TUHURU, WARRIOR CHIEF AND CONQUEROR OF WESTLAND

Te Ao Hou, September 1966, Page 15

TUHURU, WARRIOR CHIEF AND CONQUEROR OF WESTLAND The recent death of Hoani Tauwhare brings to mind the story of his famous ancestor Tuhuru, of the Ngaitahu tribe. Ngati Wairangi was a tribe living on the West Coast of the South Island. Ngaitahu lived on the East Coast, their hunting grounds being the Canterbury plains and the foothills of the Southern Alps. The head wife of one of the Ngati Wairangi chiefs became jealous of a younger wife, and in her anger ran away and wandered into the Alps. By the time her anger had abated she had travelled many miles and found herself at the headwaters of the Arahura River. She followed another river down towards the Canterbury plains, and was found by the Ngaitahu hunters, who took her to their chief at Kaiapohia pa. She settled there, becoming betrothed to the chief, and taught the Ngaitahu all the welcoming ceremonies and the etiquette of the Ngati Wairangi. She told them too of the rich greenstone banks along the Arahura river. The Ngaitahu were keen to see the greenstone and obtain some for themselves, so some of the chiefs made themselves ready. The tohunga strongly advised that the young chiefs should not make the trip, but against his advice a group of young and old chiefs made the journey to Arahura. There the Ngati Wairangi were most impressed with their cultured visitors and were glad to welcome people whom they thought were paramount chiefs. After a large feast, the Ngati Wairangi invited their guests to see their greatest treasure—the banks of jade. The group moved up the river and when the rich green stones came in sight the young Ngaitahu chiefs were unable to restrain themselves and in their excitement and greed stretched out their hands towards the jade. When they saw the actions of the young men the Ngati Wairangi people immediately thought that all the politeness and friendliness shown by the Ngaitahu was merely a trick, and that their main interest was in stealing the greenstone. They set upon the Ngaitahu and made a great slaughter. However, the Ngaitahu slaves, who were slim and wiry and had not partaken of the feast, were able to escape. As they fled, they cut off and took with them the head of one of their high chiefs. When they returned to the East they showed the evidence and told the story of the slaughter. The Ngaitahu had been insulted. Not everyone was told the story, but the young chief Tuhuru, a seven foot giant and a clever fighter, hearing the wails and chants of the old women mourning the dead chiefs, insisted on being told what had happened. He was determined to avenge this insult to his people, so gathered together a picked band of warriors and travelled to the West Coast. There they attacked the Ngati Wairangi, completely annihilated them, and took over all the West Coast land. Tuhuru kept for himself the rich greenstone bank on the Arahura river and divided the rest of the land between his warriors and their families. Hoani Tauwhare, a direct descendant, was among the largest shareholders in the Greymouth Reserve. His father, Tauwhare, came south during the gold rush of the 1860's, married a Rapaki girl—Tiriaki, the grand-daughter of Tuhuru—and settled in Rapaki.