Hongi and Heke Maori War Stories

Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whangarei.

Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any iwi, with 125,600 people identifying as Ngāpuhi in the 2013 census, and formed from 150 hapū/subtribes, with 55 marae.

Hongi Hika was New Zealand’s most famous warlord and fearless Maori warrior, who lived and died by the sword. He fought, defeated and displaced other neighbouring and even distant tribes. His daughter, Hãriata Rongo married Heke Pokai, also called Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai or more commonly Hone Heke.

Heke was the first Ngāpuhi chief, of 143 other Ngāpuhi chiefs, to sign the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840. Another 400 chiefs of other tribes also signed the Treaty (ToW), ceding sovereignty to the British monarch.