Ruapekapeka 1846

Whakaahua: Williams, John 1846. Mai i te pae tukutuku Te Papa Tongarewa

Tirohia te pānui whaimana mō tēnei whakaahua

Ngā pakanga whenua

Mēnā te Tiriti o Waitangi ka noho hei kawenata whakaū, whakararau i te noho tahi o Tauiwi me ngā hapū, he aha koia te take i pahū ake ai ngā pakanga i Te Tai Tokerau? E kīia ana ngā pakanga nei he pakanga whenua, engari rā kē pea ia, he pakanga i te mana o ngā rangatira o ngā hapū nō rātou ngā whenua. Ko tōna tikanga, e ai ki tā Te Tiriti o Waitangi, “ka noho ki ngā hapū te tino rangatiratanga o ō rātou whenua, ō rātou kāinga me ō rātou taonga katoa”. Ko te tokorua rangatira nei a Hone Heke rāua ko Te Ruki Kawiti ngā mana i pakangatia atu ai kia noho pūmau te rangatiratanga o ngā hapū ki a rātou anō. Ahakoa ngā oati i oatitia ai e te Karauna, tē ai he paku aha. Ko te utu, i te korenga o te kupu i whakamanatia, ko te pakanga

Ko te whakatinanatanga tuatahitanga o te riri ka kitea, ko tā Hone Heke poro i te poukara i Kororāreka i te 8 o ngā rā o Hōngongoi i te tau 1844. I turakina te poukara kia rongo, kia kite te Kāwanatanga i te tino kore whakaae o ngā iwi ki ngā tāmitanga o tō rātou mana motuhake. Kāore te Kāwana i aro, ka whakatūria anō te pou. Auare ake tēnā ka hoki a Heke ki te poukara rā, ka poro anō ai. E whā katoa ngā poronga me ngā whakatūnga o taua poukara. I te nui o te riri o te Kāwana ka whakatōpūhia ngā hōia kia utu i tā Hone Heke wero i a rātou.

Ka whāia haeretia ngā ope pakanga nei ki Te Māwhe, ki te pā o Hone Heke, ki Puketutu. E rua rau hōia Pākehā ka tae atu. I a rātou e heke atu ana ka rokohanga ki ngā toa a Te Kawiti e whanga mai ana ki a rātou. Ka pakanga, ka hinga ētahi i ngā hōia o te Kāwana. Ka puta te ope taua o Heke i te pā hei ngaki i ngā mate. Ka mutu, ko ngā hōia Pākehā nei me ā rātou pū he kaiora. Ko te akoranga nui ka hua ake ko ngā āhuatanga whawhai a te Pākehā. Me uaua te iwi e toa i tēnei momo whawhai, me whai kē he rautaki atu anō. Ka whakarērea te pā, ka heke ki Te Ahuahu. Ko te pakanga i Te Ahuahu ehara i te pakanga ki te Kāwana, engari rā he pakanga Māori tonu. Ka tata hinga a Hone Heke i a Tāmati Waka Nene me tōna ope. Ka pūhia tōna kūhā, ka whara. Ka whakarērea te pā e Hone Heke ka haere ki Kaikohe, ki reira haumanu ake ai.

I a Hone Heke e whakarauora ana, ka huri te aro o te Pākehā ki Te Kawiti. Ko te kaingārahu o ngā Pākehā ko Henry Despard, he mātanga rautaki pakanga. 650 katoa āna hōia, e rima āna pūrepo, he 100 toa Māori anō hoki āna. Ko tā te Māori urupare atu ki tēnei he whakatū i tētahi pā, he rerekē te hanga i ō ngā pā Māori o mua. He pā maioro te āhua, ko te ingoa ko Ōhaeawai. I konei ka tino kitea te māramatanga o te rangatira nei, o Te Kawiti. He hangarau hou ka kitea tuatahitia ki Ōhaeawai, puta noa i te ao whānui katoa. Ka pōhēhē te Pākehā ko rātou i toa i te pakanga nei, engari i te mutunga iho ka toitoia rātou ki te pā, mea rawa ake, kua kore he tangata i reira. Kua heke kē ngā toa a Te Kawiti ki tuawhenua, ki reira whakaritea ai te toi o ngā pā, arā, ko Te Ruapekapeka. He uaua te tae atu ki Te Ruapekapeka, he pukepuke, he uru rākau, he 30 kiromita atu i Ōhaeawai.

E āhukahukatia ana a Te Ruapekapeka i te hiranga o te hangana ōna. I tapaina ai ki te ingoa nei i te tairitetanga o tōna hanga ki ngā rua noho o te koiora e kīia ana ko te pekapeka. Ka whai wāhi te rua tekau tāngata ki roto i ngā rua, he haumaru te āhua, he maioro. E rua ōna puna wai. Ka āta keria ngā awarua honohono, he manganga tonu. Ki konei hoki kitea ai te pekerangi, he momo taiapa he harakeke ngā pātū. Ka noho tēnei hei tauārai i ngā matā o nga pū. E toru marama noa te roa o te waihangatanga o te pā maioro nei, e tohu ana i te mahi a rangatira.

Ka heke te 1000 neke atu hōia Pākehā me ētahi Māori tōna whā rau te tokomaha ki te pā o Te Ruapekapeka. Ko Tāmati Waka Nene ka whakapiri atu ki a rātou hei ito. Mā raro rātou haere atu ai, he uaua hoki te kawe atu i ā rātou pūrepo, i ā rātou pū taumaha, i ā rātou tākirirangi e rua. E toru wiki katoa rātou e hīkoi atu ana. Ko te painga ia, ko te whai wāhi o Te Kawiti ki te takatū ake mō te pakanga e raraka mai ana.

Ka ora mai anō a Hone Heke ka tae atu a ia ki Te Ruapekapeka me tāna ope taua 60 tāngata. Ko ā rāua ko Te Kawiti toa kua tata ki te rima rau. Kotahi ki te whā te ōwehenga o te Māori ki ngā hōia a te Kāwana. He mea āta whakaaro tā rāua rautaki pakanga, kāore i waiho mō te tūpono noa rātou ka mate. Ka tīmata te whākuru i te pā i te 10 o ngā rā o Kohitātea i te tau 1846. Ka pakanga atu ngā hōia i te taha whakararo o te pā. He tuku i te pūrepo, i ngā pū, i te tākirirangi te karawhiu. Ka mutu, ka pokaina te pā ki ngā wāhi e toru. Waihoki, ko te hiahia o Despard he kuhu ki te pā i taua rā tonu engari ka kīia atu ia e Waka Nene rāua ko Kāwana Grey kia tāria te wā. Hei te rā o muri atu, ka tūteia atu te pā ko Te Kawiti me āna tekau mā rua tāngata e noho tonu atu ana. Ka puta rātou katoa i te pā, ka toitoi i te Pākehā kia whai atu i a rātou ki te puihi. Ko te rautaki ia, he whakapātaritari i te hoariri ki tētahi wāhi e māmā ake ai te whawhai. He tangata mōhio te Māori ki ōna anō whenua, ko te taiao tēnei e tino taunga ana ia. Kāore i pahawa te pakanga i waho atu o te pā, he tokomaha kē ngā hōia a te Pākehā.

Ahakoa i kaha karawhiua te pā, he tokoiti tonu i hinga. Māori mai, Pākehā mai ka mate i te pakanga nei. E ai ki te Pāhekā, he wikitōria nui nō rātou te pakanga ki Te Ruapekapeka. Engari anō rā tā te Māori he rerekē. He koi atu rānei, he mōhio ake rānei?