Tareha was elected Native Member for the Eastern District in 1868 and held this position until 1871 when Karaitiana Takamoana succeeded him. When Kurupo Te Moananui (a Ngāti Kahungunu leader of Heretaunga) died in 1861, "Tareha paid him the compliment of taking his name and was known henceforth as Tareha Te Moananui."
Biographical sources
- Tareha. "Description of the Māori House at the Colonial Museum." Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 1 (1868): 41-42.
- Ballara, Angela. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Vol. 1: 1769-1869. Wellington, N.Z.: Allen & Unwin
- Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1990. 473.
Other
- "Description of the Māori House at the Colonial Museum." Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 1 (1868): 41-42.
- Tareha, the ‘Native Member in the House of Representatives for the Eastern District... gave a description of the Māori house, in which the meeting was assembled. His Honor the Superintendent of Hawke’s Bay interpreting.’