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the Maori Kings of New Zealand
"There is but one eye of the needle
through which the white, red and black threads must pass.
Hold fast to the law, hold fast to faith, hold fast to love
Forsake all else!"
~ Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, c. 1860
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was a renowned Māori warrior and leader of the Waikato iwi (tribes), remembered today as the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. (His son, King Tāwhiao, would succeed him as the second Māori King and become one of the most recognisable figures of the Kīngitanga through the famous portraits painted by Gottfried Lindauer.)
During the early 1850s, a movement arose to establish a Māori monarch who could unite the various iwi, provide a counterpart to the authority of Queen Victoria, and, most importantly, help resist the growing alienation of Māori land under the colonial government. The search for a suitable king eventually centred on Pōtatau. Though advanced in age and initially reluctant to accept the role, he agreed at Rangiriri in April 1857 and was formally installed at Ngāruawāhia in June 1858. His reign lasted just two years, ending with his death on June 25, 1860, after which he was succeeded by his son, Tāwhiao.
This tribute tartan honours his legacy in the blue and gold colours of the Kīngitanga (Māori monarchy). The gold stripes represent the seven great waka (canoes) that carried the ancestors of the Māori people across the Pacific Ocean to Aotearoa (New Zealand) during the great migrations of the thirteenth century. 🧡 💙 🤍 🧡 👑 🌿 🇳🇿
This tartan was designed to pay homage to King Pootatau Te Wherowhero (1858-1860) the first Maori King.
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as Te Wherowhero and took the name Pōtatau after he became king in 1858. As disputes over land grew more severe Te Wherowhero found himself increasingly at odds with the Government and its policies.
In March 1840 Te Wherowhero was living at Awhitu in the western Manukau. Captain William Symonds brought a copy of the Treaty of Waitangi to Manukau for chiefs to sign, but Te Wherowhero refused. However, he was friendly towards the colonial government and not opposed to Pākehā presence in areas he controlled. Initially Te Wherowhero favoured the Pākehā arrivals in his territory: his daughter, Tiria, married the trader John Kent.
In the early 1850s, a movement to establish a Māori King developed. This aimed to unite the Māori people and to act as a counterbalance to Queen Victoria. But above all the King Movement wanted to halt the sale and alienation of Māori land by the Pākehā Government. The search for a King eventually settled on
Pōtatau, who by then elderly, expressed initial reluctance, but agreed in April 1857 at Rangiriri. He was installed as king at Ngaruawahia in June 1858.
Pōtatau himself wished to continue to work in co-operation with the British Government, but many of his followers adopted a much more independent position. Gradually the two sides polarised and grew apart, culminating some five years later in warfare (see Invasion of the Waikato and New Zealand Land Wars).
Pōtatau died at Ngaruawahia on 25 June 1860 and is buried on Mount Taupiri, a mountain close to his royal residence in Ngaruawahia. His son, Matutaera Tawhiao, succeeded him.
Colours: blue and gold represent the colours of the Kiingitanga (the Maori monarchy) with the gold stripes representing the seven waka (canoes that carried the Maori to New Zealand from the South Pacific in the 13th century); and red, white and black to represent the King’s comment, “There is but one eye of the needle, through which the white, red and black threads must pass.”
For more portraits of the Maori during this time period, click the portrait of Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero by Gottfried Lindauer (bet. 1874-1903). He predominantly worked from studio photographs in addition to painting from life, and most of his striking Māori portraits were painted posthumously.