IWI / HAPU AFFILIATIONS

Wiremu Te Kakakura Parata was born on Kapiti Island, probably in the mid-1830s. His mother was Metapere Waipunahau, the daughter of Te Rangihiroa, younger brother of Te Pehi Kupe, a leading rangatira of Ngāti Toa. Metapere Waipunahau married George Stubbs, an American whaler and trader. Wi Parata's name Te Kakakura was given to him to honour the ohaki or dying speech of Te Pehi Kupe. The name refers to the red feathers under the wing of the kaka, symbolic of high chiefs. Parata had one brother, Hemi Matenga, who was married to Huria Matenga from Whakapuaka in Nelson. Parata is said to have married twice. Nothing is known of his first wife. His second wife was Unaiki, of Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa. They are said to have married in 1852, and had at least 11 children.¹

Wi Parata's name is famed in legal circles for a case he brought against the Bishop of Wellington in 1877. Ngāti Toa land had been given to the Anglican Church in 1848 to establish a school, but one was never built and a Crown grant over the land was later issued to the Church. In his judgement against Parata, the Chief Justice declared that the Treaty of Waitangi was 'a simple nullity'.² This ruling had significant implications for the interpretation of the Treaty in the years that followed.

A number of family and friends visited the Lindauer Art Gallery in Auckland including Member of the House of Representatives Wi Pere, and Henare Parata, Te Rongo Kahira Parata and Irihapeti Parata. They left a comment in 1901 saying they were most gratified at seeing portraits of their elders.

NM