“Born at Te Taharoa on the south side of Kawhia, [he] was a Ngāti Toa chief also related to Ngāti Raukawa on his mother’s side. He was a man of immense mana - one of the greatest Māori leaders and fighters. He led his people on a remarkable migration to the Kapiti Coast, from where he controlled vast territories for nearly twenty years. In 1846 he was kidnapped by Governor Grey, to be released in 1848 without ever being brought to trial. He died and was buried at Otaki but his remains were reinterred on Kapiti island, his stronghold.”
Biographical sources
- Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 382.
Other
- "Awhea To Ure Ka Riri?/When Will Your Anger Dare?" In "Te Rauparaha: Part 1: Kawhia and the Journey South." W. Carkeek. Te Ao Hou 30 (1960): 6-9. In Māori with English translation.
- W. Carkeek writes that this taunting song was sung by Te Rauparaha to prisoners taken after his victorious battle against the Rangitane, Ngāti Apa and Whanganui tribes during his conquest of the Horowhenua coastline and Kapiti Island. Carkeek adds that Tamihana Te Rauparaha gave this version of the song to John White.
- "Tera Ia Nga Tai O Honi-Paka/There Lie Below The Seas Of Honi-Paka." [First Line] History and Traditions of the Taranaki Coast. No details. Rpt. in Journal of the Polynesian Society 18 (1909): 73. Rpt. in Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 92-95. (including notes). Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc. 1959. Facsim. ed. 1972 (with the addition of Sir Apirana Ngata’s draft introduction of 1949 and a page of errata to 1959 edition, supplied by Mr Pei Te Hurinui Jones). Rpt. 1974. Rpt. Auckland, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1988. Rpt. in Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape In Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 47-48.
- Te Rauparaha’s lament when he farewelled his childhood home of Kawhia as he left to migrate down to the Horowhenua coastline. He farewells his tribal ancestors and a loved one left behind, and looks forward to Te Ati-Awa support.
- "Takoto mai E Hine!/Lie thee there, O Lady!" [First Line] in ‘History and Traditions of the Taranaki Coast.’ No details. Rpt. in Journal of the Polynesian Society 18.71 (Sep 1909): 135.
- A lament by Te Rauparaha on the death of his daughter Te Uira who was killed at Papa-i-tonga in 1822 by Muaupoko.
- "Ka Mate, Ka Mate." King Potatau: An Account Of The Life Of Potatau Te Wherowhero, The First Māori King. Dr Pei Te Hurinui Jones. Wellington; New Plymouth, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1960. Rpt. in Haka! Te Tohu O Te Whenua Rangātira: The Dance of a Noble People. Timoti Kāretu. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 63-68.
- Karetu devotes a chapter to Te Rauparaha’s ngeri "Ka Mate", drawing on the version and English translation provided by Pei Te Hurinui Jones, with Karetu providing background notes to the tribal history of Te Rauparaha and with a further account by John Te Herekiekie Grace in Tuwharetoa.
- "Te Rauparaha to Governor Fitzroy, February 1844." Early History of New Zealand. R. A. A. Sherrin and J. H. Wallace. Auckland, N.Z.: 1890. 56-58. Rpt in Māori Is My Name: Historical Writings in Translation. Ed. John Caselberg. Dunedin, N.Z.: John McIndoe, 1975. 54-55.
- Te Rauparaha’s account of the Wairau incident.
- McNaughton, Trudie. "Biographical Notes and Selected Bibliography." Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 382.