Karetai (c. 1781 [1] – 30 May 1860), also known as Hone Karetai and Jacky White, [2] was a New Zealand tribal Māori leader. Of Kāti Kurī, Kāti Māmoe, and Waitaha descent, he identified with the Kāi Tahu iwi. [2]
Karetai was born in Ōtākou on Otago Peninsula, the son of Te Ihutakura and Kakatuaheka, and a descendant of tribal ancestor Tahupōtiki on both sides of his whakapapa . He was born in the late eighteenth century, probably around 1781, as he is recorded at his death in 1860 as being 79 years of age. [1] He became a well-respected leader, liaising between his people and the newly arrived Pākehā sealers and whalers. In 1832, Karetai was wounded in battle defending Kāi Tahu land from northern raiding parties, losing an eye. He was a signatory to the Treaty of Waitangi and to some major subsequent land purchases. Karetai died in 1860 and was buried at Otakou marae. [2]
Karetai is believed to have had eight wives, and at least ten children. [1] Several of Karetai's whānau also became prominent figures, notably his son Timoti Karetai (d. 1893), a notable tribal leader, and Timoti's daughter-in-law Maaki Karetai (1868–1945), a tireless worker for the people — both Māori and non-Māori — of Otago Peninsula. [2] Karetai's great-granddaughter Louise Magdalene Teowaina Wallscott (1898–1999) was a notable member of the Māori Women's Welfare League.
A road and walking track on Otago Peninsula are named for Karetai, as was a pilot boat belonging to the Port of Otago Authority.
The South Island is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and sparsely populated Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south by the Foveaux Strait and Southern Ocean, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island, constituting 56% of New Zealand's land area. At low altitudes, it has an oceanic climate. The major centres are Christchurch, with a metropolitan population of 521,881, and the smaller Dunedin. The economy relies on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and general manufacturing and services.
Iwi are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, iwi roughly means 'people' or 'nation', and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for 20 km, with a maximum width of 9 km. It is joined to the mainland at the south-west end by a narrow isthmus about 1.5 km wide.
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Otakou is a settlement within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour. Though a small fishing village, Otakou is important in the history of Otago for several reasons. The settlement is the modern centre and traditional home of the Ōtākou rūnanga (assembly) of Ngāi Tahu. In 1946 Otakou Fisheries was founded in the township; this was later to become a major part of the Otago fishing industry.
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Waitaha is an early Māori iwi, which inhabited the South Island of New Zealand. They were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest – first by the Ngāti Māmoe and then by Ngāi Tahu – from the 16th century onward. Today those of Waitaha descent are represented by the Ngāi Tahu iwi. Like Ngāi Tahu today, Waitaha was itself a collection of various ancient iwi. Kāti Rākai was said to be one of Waitaha's hapū.
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Taare Rakatauhake Parata, also known as Charles Rere Parata, was a Māori and a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.
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Hāriata Whakatau Pītini-Morēra was a New Zealand Māori leader, genealogist, historian and conservationist. Tipene O'Regan called her “the most important leader of Ngāti Kurī”, a subtribe of Ngāi Tahu in the South Island. With her husband Hoani Pītini-Morēra she was responsible for the preservation of many culturally important sites through the South Island, including burial grounds. She was well regarded for her knowledge of traditional weaving and also fought to preserve harakeke-growing areas.
Te Mātenga Taiaroa was a leader of Ngāi Tahu, a Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island of New Zealand. Taiaroa belonged to Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki and Ngāti Moki hapū of Ngāi Tahu, which were centred on Taumutu, at the southern end of Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora. From the 1830s to the 1860s, he was a leader at Ōtākou on the Otago Peninsula in association with his cousin Karetai. In the 1830s, he fought against Te Rauparaha and Ngāti Toa, sometimes in conjunction with Tūhawaiki. He was later involved in peacemaking with Ngāti Toa. In 1856 he attended the meeting of Māori chiefs at Pūkawa, Lake Taupō, which elected Pōtatau Te Wherowhero as the first Māori King. In 1860 he attended the Kohimarama conference of Māori chiefs in Auckland, organised by the government. In 1859 Taiaroa was baptised by a Methodist minister and took the Christian name of Te Mātenga (Marsden). Hōri Kerei Taiaroa was one of his children.
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists of the southwestern portion of the South Island and includes Stewart Island. Southland is bordered by the culturally similar Otago Region to the north and east, and the West Coast Region in the extreme northwest. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans 3,613 km of coastline. As of June 2023, Southland has a population of 103,900, making it the eleventh-most-populous New Zealand region, and the second-most sparsely populated. Approximately half of the region's population lives in Invercargill, Southland's only city.
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