Te Ruki Kawiti - The Legacy of Kawiti and The Fifth Flagpole at Kororareka

The Legacy of Kawiti and The Fifth Flagpole At Kororareka

At the conclusion of the Flagstaff War the Hokianga and the Bay of Islands region was nominally under British influence, the fact that the Government's flag was not re-erected was symbolically very significant. Such significance was not lost on Henry Williams, who, writing to E. G. Marsh on 28 May 1846, stated that "the flag-staff in the Bay is still prostrate, and the natives here rule. These are humiliating facts to the proud Englishman, many of whom thought they could govern by a mere name."

Some argue that the Flagstaff War can be considered an inconclusive stalemate, as both sides wished the war to end, both gained somewhat from the fighting, and the situation more or less remained the same as it was before the outbreak of hostilities. The opinion of the Henry Williams, who had counseled Kawiti to abandon the rebellion, was that the Ngāpuhi and the colonial government both agreed that each should let the other alone, so that Kawiti achieved peace on his terms. Henry Williams wrote to his son-in-law Hugh Carleton on 13 March 1854 in response to a earlier comment by Carleton as to the consequences of Kawiti having made peace with Governor Grey:

“ But you say, "Grey will go upon Kawiti's submission as a proof of victory." I ask you in what form was Kawiti's submission? and to what and when did it take place? This is new to me, as also to Kawiti. Compare Kawiti's letter to Governor FitzRoy with the proclamation of Grey, immediately on Grey's return to Auckland, after Te Ruapekapeka was upset, or before peace was made, that all parties were to return to their own places, keeping in mind that the bone of contention was the flag-staff. Nothing was demanded from the chiefs in arms; nothing was given; but Kawiti demanded in his letter that if peace were made, it should be made with respect to the land. This was acceded to by Grey, and the flag-staff has remained prostrate to this day, though several attempts have been made to re-erect it. Captain Stanley was applied to replace it; he consented to do so immediately, but asked,--who would take care of it. Major Bridge declared it would take a thousand men to keep it in its place. Why? the natives had gained their point, and to this day laugh at the idea of submission. Peace was made with the natives on the understanding that each should let the other alone, and the demands of Kawiti having been complied with by Grey, where is the evidence of Kawiti's submission? Rather, does not the evidence shew Grey's submission to Kawiti? The war was a perfect farce, both in the North and in the South.”

Upon the death of Kawiti, his son Maihi Paraone Kawiti, who had been a missionary teacher at Mangakahia, succeeded Kawiti as leader of the Ngāti Hine hapu. Maihi Paraone Kawiti was a supporter of te ture (the law) and te whakapona (the gospel). Deputations came to Maihi Paraone Kawiti from the Taranaki and Waikato iwi asking the Ngāpuhi to join the Māori King Movement; the reply from Maihi Paraone Kawiti was that the Ngāpuhi had no desire for a ‘Māori Kingi’ as ‘Kuini Wikitoria’ was their ‘Kingi'.

Maihi Paraone Kawiti, as a signal to Governor Thomas Gore Browne, that he did not follow his father’s path, arranged for the fifth flagpole to be erected at Kororareka; this occurred in January 1858 with the flag being named Whakakotahitanga, “being at one with the Queen.” As a further symbolic act the 400 Ngāpuhi warriors involved in preparing and erecting the flagpole were selected from the ‘rebel’ forces of Kawiti and Heke – that is, Ngāpuhi from the hapu of Tāmati Wāka Nene (who had fought as allies of the British forces during the Flagstaff War), observed, but did not participate in the erection of the fifth flagpole. The restoration of the flagpole was presented by Maihi Paraone Kawiti as a voluntary act on the part of the Ngāpuhi that had cut it down in 1845, and they would not allow any other to render any assistance in this work.

The legacy of Kawiti’s rebellion during the Flagstaff War was that during the time of Governor Grey and Governor Thomas Gore Browne, the colonial administrators were obliged to take account of opinions of the Ngāpuhi before taking actions in the Hokianga and Bay of Islands. The continuing symbolism of the fifth flagpole at Kororareka is that it exists because of the goodwill of the Ngāpuhi.