DEATH OF RUA

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1937, Page 10

DEATH OF RUA

"PROPHET AND REBEL"

ADVENTURES IN UREWERA

BATTLE WITH POLICE

One of the most picturesque figures in recent Maori history,. Rua, (he Maori "prophet," died at Matahi, near Taneatua, on Saturday night at the age of 68, states the "New Zealand Herald." Founder of a strange religious sect, rebel against the liquor laws of the Dominion, and self-styled seer of visions, Rua was for years almost a legendary figure in the fastnesses of the Urewera country. His death recalls the dramatic events over 20 years ago, when at Rua's command, his followers fought a pitched battle with a police party at Mangapohatu, in the Urewera, resulting in the death of two Maoris and the wounding of four constables.

Rua was born in the Urewera coun--5 try and as a young man worked on i various farms and sheep stations in 3 the east coast district. About 1905 he * returned to Mangapohatu and set himj self up as a prophet. He was not of - chiefly rank, but he possessed a strong ■ personality and a considerable .gift of J Maori oratory. His people, too, lived remote from European civilisation, and it was not long before Rua began to ■ obtain a marked personal dominance. ! Threats of friction drew the then ; Premier, Sir Joseph Ward, to Whaka- > tane, in an effort to pacify the rival '■ factions among the agitated natives. SALES OF LIQUOR. : In the years preceding the war. Rua's influence increased. With some of his followers he formed a farming settlement at Mangapohatu. They grew their 1 hair long and professed the somewhat fantastic religious beliefs of their leader. However, in 1910, Rua came under the eye of the law. It was learned that he ... was having liquor brought into Mangapohatu and that he was selling it to the Maoris in defiance of the laws of the country. He was arrested, together with several of his followers, and'they were taken to Whakatane, where they were fined substantial sums. But. liquor profits proved too attractive for the Maori "prophet", He resumed his illicit operations and the authorities were informed that a further attempt to arrest him was likely to be defied. Accordingly, in 1916, a police narty of close on 6C men, commanded" by Commissioner Cullen, marched on Rua's stronghold.A TORRID ENCOUNTER. When the party reached a plateau in front of Rua's village the "prophet" and his followers fled, closely pursued by the police, and after a brief butdetermined scuffle Rua1 and two armed Maoris were arrested. The remaining Maoris eluded the police, and, taking refuge in various parts of the village and in the bush across an adjoining gully, opened fire. Four constables '• were wounded after the police party ; opened fire; Meanwhile Rua, in captivity, was shouting incessantly, ' "Patua! Patua!" —alleged at the time ' to be an instruction to his followers to •' kill and destroy. v ' A torrid encounter followed. Rua's son Toko dropped dead with three bullets in his body, and a rifle bullet shattered the head of Maipa, the "prophet's" own bodyguard. A member of the police party, Constable Neil, was severely wounded, but gradually the Natives withdrew, and Rua, accept- j ing the inevitable, shouted to them to s cease fire. c TRIAL IN AUCKLAND. j Eight Natives, as well as Rua and f his eldest son, were arrested. The t police found a large number of rifles c and a considerable quantity of ammunition in , the "prophet's" stronghold, and these were confiscated and brought back with the party, a strong guard being left at the pa after the battle. The arrested men were taken back through the bush to Rotorua, and later Rua stood his trial in the Supreme Court in Auckland, before Mr. Justice Chapman. It was' one of the longest criminal trials in the history of' New Zealand, occupying 47 sit- ] ting days, but eventually Rua was < found guilty of resisting the police ] and was sentenced to twelve months' , hard labour, and a further eighteen ( months' reformative detention. ] After serving his sentence Rua had ( no more conflicts with authority. He ( appeared again in the limelight—albeit ( a more subdued ray—during the win- t ter of 1927, when he made the predic- j tion that the second coming of Christ would take place in August of that j year. In anticipation of the event he ( gathered about 100 of his followers at . Mangapohatu, where all the whares s were roofed with iron. Rua gave it out j that fire would descend from heaven f when Christ appeared, and that houses , not roofed with iron would be con- j sumed. So great was his hold over c the Natives that they transported the iron over miles of bridle tracks in rough, forest-clad country. MAN OF MANY WIVES. At that time Rua's farming operations had almost, ceased and the settlement was deteriorating. He still took an interest in the religious rites of his own sect, and occasionally displayed 3 some jealousy at the rise of Rat ana. i as a Maori prophet of greater influ- i ence. i Rua's own religion countenanced, if t it did not command, polygamy, and in t this respect the "prophet" certainly } practised what he preached. He had c numerous wives, often as many as a dozen at a time, and, as far back as 1927, he himself estimated that he had 62 children. Rua made his last public appearance in January, 1935, when, with his wives and a large retinue, he . journeyed 50 miles from Mangapohatu to Ruatoki to join in a welcome by the Urewera people to the then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes, who was making a tour of Native land settlement schemes. After the formal speechmaking, in which Rua, not being of chiefly rank, did not participate, Mr. Forbes chatted with him for some time a and they parted with mutual good wishes.