TOPEORA, RANGI, the daughter of Waitohi (sister of Te Rauparaha) and Te Rakaherea, was of good Ngati-Toa blood. She was a poetess of high standing. At the assault on Tapuaenikau, during the heke from Taranaki (1818), she was struck by the heroism of an enemy warrior, Te Ratutonu, of Nga-Mahanga hapu of Taranaki, and insisted on having him called. She threw her mat over him and became his wife. He was killed at Ihupuku during the Tataramoa heke, when the Nga-Rauru attacked the Ngati-Toa (1822). Topeora was the mother of Matene te Whiwhi (q.v.). She was one of the three women who signed the Treaty of Waitangi.

S. P. Smith, Taranaki; Pomare and Cowan.

Reference: Volume 2, page 199

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