THE WHAKATANE MURDERER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4482, 25 March 1876, Page 3

THE WHAKATANE MURDERER.

The Maori, Himiena Te Rua, who, last November, murdered the old tohunga, Tukiuo Te Mara'e, at Woitapu, near Te Teko, and whom our Tauranga telegram of the 6th instant annnounced as having been handed over by the Urewera to Captain Preece arrived by the Rowena yesterday, from Opotiki, in charge of constable Downey, a e has been committed to take his trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. On arrival in Auckland Himiona waß immediately . convey to Mount Eden Gaol, where he will await his trial for wilful murder. As the circumstances under which the crime was committed may have faded out of the memories of our readers we give fortheir benefit the following recital of the affair.:—

Tukino te Marae was an old man of nearly sixty years of age, who lived an industrious, inoffersive life on his paternal acres at Kokohinau, a Maori settlement near Te Teko. He had never professed, and was not credited with, having dealings with the Evil One. Himiona te Rua belongs to the same tribe as his victim, i.e., to a branch of the Ngatiawa, of Whakatane, and is much I younger. He himself had as wife an Urewera woman, and he lived with her tribe at Ahikereru. Of late three persons of the Urewera have died, and (as is usual in .all deaths among the Maoris) the relatives puzzled their brains to find out a special cause, for which they delight to look to the world of spirits, i.e., departed spirits or perhaps evil spirits likewise, the latter having a human agent (a witch or wizard). Last month a young girl, one of the above three, Ngawini, daughter of Himiona's wife by another husband, died, and forthwith the relatives, upon what data does not appear, came to the conclusion that these three had all been bewitched, and their deaths caused by the evil machination or witchcraft of Tukino te Marae. Himiona, spurred on by his fealty to his .adopted tribe, and incited by his wife and others, determined or was appointed to take revenge by killing the alleged wizard. This evil work he carried out on the 13th Nov. On that day Tekino, Te Ranapia, Te Uuku, and a woman were busy planting, the first-named being hidden by a large tupaki bush from the others. The three others saw Himiona, gun in hand, advancing towards Tukino, and presently heard the discharge. No warning at all seems to have been given of the intended assault. The bullet entered just-over the region of the bladder, perforated -the intestines and the bladder, and-came out at the back of the pelvis. From the first the wound was by all set down as mortal, and the poor fellow seemed convinced that his days were numbered. He received every attention from Captain Preece, commanding A. C. at Te Teko, and likewise from Dr. Knyland, departmental medical man for the district. He died after lingering xur nearly a™rui a?uo-x>ia-• fci-ict Coroner held an inquest, and after a full and patient hearing of all the witnesses, he and the jury brought in a verdict of "wilful murder" against Himiona Te Rua. t