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Haere mai ki te whare tapu a Patuone!
Welcome to the sacred house of Patuone!
Ko te whaiti a Ripia!
We are the small band of Ripia!
The Patuone Website
E ngā mana me ngā reo o te motu whanui o Aotearoa,
nau mai, haere mai, piki mai! Tu mai i roto i te wairua tūpuna!
The purpose of this website is principally to provide a means of sharing details of Patuone’s life with his many thousands of uri (descendants) all over the world. Others who will use the site will be those interested in the history of Ngāti Hao, of Ngāpuhi, of things Māori and of Aotearoa.
By any measure, Patuone had an extraordinary life. He saw the arrival of the pākehā (Europeans) on the shores of Aotearoa (New Zealand) in 1769 and by the time of his death on 19 September 1872, aged over 108, he had been witness to—and in many cases, an important party to—the key events which shaped modern Aotearoa, notably Te Whakaputanga, the Declaration of Independence of the Independent Tribes of New Zealand of 1835 and of the later, Te Tiriti o Waitangi; the Treaty of Waitangi signed initially on 6 February, 1840. By the time of his death, Patuone had outlived all the old and major rangatira (chiefs) of the land. Patuone was also a key player in the development and choice of the first flag: the flag of the Independent Tribes of New Zealand in 1834, which was given Royal assent by King William IV.
Another intention of the site is to provide accurate historical data related to Patuone and his times. There are, unfortunately, many errors on the public record (including the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography and Te Ara) and in the minds of many. Over time, all such errors will be corrected and this site will be the means to complete that task. It is also an important site for another reason: the provision of detailed tātai. detailed whakapapa (genealogies). These are of critical importance to all Māori people. It is through tātai that we as people connect with our uniqueness and our ancestry. We exist because of our tūpuna (ancestors) and as descendants, it is our obligation and duty to honour them. Many of these tātai are placed on public record for the first time ever. Please respect them. The power of these things is great. Those who abuse them will be subject to forces they will not understand, let alone control.
Hapaitia ngā mahi a o tūpuna!
Raise up the works of your ancestors!
He aha te take?
What is the reason for this?
Na te mea, he taonga mapuna tēnei mai i o mātou tūpuna!
Because this is a precious gift from our ancestors!
Nga Kakano i Tanumia - The Planted Seeds
A website like this is a living thing: it takes on life and breathes; it grows and flowers. Already, many lost connections and gaps are being filled and errors corrected. Descendants of Patuone from all around the world are making contact and linking together in a sense of whanaungatanga, of family fellowship. This is how it should and must be: they are connecting with and claiming their rightful heritage: he mea tika tenei, he mea nui tenei, he mea tino whakahirahira tenei. It is also a call for completeness and excellence of all, in the manner of that ancient call back to an ancestral Hawaiki, to ancient Ra'iatea, to Rangiatea:
Kia puta ai te ihu ki Rangiatea!
That your nose may arrive at Rangiatea!
Ngā Whakaahua - Photographs and Painted Images
The administrator's extensive family collection of some 300 photographs of Patuone and various uri and whanaunga is gradually being digitised and added to the site. This includes what is thought to be the only photograph known of Hohaia and Kateao Te Takupu. Other whanaunga have also contributed photographs and these are acknowledged accordingly. Although photographs will eventually be able to be requested. Please acknowledge them to www.patuone.com and Dr Benjamin Pittman. Eventually, copies of high quality prints will be able to be ordered. All proceeds will be used for site maintenance, currently supported wholly by the administrator. The photographic collection includes images dating from before 1850, thus pre-dating the development of wet-plate photography and later emulsion papers. Many are on metal plates (tintypes) and others are ambrotypes and calotypes. Early photographic processes were highly challenging and yet another reason why these images are so important. Copies of photographs in the author's collection are also in the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington and other libraries in New Zealand, including Auckland City Libraries, Auckland Institute and War Memorial Museum and Auckland City Art Gallery. Generally, those in the administrator's collection are in better condition. The Alexander Turnbull Library also holds watercolours and lithographs related to Patuone and Nene. The Auckland City Art Gallery holds the Patuone and Nene portraits by Gottfried Lindauer. Both paintings were done from photographs after our tūpuna, Patuone, had died. The Goldie painting of Nene dates from an even later period: 1934. Other Goldie works include those of Harata, daughter of Tarapata (son of Patuone and Nene's sister Tari and the rangatira Te Wharerahi), and of Ina (Ena) Te Papatahi whose precise descent needs clarification although it is suggested as being through Tupanapana, eldest son of Tari and Te Wharerahi. Collections of other relevant documents, photographs, lithographs and paintings are held in Australia (National Library, Canberra; Mitchell Library, Sydney). Further documents, photographs and paintings of relevance are also held in British and American collections. Over time, these will be specified and detailed on this site.
He Pepeha a Patuone – A Saying from Patuone
Ko te whaiti a Ripia!
We are the small band of Ripia!
This famous pepeha was used by Patuone in response to a taunt from Heke during the campaigns in the Ohaeawai, Te Ahuahu and Okaihau regions of Taiamai. As the forces of Patuone and Nene drew near, Heke perceived that they were few in number, a mere 100 compared with his own force of some 800. Heke called out that since they were so few, they should return home and not fight. Patuone immediately responded to Heke, uttering this pepeha which would invoke the name of his grandmother, Ripia, a tohunga in her own right and one of the many powerful women of Ngāpuhi. The message was clear: the few of us are a match for the many of you. Heke, Kawiti and others on hearing this knew instantly what Patuone meant. This was not just about numbers; it was about power, lineage and mana. Patuone here represents and invokes the mana line of Ngāpuhi back to Rahiri, Uenuku and Kaharau, and with a few, carefully chosen words, and in a manner so typically chiefly, had put them all in their places. Ohaeawai was also especially important and tragic for Nene. It was during this engagement that his then wife, a daughter of the rangatira Nopera, was ambushed and summarily killed by the Heke and Kawiti forces. She was in the process of carrying ammunition to the Nene and Patuone forces. This of course set up a major reason for utu against Heke and Kawiti and was the reason why Nene pursued Heke and Kawiti until their defeat at Ruapekapeka. Thereafter, however, Nene forgave them although relations between them and their descendants remained forever cool. It was only much later that Kawiti's son, Paraone Maihi Kawiti, honoured the replacement of the flag pole at Kororareka.
Patuone: He Korero Poto - Patuone in Brief
Patuone (c.1764-1872) was the last of the great rangatira (chiefs) who had witnessed the arrival of the pākehā (Europeans) and seen his country and his people changed forever. Patuone was born c.1764, the fourth child and third son of the Ngāti Hao chief, Tapua and his wife Te Kawehau and grew up to inherit the mana of his father as well as his roles as tohunga (high priest) and war leader. Tapua also traced descent from Ngāti Kahu. Ngāti Hao was a powerful and influential hapū of what was later to become the Ngāpuhi confederation. The seat of Ngāti Hao power was the Hokianga, including upper reaches of the harbour, in the hills above Waihou, a place called Whakanekeneke but their wider power base included territories at Ōkura on the Kerikeri inlet at Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) and lands on the lower Hokianga near Horeke. Patuone and Nene's lands here were called Tarawana and the old settlement lies opposite what today is Mataitaua Marae. There is an Augustus Earle painting of Patuone's kainga near Horeke, painted in 1827. This was also where George French Angus mentions meeting Patuone and his eldest son Toa. Toa died prematurely in 1828 along with Patuone's first wife, Te Wheke, another son Mata and a daughter who remains unknown. It was clear that these deaths were the result of some introduced infectious agent, probably tuberculosis. Ironically, changes in lifestyle, the adoption of European clothing and more European-style settlements, appear to have contributed to a severe, multi-fronted attack on Māori health.
Patuone’s older siblings were sister Tari, who married the influential Pēwhairangi chief Te Wharerahi (brother of Moka and Rewa) and also his brothers Te Anga and Te Ruanui, both of whom were killed in battle while fighting with their father Tapua against Ngāti Pou who had beed forced by combined Ngāpuhi forces to the Whangaroa. Patuone’s name thus commemorates the death of an ancestor in battle as well as those of his two older brothers. Patu means a ‘club’ or ‘to be killed’ and one means ‘sand’ or ‘beach’. Patuone’s younger brother was Nene and he became known and famed as Tamati Waka Nene, a fuller name assumed after his baptism by Archdeacon Henry Williams in 1839. Tamati Waka is a transliteration from English to Māori of Thomas Walker.
Patuone was in turn baptised, together with his third wife Takarangi (of Ngāti Paoa), on 26 January, 1840, at Paihia by Archdeacon Henry Williams. This was just prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840. Patuone was an early signatory together with Nene and Te Wharerahi and along with Heke, Nene and others, used his great oratory skills to persuade the chiefs present that there was no alternative: it was too late to tell the Europeans to go home. After his baptism, Patuone then assumed the fuller name Eruera Maihi Patuone. Eruera Maihi (Edward Marsh) was Henry Williams’ eldest son. Takarangi took the name Riria (Lydia), probably another Williams name.
Patuone traced direct descent through multiple lines back to Rahiri, Uenuku and Kaharau, key founding tūpuna (ancestors) of Ngāpuhi. He achieved great fame as a warrior and became one of the most powerful, respected and influential chiefs of Aotearoa, throughout a long and very productive life.
In about 1835, following his marriage to Takarangi, Patuone moved his residence to Whakatiwai, south of Auckland. The marriage to Takarangi was part of a peace deal between Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Paoa who had fought many fierce battles over a long period of time. Takarangi was the sister of Te Kupenga and both were children of the Ngāti Paoa chief Tuhekeheke. Patuone also maintained a pa at Putiki on Waiheke Island and yet another in the Mahurangi district, close to where Sir George Grey set up his island estate at Kawau. He is still remembered with great affection by Ngāti Paoa. Today, Piritahi Marae on Waiheke commemorates the union of Patuone and Riria Takarangi.
In 1852, Patuone set up a large estate of some 110 acres in what today is Takapuna, located on the North Shore of metropolitan Auckland and included part of Takapuna Beach and surrounds of Pupuke Moana (Lake Pupuke). These lands had originally been sold to the Crown under Hobson as part of some 9000 acres by Ngāti Paoa, the tangatawhenua. Following his death on 19 September 1872, this land was gradually diminished and in 1910, the last remnants were taken over and sold. Details about these unsatisfactory transactions will be revealed in due course.
Patuone was given a state funeral attended by many hundreds of family, guests and dignitaries and today, lies buried on Takarunga (Mt Victoria), on Auckland’s North Shore, welcoming all who drive down today's Lake Road towards Devonport.
Patuone - The Book
The administrator is currently completing a major book on the life of Patuone: Patuone - Peacemaker - A Life in Context: The Life and Times of a Founding Father. More complete details will be found here later. The book will place Patuone's life and those of Nene, Tari and the other great rangatira of the land, in full context. Publication will now occur in 2012, following the administrator's completion of essential new research and corroboration. This book is currently going though final editing and is both a personal tribute and one made on behalf of all those descendants who wish to be part of it. It contains much previously unpublished, unkown and forgotten material.
He Tātai - Whakapapa - Genealogies
The tātai which are available for public viewing on this site, generally, do not include any beyond Patuone's grandchildren, the children of Hohaia and Kateao Te Takupu, who include the administrator's grandmother, Hoana Hohaia. All other tātai which will be placed on the website will be password-protected. In this regard, the order of birth given for Hohaia and Kateao Te Takupu's seven children is that which was taught to the administrator. Those who feel differently are free to do so but are also respectfully reminded: the line which carries the weight and respect is the mana line and it is the tūpuna who determine this, just as it is the tūpuna who discipline those who are out of line.
Ngā Uri - Descendants
Today there are some twenty thousand-plus Patuone descendants all over the world linked by their common heritage back to Patuone. The late Celia Haupuru Nesbitt (nee Birch), who descended from Te Tawaka Nehua (nee Hohaia), was the last great-great grandchild from the Te Tawaka line. Through their paternal grandmother Hoana Pitman (nee Hohaia), sister of Te Tawaka, the administrator of this site, Dr Benjamin Pittman, his brother Peter, sister Virginia and first cousins Tahora and Miriama are the last of Patuone’s great-great grandchildren on the Hoana line. Raunatiri, brother of Hoana and Te Tawaka. also has four living great-great grandchildren: Neho, Harata, Paraire and Paihia Rountree. Te Tawaka, Hoana and Raunatiri’s father, Patuone Hohaia (c.1825-1901) was the longest survivor of twelve children born to Patuone’s four wives - Te Wheke, Te Hoia, Takarangi and Rutu. The children born to Patuone Hohaia and his wife Kateao Te Takupu were Eru Patuone Hohaia, Te Tawaka Hohaia, Hoana Hohaia, Kaiaho (Kaioha) Hohaia, Ani Kaaro Hohaia, Raupia Hohaia and Raunatiri Hohaia. Fuller details will be found in the whakapapa section. As indicated, Patuone's first wife, Te Wheke died in 1828 as did his first-born son Toa, another son called Mata and a sister whose name is not recorded. Hori Hare Patuone died in 1878 and another of Patuone's children (not named) died in 1886. Timoti, a whangai of Patuone (son of a relative called Matetakahia, who was killed by Nene in unfortunate circumstances when he was wrongly blamed for the death of an English trader called Wharangi), died in 1896. Hohaia's sister may well have been Hapi Waka and one of two brothers, Te Rore. At this point the other brother is unknown. As is often the case, full genealogies were not necessarily retained by individuals for all branches of a family, this being the responsibility accorded to immediatev children. Over time, although all connections were known, they were not always handed on throughout all branches of a family: as numbers increased, so too did the complexity of maintaining accurate records, especially as people left their home kainga and moved elsewhere.
The Banner Photos
The photographs used on the banners show firstly, the wild entrance to Hokianga Harbour in Tai Tokerau, in full, Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe. This is where the famous battle of karakia took place between Nukutawhiti and Ruanui, from whence came the name Hokianga-whakapau-karakia. Hokianga is the seat of power for Patuone. The powerful image of Patuone, toa rangatira, watches over all.
The second photograph shows Mount Hikurangi at sunset, viewed from Marua. Hikurangi is visible from Whakapara and Waiotu. This name calls back to ancient Polynesia, the Hawaiiki of old - Ikurangi in Rarotonga and of course to others in Tahiti and beyond. Please note that this Hikurangi is in Tai Tokerau and one of a number of Hikurangi there. It is not the Hikurangi in Tai Rawhiti, closely associated with Ngāti Porou. Hikurangi was also a rangatira of Ngāti Tu, along with Ngāti Rangi, both hapū of Ngāi Tāhuhu, displaced by Ngāpuhi over time through raupatu. The form of Hikurangi can be seen from Whakapara and the administrator's property at Waiotu from where, towards the north, the dark, looming presence of Ruapekapeka can also be seen, sitting upon the land. While Hikurangi is not specifically related to Patuone, it was a place he visited as the major walking track through the bush passed through these places. Further, following Hohaia's marriage to Kateao Te Takupu, the association with the Hikurangi area was strengthened. Kateao Te Takupu's father, Te Takupu, was a son of Te Hotete, also the father of Hongi Hika. Kateao, by descent, also had close tātai connections to Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Hau and it was through these connections that the land, originally some 20,000 acres, at Whakapara, Puhipuhi and Waiotu came into the family. Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Hau represent respectively the seaward (ki te moana) and interior (ki te uta) groupings of the same peoples. Ngāti Hau takes its name from the rangatira Hautakowera. The saying, "Ngāti Wai ki te moana, Ngāti Hau ki te uta" is and assertion of the connectedness between the two.
He Puna Korero - Sources of Information
Much of the information provided about our illustrious tūpuna was handed on the the site administrator by kaumatua over many years. Particular sources were the administrator's grandfather Okeroa Pitman, who married Hoana Hohaia, and other kaumatua connected to Hoana. Although Okeroa was not himself a descendant of Patuone, he was a kaikorero fluent in reo Ngāpuhi and English and well schooled in the whole of Ngāpuhi history. Further, his long marriage to Hoana and contact with many other kaumatua of the old school through hui and deep private teachings and discussions gave him many insights into knowledge not commonly shared and learned. In his own right, Okeroa descended through various lines also from Rahiri but also traced descent from Ngāi Tāhuhu and Ngāti Tu, Ngāti Whatua, Te Roroa, Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Parawhau, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine and Patuharakeke and many others in the north. The administrator also received a large collection of family archives dating from the period 1880-90 and thereafter. In relation to the tūpuna contained within the very old tātai, many of the names have been found nowhere else. Also recorded in these archives are old accounts related by kaumatua so that they would not be lost. One of the most interesting of these relates to the ousting of Ngāi Tāhuhu from the Whangarei area and the treachery which overcame the Ngāti Tu rangatira Hikurangi. Hikurangi was married to Mihiao, a woman from Ngāpuhi and it was due in part to the treachery of Mihiao and her brother Te Uiho and son Ngarokiteuru that Hikurangi suffered raupatu from forces of greater Ngāpuhi. All these tātai and other accounts therefore represent a valuable resource, a taonga for us all. Another part of these resources are old waiata. These are gradually being transcribed and translated and in time they too will be added to the site. This task is being shared by the administrator and Patuone descendant, Hemi Hoskins.
He korero ki nga Kaiamuamu - An Answer to the Critics
Some have already criticised the work which has been done and which remains to be done. As administrator, let me say clearly to these few people: I was told from the age of three that when the time was right (and in this that the tūpuna would let me know), I had to start this critical work, this mahi nui, to raise up the great name and works of our tūpuna, recording for all the many uri of Patuone, what I had been taught and told and all else which would come to me, once this hikoi had begun. What came to me was handed on for this reason. Further, this is really not about me, it is about us. But, if I have also to be the tall Kauri who has to take the battering of nga hau e wha and te riri whanaunga, then so be it! The option also remains for those who are unhappy with certain aspects, that they write their own tribute and let the rest of us get on with ours. Therefore, this is my word to you: if you are not happy then go elsewhere, but then, that also asks two questions of you:
Where have you been all this time? What have you been doing? What do you know? What can you share? Who can believe you? Where is your mana and what is the source of it?
It is simply not good enough to do nothing yourselves and then criticise when somebody does. Neither is it your place to try to take over what you do not know and understand. You therefore have the choice, to be part of this or not. It has also been made very clear that where there are errors, these will be corrected. Well-meaning people have shared in good faith, what they know and were taught and this has been used to fill in what were hitherto, perceived as gaps. If, however, there are other and higher truths, then we have the capacity to correct. And, let us not forget: this all sits within the realm of the tūpuna. There are also those in the ranks who use what they call knowledge to wield power over others. This is an insult and an abuse, particularly if this "knowledge" is at worst, wrong and at best, incomplete. Our tūpuna remind us: sometimes our whanaunga have egos and a sense of self-importance, bigger than their brains. Those who seek power and influence must also have the mana and capacity to carry, bear and and maintain it; the capacity to stand firm under scrutiny.
It is also clear that there are many stories which some in the family would prefer not to have aired. In spite of hurt and pain, our people had the capacity to embrace all, to heal and to accept what came. Often, transgressions within the family brought utu in the form of death, disease, afflictions, curses, accidents and strange happenings. The same dynamics apply today. Our tūpuna are ever watchful and protective. Utu often has a long-lasting effect and is extracted over time. There are those within the family who know this only too well and others who suffer in innocence without knowing. Also, the relationships within the Hohaia family were not always cordial. In the view of the administrator, these issues should be aired and discussed as they explain much and place certain dynamics today within their fullest context.
Similarly, there have been comments that we should not be using technology to advance our cause, to raise up the name and works of our tūpuna. This is pure and utter nonsense! Our tūpuna and others were famous for embracing technology, with full recognition of the advantages which accrued. Let us also remember that hundreds of years before the Europeans arrived in Aotearoa, our tūpuna had foretold exactly what would occur. They knew also that our time, as a people, is yet to come! Part of the strength and resilience of our people was that they did accept and embrace those things which advanced their lives. This is, of course, not to deny there were tragic events as well. Our people, our tūpuna also knew about balance. Our particular tūpuna, Patuone, recognised this when he said, very prophetically:
"It is only in the time of my great-great grandchildren that the dreams I have for my people will start to come to fruition. Now you chase me away. In the time of my great-great grandchildren, you will come looking for me!"
The modern nation of New Zealand also has achieved much, thanks in large part of the co-operative and creative spirit it has always engendered. However, our tūpuna also warned us: until the injustices of the past are acknowledged and addressed, the nation will still be held back and periodically suffer great national tragedies. Justice, true justice, has no use-by date. Those with the power of action must get on with the job! Only then will Patuone and our collective tūpuna rest in peace and allow the nation, our nation, forged in blood and sacrifice, to do likewise.