Rēnata Kawepō Explained

Rēnata Kawepō Tama-ki-Hikurangi
Paramount Chief of Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri, Ngāti Hinemanu me ōna piringa Hapū
Reign:1845
Predecessor:Te Wanikau
Birth Name:Tama-ki-Hikurangi
Birth Date:1810-
Birth Place:Taumata o hē
Death Date:14 April 1888
Death Place:Ōmāhu
Burial Place:St John's Church, Ōmāhu
Spouse:Maora
Issue:Peni Te Uamairangi
House:Te Uamairangi
Mother:Pakapaka
Occupation:Paramount Chief & Missionary
Religion:Church of England
Dynasty:Te Ūpokoiri
Rēnata Kawepō Tama-ki-Hikurangi
Titles:Te Amorangi ki Ōmāhu - Saint of Ōmāhu
Birth Place:Taumata o hē
Residence:Ōmāhu
Death Date:1888-04-14
Honored In:Ngāti Kahungunu
Major Shrine:St Johns Church, Ōmāhu
Feast Day:2014-04-14
Attributes:Tribal Flourishing
Patronage:Ngāti Kahungunu
Influences:Te Hāhi Mihinare
Major Works:Reconciliation and Unity

Rēnata Kawepō Tama-ki-Hikurangi (?  - 14 April 1888) was a New Zealand Māori leader and missionary. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri and Ngāti Kahungunu iwi. He was born in Taumata-o-he Pa, 20km (10miles) west of what would become Hastings, in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

As a young man in 1827, he was among the Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri forces besieged at the island fortress on Lake Rotoatara (near Te Aute) by a force of Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti and Ngāpuhi led by Te Pareihe. After a two month siege it became clear that the fortress was going to fall and he proposed that some of the defenders hand themselves over as hostages to secure safe passage for the rest. When no one else volunteered, he went by himself, saying kia kawe au ki te pō ("let me deliver myself up to the night!"), from which he took the name Kawepō.

As a prisoner, he was taken first to Manawatu and later to Auckland. William Colenso later brought him back to Hawke's Bay.

He established St John's Church at Omahu. A memorial for him and those who fought alongside him in battle was placed in the cemetery of St John's Church by the government; approved in 1928 and completed in 1929.[1]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Renata Kawepo NZ Wars memorial . Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 7 July 2012. 29 March 2011.