Tamihana Huata

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Tamihana Huata
Born1821
Frasertown, near Wairoa, New Zealand
Died1908
Wairoa
OccupationAnglican Minister and Missionary
Spouse(s)Ripeka

Tamihana Huata (c1821–1908) was a notable New Zealand teacher and missionary. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāti Mihi and Ngati Kahungunu iwi (tribe). He was born in Frasertown, near Wairoa, Hawkes Bay.[1]

Church Missionary Society (CMS)[]

In 1844, James Hamlin, of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), was ordained a deacon and sent to Wairoa.[2] The chiefs of Te Wai-roa district, Pitiera Kopu and Paora Te Apatu, choose Huata to be their leader in the worship of Christianity. From 1856 he attended the Waerenga-a-hika school at the mission of the CMS which had been established by the Rev. William Williams.[1] On 22 September 1861 he was ordained as a deacon by Bishop Williams and he was assigned to the Diocese of Waiapu.[3] He undertook theological study at St. Stephen’s College in Auckland.[4][5] On 25 September 1864 he was ordained as a priest. He worked as the assistant to the Rev. Hamlin until 1864, then he became the principal minister at Wairoa.[5] In 1865 there were fourteen clergymen - six European and eight Māori - in the Diocese of Waiapu. The Māori were: at Tokomaru, Matiaha Pahewa; at Wairoa, Tamihana Huata; at Turanga, Hare Tawhaa; at Waiapu, Rota Waitoa, Raniera Kawhia and Mohi Turei; at Table Cape, Watene Moeka; at Maketu, Ihaia Te Ahu.[6]

Huata opposed the Pai Mārire movement (commonly known as Hauhau) when its missionaries were active on the East Coast by 1865.[1] In July 1868, Te Kooti and a band of Hauhau escaped from the Chatham Islands and returned to the East Coast and fighting began all over again. In 1868 Huata was located at Mohaka.[7]

Huata became a person of influence and he settled a quarrel between the sub-tribes, Ngati-Puku and Ngati-Iwikatea, over the boundaries of land known as Te Wharepu Block. Huata, assisted by some of the chiefs, intervened and stopped the fighting.[1] He continued to work in the Wairoa district until he retired in 1906.[5]

Family[]

He was the father of the Rev. Hemi Pititi Huata, who was ordained as a priest in 1898 and succeeded his father as the vicar at Frasertown.[1][8] His grandson, the Rev. Wiremu Te Tau Huata, was chaplain to the 28th New Zealand (Maori) Battalion, who was awarded the Military Cross for his service in Italy during World War II.[9][8]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Tiaki Hikawera Mitira (1972). "The Life History and Activities of the Late Rev. Tamihana Huata". NZETC. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  2. ^ Williams, William (1974). The Turanga journals, 1840–1850. F. Porter (Ed). p. 40.
  3. ^ Williams, Frederic Wanklyn (1939). Through Ninety Years, 1826–1916: Life and Work Among the Maoris in New Zealand: Notes of the Lives of William and William Leonard Williams, First and Third Bishops of Waiapu. Early New Zealand Books (NZETC). p. 175.
  4. ^ The Centenaru Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East 1799-1899 (PDF). London : Church Missionary Society, digital publication: Cornell University. 1902.
  5. ^ a b c "Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific" (PDF). 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  6. ^ Williams, William (1974). The Turanga journals, 1840–1850. F. Porter (Ed). pp. 587–588.
  7. ^ Williams, William (1974). The Turanga journals, 1840–1850. F. Porter (Ed). p. 603.
  8. ^ a b Huata, Cordry (1996). "Huata, Hemi Pititi". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  9. ^ Ballara, Angela. "Wiremu Te Tau Huata". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
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