Te Kīngitanga
I ngā tau o mua o te tekau tau 1850, ko Wiremu Te Rauparaha rāua ko Mātene Te Whiwhi, he hononga ō rāua tahi ki a Raukawa, i te ārahi i ngā kōrerorero mō te whakatū i tētehi kīngi Māori. I ngā whakamāramatanga a te rangatira o Raukawa, a Hītiri Te Paerata, i te tau 1888, i whakaarotia e ētehi, ko te Kīngitanga te huarahi pai rawa hei whakatau i ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te āhuatanga o te noho manene o ngā whenua tupuna.
Ko ēnei raruraru, atu i ētehi atu mea, ko te iti o te utu a te Karauna mō ngā whenua Māori, ko te kore i tino aro ki te mana rangatira, ā, ko te āhei o ngā rangatira ki te hoko i ‘ngā whenua o tangata kē’.
I kī a Hītiri, mā te tautoko i te Kīngitanga, i hiahia te Māori ‘ki te whakatū tumuaki, me te whānui o tōna mana, hei whakamarumaru i te whenua, me te tiaki anō’.
I rangitāmirotia a Raukawa ki roto i tēnei kaupapa, nā ō rātou herenga ā-whakapapa ki ētehi atu rohenga ā-iwi, ā, nā ngā painga anō hoki i oatitia ai e te Kīngitanga mō te Māori. I te tau 1856, i te hui o Hīnana ki Uta, Hīnana ki Tai i Pūkawa, i whakaae ngā Māori i tae atu, me whiwhi kīngi Māori hei mana mō te kotahitanga ā-iwi. I te tau 1858, i tohua a Pōtatau Te Wherowhero ki taua tūranga.

Kīngitanga – Ko Paraone Gloyne, rātou ko Robert Joseph, ko Des Tata
Tuhinga whitiāhua
Paraone Gloyne:
‘Whakarongo rā koutou ki te ara whānui tū ai te Kīngitanga. Nā Mātene Te Whiwhi i whiu ki a Whitikau, ka hē ki reira ki Taranaki.
Ka whiua ki roto Whanganui ko Peehi Turoa, ka hē ki reira.
Ka whiua ki roto Taupō ko Te Heuheu, ka hē ki reira.
Ka whiua ki roto Rotorua ko Te Amohau, ka hē ki reira.
Ka whiua ki te Tairāwhiti ko Hikurangi te maunga e kore nekeneke ko Te Kani a Takirau te tangata, ka hē ki reira. Ka whiua ki roto Waikato ko Pōtatau te tangata, he mana i heke mai nō ngā mātāwaka o te motu.
Kāore e taea te kore kōrero mō te Kīngitanga, inā tae ki Rangiaowhia, kāore e taea.
Kāore e kōrero mō Rangiriri, mō Meremere, mō Pāterangi, mō Waiari, mō Rangiaowhia, mō Ō-Rākau, mō Pukehinahina, mō Te Ranga, mō Te Kaokaoroa, me Te Tarata, kāore e taea te kōrero mō ērā wāhi ki te kore koe e kōrero mō te Kīngitanga.
Ā, i tēnei tau e whakamaharatia ana te 160 tau mai i te tīmatanga o te Kīngitanga, ā, ko taua pātere iti i mahia e au e tīmata ana ki te kōrero mō tētehi o ō mātou koroua, mō Mātene Te Whiwhi. Te hui whiriwhiringa ā-iwi nui rawa, mai iho. I karawhiua e rātou ngā tohu o te Kīngitanga, nā te mea, ko Kīngitanga te tohu o te ‘mana motuhake Māori’.’
Robert Joseph:
‘I turakina e rātou tēnei wāhi hei turaki i te Kīngitanga, ā, ko te nuinga o ngā pakanga, katoa atu rānei, he pakanga i ētehi mea e rua, te whenua me te mana, ngā rawa me te mana motuhake. Nō wai te mana, ā, kei a wai ngā rawa. Ko ngā pakanga tonu o nāianei, ko aua mea e rua anō. Ka whakakākahuria ki ētehi atu mea, engari te mutunga iho, ka whakawhāitihia ki aua mea e rua rā.’
Des Tata:
‘Ki te hoki tātou ki te tau 1858, i te wā i a Pōtatau, ā, ka whai ake ko Tāwhiao me te hāpai i te mana o te Kīngitanga, ka takahia te huarahi ki ō mātou marae katoa o ō mātou rohe me te kōrero ki a mātou me pēwhea te whenua. I tīmataria e rātou tētehi mea e karangatia nei ko te ‘Rīki Whenua’, ka mea ia “meatia ō koutou whenua ki raro i a au, ki raro i te Kīngi, ā, e kore e tangohia e rātou”. Nā, i tirohia e mātou tērā, inā hoki karekau he tangata i tua atu i a mātou, nā reira i purua e te nuinga o Tauranga Moana ō rātou whenua ki raro i a Tāwhiao. I tīmata te hokohokona o ngā whenua i mua i te pakanga o Gate Pā. Ko te Kīngi tētehi takunga ki te Pākeha ki te tango i ngā whenua.’
Ka taka te wā, ko te titiro a te Karauna ki te Kīngitanga, he mea taki i te mana motuhake o te Kuīni, ā, ka whai ki te whakaiti i te mana o te kīngi.
I te marama o Mei 1861, ka āki a Kāwana Thomas Gore Browne kia kūpapa ngā iwi o Waikato ki te mana o te Kuīni, me āna ture. Hei whakahoki, ka whakahua anō te Kāwana i te ngākau titikaha o te Karauna ki te tiakitanga o te mana Māori ki ō rātou whenua, taonga anō, i raro i te Tiriti. I āki hoki kia āhei te Māori ki te hoko whenua ki te Karauna me te kore whakararuraru a ētehi atu, ā, kia tukua anō kia hanga rori ana, kia hanga piriti ana, kia tau rā anō te hiahia.
I te marama o Hepetema 1861, i tōna hokinga ki te mana kāwana, ka kōkiritia wawetia e Kāwana Kerei āna tono ‘tari hōu’ kia whai wāhi nui atu ai te Māori ki ngā whakahaere ā-hapori, hei whakapūhoi i te hirahira me te aweawe o te Kīngitanga.
Whai mai ana i ngā pakanga o ngā tau 1860, i whai te Karauna ki te whakawehe i a Raukawa i te Kīngitanga. I te Kīngitanga e ātete ana i te mahinga mai o ngā rori me te mahi a ngā kairūri whenua i Te Rohe Pōtae, mai i ngā tau o mua o te tekau tau 1870, i whakatairangatia e te Karauna ēnei mahi i ētehi takiwā o te rohe o Raukawa, i waho o Te Rohe Pōtae. I muri mai i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero taikaha, i whakaae ētehi o Raukawa ki ngā tono a te Karauna ki te hanga rori, engari anō ētehi, i mau piripono ki a Kīngi Tāwhiao.