Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 1909.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 42, 1909, Unnumbered Page

Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 1909.

“Friend and Brother,— “I have received the commands of my most gracious sovereign, King William the Fourth, to thank you for your letter, brought to him by the hands of Captain Sadler, commander of His Majesty's ship the ‘Buffalo,’ and for the assistance which you rendered to him in obtaining the articles for which that ship was expressly sent to your country. “King William will not forget this proof of your friendship, and he trusts that such mutual good offices will continue to be interchanged between His Majesty's subjects and the chiefs and people of New Zealand as may cement the friendship already so happily existing between the two countries, and advance the commercial interests and wealth of both. “The King, my master, further commands me to thank you for your present, and in return he desires you will accept a suit of armour, such as was worn in former times by his warriors, but which are now only used by his own Body Guard. “This letter, as well as His Majesty's Royal present, will be conveyed to you through James Busby, Esq., His Majesty's authorised Resident at the Bay of Islands, whose esteem and friendship you will do well to cultivate, and who in his turn will do all in his power to promote your welfare, and that of your countrymen. “I am your Friend and Brother, “Aberdeen. “Colonial Office, London, 31st January, 1835.” The armour is undoubtedly the suit presented to Titore as a recognition of his services to the captain of the “Buffalo.” Although not Hongi's armour, it is still Nga Puhi, as will be seen from the following whakapapa showing the relationship between Hongi and Titore. I am indebted for this genealogy to Mr. Stowell (Hare Hongi).

Family Connections, Hongi and Titore.

The question of the whereabouts of Hongi's armour was discussed by some of the chiefs of Nga Puhi lately, but it seems to have disappeared. It is supposed by some to have been stolen by two slaves. Being chain armour, it would disappear more quickly in a mass of rust than plate armour. I am informed that for many years after Hongi's death the armour lay in a solid wooden box deposited in the midst of a clump of tea-tree (manuka) (a wahi tapu) near the spot where Hongi died, at Papuke, Whangaroa. On the death of his son Hare Hongi, in the eighties, the various weapons and relics of his illustrious father were gathered up and placed round him at his tangi, and buried with him. There can be no mistake about Hongi's armour, as it is inscribed as presented to Hongi, a prince of New Zealand, by H.M. George IV, with date of presentation.* Letter from F. J. Hagger, Esq. If there is, as my correspondent says, an inscription on Hongi's armour, it can only have been on the cap. Judging from a sketch made from life by Gilfillan, in which Hongi is wearing what might be a steel cap, the cap and shirt of mail might have been of Indian workmanship. It is fairly certain, from Native tradition, that at the peacemaking after the fall of Makoia Hongi gave his helmet to the man who had “killed” him, Te Awa-awa; and many persons believe it to be buried in that district (Mokoia) at the present time. Subsequently I received from my friend Wiremu Hipango, of Waitotara, a correct account of part of the history of the armour. He says, “It was myself and Hori Pukehika, at my request, made a search in 1892 and found it. The helmet could not be found. I heard after-wards it was buried in Pipiriki Cave.† This I believe to be incorrect. It was, I am informed on good authority, for many years at Taumarunui, but has now been lost. (Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxxviii, pl. xvi.) I have heard from my own people that the armour belonged to Titore, a Nga Puhi chief, and is not the armour that Hongi had. Titore's armour was given to Te Wherowhero, and by him to Te Heuheu, the Taupo chief, and he it was who gave it to a relative of his named Aperahama Ruka, who married Wiki Tumuo, a niece of Hori Kingi. Te Anaua (uncle to Major Kemp), Ruka, and his wife brought it to Whanganui, and presented it to Hori Kingi te Anaua, and they kept it at Pukehika Pa. Another part of the story I was told: Titore was told a gun could not pierce the armour. Titore put it on, and told his son to aim straight at his head and fire. The son took his gun and made steady aim, but he was shaking so he told his father to take the armour off. So it was placed on a stump, and he took the fire. The bullet ran through. So his son said to his father, ‘Ha! if you had had that on, you would be a dead man.’ If the helmet were to be found I believe the bullet-hole could be seen. I believe that to be the reason why Titore would not care to keep it any longer. The armour was presented to Titore in Sydney. As to Tokiwhati's present, it is another matter.” A little later I made further inquiries from Mr. Percy Smith, and he wrote to Wiremu Hipango, and Wiremu wrote to Tawhiao, of Taumarunui, and afterwards sent Mr. Smith the following letter, which is interesting, and explains some things rather more in detail:— [Translation] “To Mr. Smith. “Salutations in this new year. Here is the letter of Tawhiao of Taumarunui, explaining about your letter to him asking for information

as to the kahu-maitai” [suit of armour] “which was found by Dr. Pomare, and who has given it to the Museum containing the curiosities at Wellington. I am very glad that it has fallen to me to explain this, because I have seen in the Dominion newspaper which says, ‘This is a peace-offering by Tuwhare to Te Anaua’ (i.e., to Hori Kingi). This is mere supposition, because Tuwhare came from Nga Puhi, hence the people think he owned the armour (that was the origin), and also because they heard that Hongi visited England and brought back some armour. Thus it has been thought ever since that it was Hongi's. I confirm the story of the peacemaking between Tuwhare and Hori Kingi te Anaua in reference to Tokiwhati. It was at the Kohimarama conference that the generosity of Nga Puhi was laid before Whanganui, which has lasted to this day. There was no armour with Tuwhare when he was fighting Whanganui; had there been, the fact would not have been lost in the history of the old men of Whanganui; there would have been 'sayings’ about it. As, for instance, the news of Nga Puhi's guns, which was handed down by the escapees from the Nga Puhi fights, when our people of the South said, ‘Let those pu (guns) come to their pu,’ and then they sounded their pu-kaea (or trumpets).* They, in fact, understood the modern word pu (gun) for the ancient word pu (a trumpet). When they saw the real meaning of those pu, then did Whanganui apply the words to the koanga kaahu” [? armour], “and hence the origin of the story about Tuwhare. “But let me return to my story. This property (the armour) belonged to Te Heuheu the Great. The daughter of Te Anaua, Nga-weuweu, married Aperahama Ruke, a chief of Taupo, and the property descended to them, and was brought by them to Whanganui, and was left with Hori Kingi as a valuable property for Whanganui. “Here is another reference to this matter. Hori Kingi te Anaua had two wives, both chieftainesses, Te Ao-tarewa of Ngati Ruaka, and Te Hukinga-huia of Ngati Ruru. In consequence of neither of them having children, they prepared a wooden image as a baby. Then Te Aotarewa composed an oriori, or lullaby, beginning ‘Taku tamaiti e, i puta nui ra koe i te toi ki Hawaiki,’ &c. (which may be seen at length in Tu-wha-whakia's narrative in your paper)” [vide Jour. Polynesian Soc. vol. xiv, p. 135]. “Te Anaua and his brother Te Mawae had also a lullaby about their image, part of which refers to the armour and to Te Heuheu: ‘Kaore te whakama ki te kore tamariki i a au,’ &c.” [I do not see the application, however.—S.P.S.] “This is the continuation of the story. The armour descended to the chief, and finally to me at Whanganui. I will now explain how this property came to Titore. It was sent to Port Jackson and thence to Titore. The fame of this armour was that bullets would not pierce it. It was then put on by the old man” [? Te Anaua] “who then called on his son to shoot at him; and when the distance had been arranged, the son took his gun and prepared to fire, but was very anxious about the result. So he said to his father, ‘Take off your garment (i.e., armour), and let me try it first, or put it on a stump,’ to which the old man consented. Then he fired at it, hitting it on the forehead, and the bullet went through it. Said the son, ‘If I had listened to you, you would have been shot dead.’ “If the helmet should be found, the hole in it will also be seen. One of my old men has just returned to Whanganui, and he told me that he

had seen the helmet, with the hole through it on the forehead, but he did. not know from whence the armour came. Now you will understand. “Now, my urgent desire is that this property shall be permanently left in the Whare-Ruanuku (Museum). It was I that directed the search for it in 1895, and Hori Pukehika and I found it concealed in a place, that had been lost” [i.e., the recollection of it]. “Last year Hori Pukehika and Dr. Pomare brought it away. Pukehika has only just returned” [? from here]. “I have sent a communication to Mr. Hamilton, but not so lengthy as this. Will you send him the enclosed copy? I have also sent to Hakiaha Tawhiao in case he should feel dark” [anxious] “on account of that property. Hence do I say that this property of Whanganui should be left in the Museum for ever. “Enough. May you live, the only old man left of those other old who have departed to the night, Major Keepa, Mete Kingi, Hori Kingi, and many others. “Your friend, “W. Hipango.”