Te Awamutu - History

History

The area was first settled by Tainui Maori in the about 1450 according to noted Tainui historian Te Hurinui-Jones. It was also the birthplace of the first Maori King. The first European missionaries visited the area in 1834. A missionary settlement was set up by the missionaries and Māori Christians in July 1839 after they observed Tainui warriors, who had been fighting at Rotorua, return with 60 backpacks of human remains and proceed to cook and eat them in the Otawhao Pa. The CMS missionaries established a flourishing trade school that focused on developing agricultural skills. The missionaries introduced European crops such as wheat, potatoes and peaches and provided advice and some capital to help local Maori establish 8 local flour mills in the wider area. They assisted in finding a suitable miller to operate the mills and train Maori in this skill. During the 1850s the wider area prospered on the back of sending surplus farm produce to Auckland. For a brief period wheat was even sent overseas. By the late 1850s prices dropped as cheaper flour and other foodstuffs were imported from Australia. This caused huge resentment among local Maori who had grown use to the wealth provided by trade. Some of the more warlike Maori such as Rewi Maniapoto blamed the missionaries for having a negative influence on Maori tikanga (cultural practices). He attempted to kill the local missionary and burnt down the trade school and other mission buildings. Other Christian Maori warned other Europeans to leave the Waikato as their lives were in danger. Te Awamutu was a major site during the New Zealand land wars of the 19th century, serving as a garrison town for the colonial settlers from 1864. European settlement began at the conclusion of the Waikato Wars (1863–1865).