Pōmare I (Ngāpuhi)

Pōmare I (?–1826) (also called Whetoi) was a Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) in New Zealand. He was a leader of the Ngāti Manu hapu (subtribe) of the Ngāpuhi. Whetoi adopted the name of Pōmare, which was the name of the first king of Tahiti and founder of the Pōmare dynasty. After his death he was called Pomarenui (Pōmare the Great) by the Ngati Manu in order to distinguish him from his nephew Whiria.

The Ngāti Manu originally lived at Tautoro, south of Kaikohe, however disputes with the Ngāti Toki (Ngāti Wai) in Pōmare’s lifetime forced them to move and settle at Kororāreka, Matauwhi, Otuihu, Waikare and Te Karetu on the southern shore of the Bay of Islands. Pōmare I established a pā at Matauwhi, near to Kororareka, in what is now called Pomare Bay.

Following the death of Pōmare I in 1826, his nephew Whiria adopted his uncle’s names, Whetoi and Pōmare, so that Whiria is referred to as Pōmare II to distinguish him from his uncle.

The Church Missionary Society (CMS) arrived in the Bay of Islands in 1814. Pōmare supplied food and timber to the missionaries.

He traded timber for tools and he also traded timber for muskets to provided security against the northern hapū within the Ngāpuhi, which was led by Hongi Hika, Tareha, Ruatara, and Rewa (Manu) a chief of the Ngāti Tawake hapū of Kerikeri. At this time there was fighting between the hapū of the Ngāpuhi as well as intertribal fighting (known as the Musket Wars). The Rev. Henry Williams was appointed the leader of the CMS mission in 1823. He stopped the CMS trading muskets with the Ngāpuhi. However other Europeans continued to trade muskets with the Ngāpuhi and other Māori tribes.

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