Topeora

Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa

Topeora was born in Kawhia and came south when Te Rauparaha led Ngāti Toa to Kapiti. Later she lived at Otaki where she died. "When she and her husband were baptised in the 1840s, she chose as their new names Queen Victoria (Kuini Wikitoria) and Albert (Arapeta). No other names would do." She "was a daughter of Te Rangihaeata; and was, therefore, a grand-niece of Te Rauparaha.... Topeora was a prolific composer, and she composed many songs about her tribesmen, and these songs have a vogue throughout the land." "Tope-ora was an aristocratic woman of the Ngāti Toa.... This Tope-ora was known as ‘The Great’. There was a second Tope-ora, a daughter of Te Rangi-haeata." She was a signatory of the Treaty ofWaitangi.

Biographical sources

  • Te Ao Hou 52 (1965): 37.
  • Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Måori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 154-155. 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. Nga Moteatea: He Maramara Rere No Nga Waka Maha. The Songs: Scattered Pieces From Many Canoe Areas. Comp. A. T. Ngata. Trans. Pei Te Hurinui. Pt. 3. Wellington, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1970: 371.

    Music

  • "He Waiata Mo Riripo/A Song For Riripo." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 154-155. (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.
  • "He Waiata Mo Te Moana-Papaku/A Song for Te Moana-Papaku." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 156-157 (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.
  • "He Waiata Aroha/A Song of Love." Nga Moteatea (The Songs) A Selection of Annotated Tribal Songs of the Māori with English Translations. Comp. Sir Apirana Ngata. Pt. 1. 1928. 234-235 (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.
  • "He Kaioraora/A Cursing Song." Nga Moteatea: He Maramara Rere No Nga Waka Maha. The Songs: Scattered Pieces From Many Canoe Areas. Comp. A. T. Ngata. Trans. Pei Te Hurinui. Pt. 3. Wellington, N.Z.: Polynesian Soc., 1970. 370-373.

    Other

  • "A Portrait Gallery Of Famous Men And Women." Te Ao Hou 52 (1965): 34-37.
  • Sparks, Teremoana and W. H. Oliver. "Rangi Kuini Wikitoria Topeora." The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Vol. 1. 1769-1869. Ed. W.H.Oliver. Wellington, N.Z.: Allen & Unwin; Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1990: 546-547.
  • Meha, Raina. "Rangi Topeora." Biography Of New Zealand Women: Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa. Ed. Charlotte MacDonald, Meremere Penfold and Bridget Williams. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991. 685-687.