TE WHEROWHERO, TAWHIAO MATUTAERA POTATAU or Matutaera te Pukepuke te Paue tu Karato Te Potatau te Wherowhero Tawhiao, or Potatau II (1825-94) was the son of the first Maori King, whom he succeeded in 1860. His mother was Whakaawi, a highborn Ngati-Mahuta woman. Born at Oronogokoekoea, on the Mokau river, when the tribe had sought refuge from Pomare and the muskets of the northern tribes, Tawhiao returned with his people to the north, his childhood being spent at Honipaka, on the Waipa. He did not attend the mission schools, but was baptised at Mangere by the Rev R. Burrows, taking the name of 'Matutaera' (Methuselah), which he renounced in 1867. He remembered the Treaty of Waitangi being brought to Te Wherowhero for signature (which was refused).

On the death of Te Wherowhero, Tawhiao was declared king at Ngaruawahia in 1860. Shortly afterwards the Waikato war broke out. When the British troops, under General Cameron, crossed the Maungatawhiri river, Tawhiao warned the Waikatos not to come into conflict with them and not to defend the line of the Waikato but to retire inland to Paparata and Kirikiri. He learned with annoyance that Tapihana had fought at Koheroa. Tawhiao was at the battle of Rangiriri with Wiremu Tamihana te Waharoa. Afterwards they tried to persuade his people to retire into the bush, but they refused to do so and exhorted him to make good his escape. Accordingly he left in a canoe belonging to the Ngati-Tamaoho and retired behind the aukati. After the peace he lived in seclusion at Hangatiki and Hikurangi, even after the general amnesty of 1871. He was rarely consulted on political matters and took no part in the various native disturbances of the next two decades, only giving them countenance as expressions of Maori nationality, of which he was the supreme representative. In 1869 he declined the invitation of Sir Donald McLean to forego his kingly title in return for the allocation of lands on the western side of the Waikato. Grey and Sheehan made proposals later which were more successful only in producing a less hostile feeling. Tawhiao about 1870 hardened himself against the pretensions of Te Whiti, but in 1871, against the advice of the Ngati-Maniapoto chiefs Rewi and Wahanui, he agreed to hold a joint meeting at Parihaka. Sir George Grey (as Premier) met the King leaders in 1878 at Hikurangi (Waikato) when he offered to give back land on the west bank of the Waipa-Waikato and to give Tawhiao honours. The same offer was made in Apr 1879, but, being declined, was then withdrawn. In 1881 Tawhiao made formal submission at Pirongia by laying down his arms and soon afterwards, with 600 followers, he made a progress throughout the Waikato. In the following year he ordered the removal of the beacons in Kawhia harbour, and a garrison of Armed Constabulary was placed there to protect them. In 1882 the Native Minister (Bryce) made liberal offers of land and honours on behalf of the Whitaker government, but Tawhiao was unwilling to accept a seat in the Legislative Council or a pension which might involve his abdication as King. J. H. Kerry Nicholls, who was present at the meeting, says that he still reigned as absolute monarch over one of the most extensive and fertile portions of New Zealand. In 1884, with Te Wheoro, Patara te Tuhi and others he visited England. Still clinging to his old claims, he later took up his residence at the settlement he had established (in 1880) at Whatiwhatihoe. In 1889 he formed another village at Pukekawa, near Mercer, and a year or two before his death he settled at Parawera, not far from Orakau. In 1892 Tawhiao accepted a Government pension of £210 a year, which it was hoped would end the King movement, but a year later he repudiated this suggestion in his gazette, 'Paki o Matariki.' He even refunded the pension he had received and refused to accept further payments. Speaking at Maungakawa in 1893 he declared that "the Governor, the Government and all government officials must leave the country. The island is mine. But the bakers, carpenters and storekeepers may remain. I will look after them." His patriotism was beyond question; he willingly surrendered his personal pension and privileges to serve the Maori kingdom. He died at Parawera on 26 Aug 1894. His son, Tutawhio (1856-86) had died in early manhood and with Tawhiao's death the King movement lost its strength, surviving only in the sullen aloofness of the Waikato people for many years afterwards. Tawhiao was not considered an able man. He had marked weakness but was unquestionably sincere and selfless. He was a good unambitious man with little strength of mind. He once declined a life appointment as native superintendent at £1,000 a year. His illustrious descent and exalted titles gave him a certain veneration. Tawhiao's sister, Te Paea, died on 21 Jan 1875 at Te Kuiti.

App. H.R., 1860-94; Nicholls (p); Cowan, Wars (p) and Sketches (p); Auckland Star, 27 Aug 1894 (p); N.Z. Herald, 4 Feb 1878, 30 Jan 1882 (p), 4 Feb 1882; 26, 26 Jul, 13, 20, 25, 28 (p) Aug, 10 Sep 1884; The Times, 23 Jul 1884; Trans. N.Z. Inst., iv, 6; vii, 499; xvii, 445; xxii, 523, 625; xli, 593; xxvii, 598, 601; xlii, 44, 46; Polyn. Jour., i, 219; ii, 231, 248; v, 24; vi, 186; ix, 95; x, 82; xv, 42; xxiv, 59; xxvii, 81; xxix, 155-158; xxx, 244; White, Ancient Hist., iv, 79; Dom. Museum Bulletins, iii, 38, 57. Portraits: General Assembly Library and Alexander Turnbull Library.

Reference: Volume 2, page 248

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