Biography

Te Whiti O Rongomai

Te Whiti O Rongomai was a believer of peace, he did not believe in fighting. His actions changed the lives of hundreds of people. When the government took Maori land he encouraged people not to fight physically, but to fight back in other ways. He was born in 1830 in Ngamotu/New Plymouth, Taranaki, Aotearoa/New Zealand. He died in 1907 in November. His parent were Hone Kakahi and Rangi Kauwau.

Te Whiti was the leader of a small village called Parihaka. It was near Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. At the time the British government had created some laws that the Maori and the people of Parihaka thought were unfair. Instead of suggesting that the people of Parihaka fought physically with weapons he encouraged people to just undo all the unfair things that the British had done, they pulled out survey pegs that had been put around their houses, ploughed farms that the British owned and pulled down fences that had been put across their own land.

One day British soldiers came and gave the order that the people had an hour to leave, no one moved so the British arrested the Maori leaders (Te Whiti O Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi). Both of the leaders refused to fight and went peacefully to prison.Te Whiti and Tohu waited in prison for a trial for two years before they were sentenced to death. This was on the fifth of November 1907.

I think that if Te Whiti hadn’t influenced the people of Parihaka they would have fought back when the British attacked and they would have been outnumbered greatly. They didn’t have many weapons either so there would have been many deaths. The British would have taken over the town of Parihaka. Te Whiti played a very important role. I am glad that I chose Te Whiti to do this biography on because the things that he did taught me a lot.

Te Whiti’s beliefs changed the life of hundreds of people. He will always be remembered for his bravery. He  proved that you didn’t have to fight with weapons to be remembered as brave. I believe that Te Whiti was an amazing person who changed the lives of people everywhere.

Timeline of important events in his life

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1uxcZucH_4thSMk4SNT_WU_ItRf1kATAPANSXqllJH14/edit

Bibliography

http://pukeariki.com/Learning-Research/Taranaki-Research-Centre/Taranaki-Stories/Taranaki-Story/id/334/title/pacifist-of-parihaka-te-whiti-o-rongomai

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2t34/te-whiti-o-rongomai-iii-erueti

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/people/erueti-te-whiti-o-rongomai-iii

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Te_Whiti_o_Rongomai

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parihaka_(song)

By Aleece