He was pursued by the Crown across the North Island in a series of guerilla battles, until Māori King Tāwhiao granted him sanctuary in the then-self governing King Country.
“Through that time of Te Kooti taking refuge here [the whare] was a thank you to Ngāti Maniapoto for looking after him during that time,” said Leesah Murray, the co-chair of Te Kuiti Pā.
“It’s really important to note that the whare was given to Ngāti Maniapoto me ōna hapū maha, but Ngāti Rora are merely the kaitiaki.”
In the 150 years since, the wide gazing eyes of the tikotiko of Te Tokanganui-ā-Noho have borne witness to much history.
The whare was a sanctuary for refugees seeking shelter within the rolling hills of Te Rohe Potae. It was then the scene of debate and determination, as Maniapoto sought to protect its land and sovereignty amid Crown pressure. As the great forest of Te Nehenehenui became the bald green hills of the King Country.
The whare was moved as the main trunk railway carved its way out front and the town of Te Kuiti grew around it. In 1918, as the influenza pandemic ravaged the country - Māoridom, in particular - the whare was turned into a hospital.
“If you think of 150 years for Te Tokanganui-ā-Noho, that’s two world wars, two pandemics, the loss of our language and our land, and the ever-lasting effects of colonisation,” Murray said.
But through all that, Te Tokanganui-ā-Noho has also been a source of strength, as Māori fought to survive and the push to invade became a push to assimilate, when stories and reo were taken to the quiet of the marae, and whānau clung to the stories, songs and histories of the land.
A whare tūpuna where Ngāti Maniapoto held faith in their past, determined to build a future.
Last Sunday, the mahau of Te Tokanganui-ā-Noho was where the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, apologised to Ngāti Maniapoto for nearly two years of Treaty breaches.
Tom Roa said it was no accident that the apology was held on the same weekend as the 150th celebration.
“Te Kuiti is the narrowing into the valley of the hills, it’s also a narrowing and a focussing of the people of Ngāti Maniapoto in this space. This whare is the very heart of that narrowing, of that focussing, of the people,” Roa said.
Over the past week, thousands have come to Te Kuiti - many of them Maniapoto returning home - to celebrate Te Tokanganui-ā-noho, where a new waharoa was unveiled for future manuhiri to pass beneath.
Leesah Murray said there were days of celebrations and recollections, a new book and film was launched, and the pā was looking to build its own archive.
With the settlement signed, she said Ngāti Maniapoto were looking to the next 150 years, and what kind of future the tekoteko would see.
“Our whare is a focal point for Maniapoto, it is a sign of unity and collectivism and strength, and also resilience because our people went through so much to be able to maintain it.”
