukua Submit
Tāia tēnei whārangi | Print this page
  • Whakaahua Mūori | Mūori Portraits

    View the portraits of Māori painted by Gottfried Lindauer in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Search for specific portraits by iwi or keyword and view the painting in detail through the zoom viewer.

  • Documentary series | Behind the Brush

    The Māori Television series Behind the Brush brings alive the stories of descendants and to uncover the lives of the artist, the patron and tupuna Māori.

  • Pukapuka manuhiri | Visitors Book

    Turn the pages, view the hundreds of comments and signatures, read the transcription and translation, and search by name and place. A digitisation of an historical legacy.