Hare Hongi II

Hare Hongi Hika was the second son of Hongi Hika and Turikatuku. He was originally known by other names including Ruinga, Puao, Poihakena (Port Jackson), but after his brothers death at The Battle of Te Ika a Ranginui in 1825, he took the name Hare in his honor. He was also the brother of Hariata Rongo (Hone Heke's widow), later the wife of Arama Karaka Pi, and a leader in her own right.In July 1814, the older Hare (then aged 8) traveled with their father Hongi, the missionary Thomas Kendall and 6 other Maori to Sydney. The younger brother stayed on board the Active before it departed, but due to his age, he did not travel with them. However he was taught to read and write at the mission schools established in Pewhairangi. Despite his youth, he often joined his father on taua. After his fathers death he became a prominent leader of Te Tahawai, and while he had interests throughout Whangaroa, Te Wainui was his principal residence. He was was one of six rangatira to sign He Whakaputanga by writing his name rather than by making a tohu or mark. Like other Whangaroa chiefs who signed He Whakaputanga, Hare did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi. During the nineteenth century he was prominent in maori struggles for soveriegnty. In 1862 he was appointed to the first government sanctioned runanga in Pewhairangi, and at the time of his death in 1885 he was president of the Ngapuhi Kotahitanga movement, sometimes known as the Treaty of Waitangi Parliament. In September 1878 Hare organised a petition to the government asking for money to build a meeting hall at Te Tii Marae, near the grounds where the treaty was signed. However they raised the money themselves and in 1881, a meeting house called Te Tiriti o Waitangi was opened at Te Tii, Waitangi. A monument inscribed with the Maori text of Te Tiriti still stands today. Hare Hongi is said to have died at Te Ikanui on 6 August, 1885, aged in his seventies. Two years later, at a large hui at Te Pupuke, a monument to him was unveiled at the church where he was buried.

Hare Hongi Hika was the second son of Hongi Hika and Turikatuku. He was originally known by other names including Poihakena (Port Jackson), but after his brothers death at the battle of Te Ika-a-Ranginui in 1825, he took the name Hare in his honour. Hare Hongi Hika was one of six rangatira to sign He Whakaputanga by writing his name rather than by making a tohu or mark. During the neneteenth century he was prominent in Maori struggles for sovereignty. In 1862 he was appointed to the first government sanctioned Runanga in the Bay of Islands, and at the time of his death in 1885, he was president of the Ngapuhi Kotahitanga movement. In September 1878 Hare oranised a petition to the government asking for money to build a meeting hall at Te Tii Marae, near the grounds where the treaty was signed. He, along with fellow petitioners stated that the house should be used as a place where the governor might explain the instructions of the Queen in regard to the Maori people and where the native chiefs could return thanks for the benefits they receive from her majesty. They raised the money themselves and in 1881 a meeting house called Te Tiriti o Waitangi was opened. A monument inscribed with the Maori text of Te Tiriti still stands today. Hare Hongi Hika is said to have died at Te Ikanui on 6 August 1885, aged in his seventees. Two years later at a large hui at Te Pupuke, a monument to him was unveiled at the church where he is buried.