MEIHA KEPA RANGIHIWINUI

13a RANGIHIWINUI/TE HUNIA

Te Rangihiwinui was a leading chief of the Whanganui tribes through his mother Rere-o-maki and was also of equally high rank in the Muaupoko tribe through his father Tanguru who was the paramount chief of those people at the time of Te Rauparaha. His reputation as a leader and his experience and skill in the new style of warfare were widely known and not a little feared by potential adversaries. A contingent of Muaupoko under the leadership of Rangihiwinui (known then as Major Kemp) had assisted the government forces in the campaign against the Hauhaus.

Rangihiwinui played a major role in a Muaupoko land dispute in 1873. The Muaupoko people had suffered greatly at the hands of Te Rauparaha after Te Rauaparaha's son and daughter had been killed by Muaupoko at Papaitonga. In revenge Te Rauaparaha eventually took control of most of the Muaupoko lands which he gave to Ngati Raukawa who had moved down from the Waikato to help him. Te Whatanui, the Raukawa chief took pity on Muaupoko and gave them back 20000 acres of their land, much to Te Rauparaha's disapproval. After Te Whatanui died relations between Ngati Raukawa and Muaupoko deteriorated and in an historic Land Court decision the Muaupoko 20000 acres was increased to about 52000 acres and Rangihiwinui was fittingly made Trustee of the land. Much of this land was later partitioned but Rangihiwinui had the foresight to place 15000 acres of it aside in trust as a perpetual home for Muaupoko.

A block of approximately 100 acres of land situated half a mile south of the Wirokino Bridge over the Manawatu River is dedicated to Te Rangihiwinui.

TE HUNIA

Hunia te Hakeke "Governor" was a chief of the Ngati Apa, Rangitikei (Manawatu). He was married to the colourful female ariki of the Wairarapa, Niniwa-i-te-rangi (see 19b). It is said that Kupe, a meeting house at Horowhenua, situated on a small hill called Panui-o-Marama, a short distance from Te Rae o Te Karaka, was built by Hunia and Major Kemp as an "act of defiance" over the Muaupoko land ownership question (described above). In the new tribal boundaries Muaupoko were barred from what had previously been a traditional source of food at the Hokio stream. Buick (in his book "Old Manawatu") states that the house was built on what had hitherto been regarded as Ngati Raukawa land, at the place where Tauteka, Te Whatanui's wife, was buried. Thus the construction of Kupe was an act of defiance against Ngati Raukawa. As a result of this, a meeting of the respective chiefs was called and the runanga agreed with Hunia's demands that the Muaupoko tribal boundaries should be moved up to a line parallel with Kupe and the Hokio stream. Native land court sittings reaffirmed this position.