This biography has been re-published in full with permission. Licensed by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence. This biography, written by Mary Louise Ormsby, was first published in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography in 1990. It was translated into te reo Māori by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography team.
Born: 1841 (circa), New Zealand
Died: 24 April 1909
Country most active: New Zealand
Also known as: Ngārongoā Kātene, Ngā Hota
Hūria Mātenga was born at Whakapuaka (near Nelson) probably some time between 1840 and 1842. She was named Ngārongoā Kātene at birth, but was also known as Ngā Hota and, in later life, as Hūria Mātenga. Of Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Toa descent, she was able to trace her genealogy back to an ancestor in the Tokomaru canoe. Her paternal grandfather was Ngāti Tama leader Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi, a renowned warrior. In contrast, her parents, Wikitōria Te Amohau of Ngāti Te Whiti and Wiremu Kātene Te Pūoho were followers of the pacifist teachings of Te Whiti-o-Rongomai III and Tohu Kākahi. They were the leaders of the settled community at Whakapuaka.
In 1858 Hūria made an arranged marriage to Hēmi Mātenga Waipunāhau. There were to be no children of the marriage, but they had one adopted daughter named Mamae. Hēmi Mātenga was the son of Metapere Waipunāhau of Kapiti, and George Stubbs, a whaler and trader, and was a substantial landowner in the Waikanae area. The standing of both families was reflected in the large party of Māori and Pākehā dignitaries who attended the wedding ceremony in Christ Church, Nelson, on 7 or 8 September.
Hūria Mātenga gained national prominence in 1863 for the part she played in a sea rescue. On the night of 3–4 September the brig Delaware, on its way from Nelson to Napier, ran into a storm and was thrown onto the rocks at the foot of the cliffs at Whakapuaka. Hūria Mātenga, her husband and three other men saw the difficulties of the crew and came to help. Accounts of Hūria Mātenga’s part in the rescue conflict, but it seems probable that she was one of those who swam into the surf to pick up a lead line thrown by the captain. A hawser was fastened to a boulder on shore, but by this time the storm had become so fierce, and the ship was rolling so badly, that the line continually slumped into the water. Hūria Mātenga and two of her companions swam out into the surf and helped the crew ashore. All but one were saved.
Although shipwrecks were not uncommon at the time and were usually reported in detail in the press, the romance and heroism of Hūria Mātenga’s part in the rescue caught the popular imagination. She was praised for her bravery and her beauty. At a time of armed conflict in Waikato and Taranaki, the action of Hūria Mātenga and her companions was welcomed as an expression of common humanity between the two races. Public acknowledgement was made by a government award of £50, and the people of Nelson presented her with a gold watch paid for by public subscription. At a ceremony in the Nelson town hall, on 14 November, she was compared to Grace Darling, who had rescued four people from a shipwreck off the Farne Islands in 1838. Three portraits of Hūria Mātenga were painted by Gottfried Lindauer and she sat for a number of photographers, including William and James Tyree of Nelson. Over a century later she was still being commemorated: in 1983 a Nelson Harbour Board tug was named after her.
While these events brought Hūria Mātenga to Pākehā attention, she was a notable woman in her own community and among the tribes to which she was affiliated by virtue of her rank and character. She held land in Taranaki and Porirua as well as Nelson, and travelled in these areas, taking part in family decisions, naming children and arranging marriages. After the death of her father in April 1880 she inherited rights to 17,739 acres of land at Whakapuaka. Wiremu Kātene had repudiated the 1853 Ngāti Toa cession of lands in the South Island, refusing to accept any part of the £5,000 payment. Hūria Mātenga shared his views and was later described as being ‘very jealous of her rights, especially in all matters pertaining to land’.
Her reluctance to part with her land, combined with her energy and the business acumen of her husband, enabled her to live the later part of her life in style and comfort. The land was stocked with sheep and leased to Pākehā farmers. Her prosperity at a time when the Māori economy had largely been destroyed set her apart from many other Māori. Local histories record that the Mātengas were able to maintain a spacious homestead with expansive lawns and a tennis court. Hūria Mātenga organised lavish entertainments in both Māori and Pākehā style. The prophets Te Whiti and Tohu visited Whakapuaka in 1882 during their period of exile. Other visitors included Bishop A. B. Suter and Alexander Mackay, native reserves commissioner and later Native Land Court judge, a long-standing friend of the family. She was often invited as the local celebrity to functions in the area.
For the last 20 years of her life Hūria Mātenga was involved in a complex dispute over the ownership of Whakapuaka. She had inherited the mana over the land, but other family members retained their rights of occupation and use, and their right to take part in decisions over its future. In 1883, however, the Native Land Court granted title to Hūria Mātenga alone. Between 1896 and 1934, 15 petitions objecting to this decision were presented to Parliament.
The most significant group of petitioners were other family members who claimed that, under Hēmi Mātenga’s influence, Hūria Mātenga had broken a promise to include their names on the title. Evidence was produced to show that he had forced them off the land. This dispute was the cause of considerable unhappiness for Hūria Mātenga at the end of her life. Debate and litigation continued long after her death; the issue was not finally settled until 1936, when one quarter of the 11,381 acres remaining in the estate was awarded to other family members. On Hūria Mātenga’s death Hēmi Mātenga was left the sole owner of her properties. Whakapuaka remained in Māori ownership until 1954.
Hūria Mātenga died on 24 April 1909, at Whakapuaka, and was buried there on 2 May. Over 2,000 people attended her tangi. Her status and achievements have made her a valued and respected ancestor for her whānau and community, and her heroic act in the rescue of the crew of the Delaware has made her one of the few Māori women of her time to have a permanent place in Pākehā history and local folklore.