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the First Maori King 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 prominent New Zealand Māori warrior and the leader of the Waikato iwi (tribes). He became the first Māori King and the founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. In the early 1850s, a movement emerged to establish a Māori King. This was intended to unite the Māori people and serve as a counterbalance to the British crown under Queen Victoria, but most importantly, to stop the sale and alienation of Māori land by the Pākehā Government. The search for a King eventually focused on Pōtatau. Although elderly and initially reluctant, he agreed in April 1857 at Rangiriri. He was installed as king at Ngaruawahia in June 1858 and reigned for two years until his death on June 25, 1860. He was succeeded by his son. This tribute tartan features the blue and gold of the Kiingitanga (the Māori monarchy), with the gold stripes representing the seven waka (canoes) that carried the Māori to New Zealand from the South Pacific in the 13th 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.