IWI / HAPU AFFILIATIONS

Paora Tuhaere was paramount chief of Auckland iwi Ngāti Whatua and well-known as a peacemaker and intermediary between Māori and the Government.¹ Tuhaere became paramount chief in 1868 and was based in Orakei, on the shores of Okahu Bay.  Tuhaere was the nephew of esteemed rangatira, Apihai Te Kawau.² His mother was Apihai's sister Atareta Tuha and his father was Whanararei of the Te Taou hapu.  He married twice, firstly to Tupanapana, granddaughter of Ngāpuhi leader, Te Wharerahi and later to Harata Rewiri Tarapata, with whom he had a daughter, Mere.

He was a Christian lay preacher often speaking at inter-tribal gatherings and keen to promote peace.  To a group of Dalmatians arriving in Auckland he said, "The laws of England shield us from the hand of the aggressor, we live happy and at peace, and rejoice to welcome those who, like you, come to us on a mission of goodwill!"³ He wrote to Native Minister, Sir Donald McLean upon hearing of McLean's resignation in 1877, 'Friend, our hearts will never forget you and may God give you life'.⁴

In the 1840s and 1850s, Tuhaere was involved in land sales for the settlement of Auckland, however, after this time Ngāti Whatua supported the Kingitanga movement's call for a ban on further sales of Māori land.

Tuhaere wrote on his tribe's history, both their genealogy and their conflicts with other iwi.⁵ He was an advocate for the Treaty of Waitangi, reminding the Government of their obligations, and was a member of the Māori parliament or Te Kotahitanga movement which sought Māori control of Māori affairs.⁶

This work is not the only portrait of Paora Tuhaere by Gottfried Lindauer. In addition to this work, there is also a portrait of Tuhaere in the Gallery's Partridge Collection in which he is depicted wearing a cloak rather than European clothing.

CM