Death
Te Whareumu was killed in 1828, in the Waima district of the Hokianga, seeking utu (revenge) for the death of his relative Tiki, a son of Whetoi (aka Pomare I). The dispute involved te Mahurehure, a tribe from South Hokianga and from which Te Whareumu's wife Mohuri was descended. This shows the complex nature of utu, when Tiki felt offended by the theft of some pigs by members of te Mahurehure tribe, he went to their land seeking redress, in this case, sweet potatoes and was shot while removing them. When news of Tikis death reached the Bay of Islands, a large taua (war party) was immediately assembled, Whiria (aka Pomare II) and his party reached the Waima first and negoiated a deal, when Te Whareumu arrived he was most displeased and took to deriding the Waima tribal leaders, especially Muriwai. Things quickly turned ugly and in the ensuing chaos, Te Whareumu was shot twice. On seeing the mighty leader fall, Patuone and Nene from the Hokianga took up his body and made great lamentations. In normal Maori tradition his body was cleaned and the bones placed in a secret burial cave. Hongi Hika had prophecised Te Whareumu's death, when on his own death bed just two weeks earlier, Hongi said that Te Whareumu was shortly to follow.
Te Whareumu's death threw the whole area into a state of nervous tension as the other bay chiefs debated what revenge was required and the hapless missionaries tried valiantly to restore some kind of peace. Finally Patuone and others made peace with the Bay of Island tribes, with the assistance of the CMS missionaries.
Te Whareumu was survived by two of his wives and at least two children, a son, Hori Kingi Tahua and a daughter Kohu.
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