Originally named Katu, Tamihana Te Rauparaha, was the son of the great Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha and his 5th and senior wife, Te Akau of Tuhourangi. He was born during the Ngati Toa migration from Kawhia to the south.

In his youth, he accompanied his father on war expeditions, including the storming of the Ngai Tahu pa at Kaiapoi in 1831. His subsequent written accounts of these and other Ngati Toa campaigns have been used extensively by historians.

Katu Te Rauparaha's life changed forever when he met an ex-slave, Ripahau, who taught him to read and write using, a rare Gospel of Luke in Te Reo, that had once belonged to a young girl namedTarore. Katu believed.

In 1839 Katu and his cousin, Matene Te Whiwhi o Te Rangi, despite opposition, made the long dangerous journey across enemy tribal boundaries to the Bay of Islands to ask for a missionary.

Impressed with their zeal Henry Williams offered to go himself but Octavius Hadfield recently arrived in New Zealand, volunteered, it was dangerous and as a chronic asthmatic he thought he would not live long anyway. Hadfield, thus began a very long, successful missionary enterprise at Otaki and Waikanae. He baptised Katu on 21 March 1841, where Katu took the name Tamihana (Thompson). Tamihana and his cousin became trusted teachers for Hadfield

In 1843 Tamihana and Te Whiwhi went to the South Island travelling to many of the places ravaged by his father in the South Island, preaching reconciliation and the gospel of peace. He completed the last part of the journey, as far as Ruapuke and Stewart Island, alone. He repeated the journey the following year, bringing Bishop Selwyn who was amazed to find the gospel had spread and there were new believers everywhere they went.

In 1846, he was attending St John's College in Auckland when his father was arrested on the orders of Governor George Grey. He visited Te Rauparaha who urged him to go to Otaki and prevent Ngati Raukawa taking any retaliatory action. He did so, aiding in preventing a serious attack on Wellington.

Tamihana wanted Maori and pakeha to live together in peace. He adopted the clothing and lifestyle of an English gentleman, becaming a successful sheep farmer and a man of considerable wealth. He and his wife, Ruta (Ruth) Te Kapu were noted for their warm hospitality. In 1850-52 he visited England, and was presented to Queen Victoria. Tāmihana then became a key figure in founding the Māori King movement, to promote tribal unity. In the 1860s, however, when the Land Wars began, he withdrew his support. His mana however was great enough to ensure the Wellington region remained a “peace zone”.

BORN: C.1821, Pukearuhe, a Ngati Tama pa, Northern Taranaki, New Zealand.

DIED: 22-23 October 1876, Otaki, New Zealand