East Coast Wars

Te Ua Haumene was the founder of the Pai Marire faith. Kereopa Te Rau was one his original disciple. He was a member of Ngāti Rangiwewehi of Te Arawa.

Kereopa fought for the Kingite forces during the Waikato War in the early 1860’s. His wife and two daughters were killed at Rangiaowhia, near Te Awamutu, during an attack by government forces on 21 February 1864. The following day he saw his sister killed at Hairini. These tragedies hardened his resolve to keep fighting against the government even after the defeat of the Kingite forces.

When he became a believer in the Pai Mārire religion he joined Patara Raukatauri in taking his new faith to the East Coast. The prophet Te Ua told them to preach peacefully in the areas they passed through and that Pākehā were not to be disturbed.

Kereopa was present when the missionary Carl Völkner was murdered at Ōpōtiki on 2 March 1865. Kereopa swallowed Volkner’s eyes, calling one ‘Parliament’ and the other the ‘Queen and British law’. He later did the same thing with the eyes of three Ngāti Manawa warriors who had been decapitated. Not suprisingly Kereopa earned the nickname – Kaiwhatu – which means ‘eye-eater’.

In May 1865 Kereopa tried to go to the Waikato to preach to the Kingite tribes but he was stopped by a force of Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Rangitihi. Returning to Opōtiki he was forced to retreat into Tuhoe country deep in the Urewera mountains when government forces arrived on the East Coast. Tuhoe respected Kereopa because he had brought the Pai Marire faithto their tribe. They helped him evade the government forces for 5 years.

After Te Kooti arrived back in the region, his Ringatu faith started to become more popular with Tuhoe and the Pai Marire faith declined. Between 1869 and 1872 Tuhoe lands were invaded by government forces searching for Te Kooti and Kereopa. Tuhoe suffered a lot of casualties in these raids and many of their crops and villages were destroyed. Eventually the tribe made peace with the government and in order to prevent any further invasions they agreed to hand over Kereopa. In September 1871 Kereopa beat them to it and decided to hand himself over saying he was ‘payment for the Tuhoe blood that had been shed for him’. He tried to escape but was captured by one of the Tūhoe party sent to collect him. Having broken his word, he was handed over to the Ngati Porou chief Ropata and Captain Thomas Porter.

Kereopa was convicted of the murder of Völkner in December 1871 and hanged in Napier on 5th January 1872.