TE HEREKIEKIE (1815-1861) was the chief of highest rank in Taupo when Christianity found its way there. As the son of Tauteka he was the principal chief of Ngati-Kurauia, the subtribe responsible for the elevation of Herea, or Te Heuheu Tukino I, to the position of paramount chief many years before. Te Whatupounamu, under whose authority the installation was carried out, and who had held Te Waka-iti down while Herea recited incantations over him, was his grandfather. On the side of his mother, Te Kahurangi, he was an ariki of Whanganui and the country extending northwards along the coast towards Taranaki, and traced descent from Puha-o-te-rangi, of the west coast, ancestor of the Whanganui people, and who was so tapu that people hongi'd (or rubbed noses) with his knee when they greeted him. Te Herekiekie was also a chief of Matata and Whakatane. Over six feet in height and well proportioned, he is described as a perfect specimen of a wild New Zealander. He was a renowned athlete and is said to have jumped across a warm pool at Tokaanu which is nearly 30 feet wide. Herekiekie never acknowledged the authority of Te Heuheu. He was one of the younger chiefs of Ngati-Tuwharetoa who joined the expedition of Tauteka, Te Kotukurae-roa and Te Whakarau in 1841 against Nga Rauru and Ngati-Ruanui of Waitotara. After ravaging the country between Whanganui and Waitotara, the four chiefs occupied the pa at Patoka, where they were attacked by the local tribes under Matakatea (q.v.) and suffered severe losses. Peace was made, and when all was thought to be over, the local people slaughtered them. Tauteka and Te Whakarau were killed, but Herekiekie, on account of his high tapu, was spared by Matakatea and escorted out of the pa by a chief named Tutangi-te-oko-okorau who, after detaining him for some time, assisted him to regain his own country.

In Herekiekie's absence from Tokaanu in 1847 at his other pa at Turangarere, on the Hautapu river, his mother (Kahurangi) insisted on the killing of Manihera and Kereopa (q.v.), missionaries from southern Taranaki, as utu for the death of her husband at the hands of Nga Rauru and Ngati-Ruanui. In 1841 E. J. Wakefield was the guest of Herekiekie, whom he described as a commanding figure, about 28 years of age, hospitable and courteous in the extreme. Herekiekie's chief pa at Tokaanu was near where the Tokaanu-Waihi road crosses the Tokaanu stream. In 1850 he objected strongly to the burial of Te Heuheu on Tongariro as likely to establish a claim to ownership of the mountain to which Te Heuheu and his subtribe had no rights. He threatened to call in the help of Whanganui and Tuhua to resist, and Sir George Grey, who had hoped to climb Tongariro, left the district rather than add fuel to the quarrel.

In 1853 Herekiekie and Te Iwikau became reconciled through the mediation of the Rev T. S. Grace (q.v.). He married Papuni, the daughter of Te Whakarau, who captured the celebrated patu-pounamu Pahi-kaure in Hawke's Bay. This prize is now in the hands of Te Heuheu's family. Herekiekie died in 1861, and was buried at Tokaanu on 25 Jan 1862. His last words to his people were: "Always be friendly to the pakeha, for they are your friends."

Herekiekie's son, KINGI, lived for some time with Wakefield in Wellington; a gentlemanly and well-meaning youth, but not very intelligent. In 1885 Kingi signed (at Poutu) Topia Turoa's demand for Kingite self government.

Information from Sir Apirana Ngata and J. H. Grace; Grace; Crawford; Nicholls; E. J. Wakefield; Waka Maori, 1872.

Reference: Volume 1, page 208

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