History – Death of a remarkable Maori chief

Among our museum’s treasures are the Brookes family archives. These letters, manuscripts and news clippings all portray New Zealand life in the late 1800s.

Edwin Stanley Brookes, who arrived on Matilda Wattenbach in 1862 at the age of 20, was a Government surveyor, prolific writer and talented artist.  He had huge admiration and respect for the Maori people, especially those on the Kaipara, who befriended the Albertlanders on their arrival.

Among his papers is an article he wrote for the New Zealand Graphic dated January 23, 1892, which described the tangi of a notable Maori statesman. Although greatly abridged here, Edwin’s article is a true record of a very important occasion.

“Te Aria (sacred), the oldest chief of the Oruawharo, Kaipara, has passed away.  He was more familiarly known as Soloman. This native, I gather from a somewhat reliable source, was born about the year 1796, and was a tohunga (priest). He said that when he was about 20 years old he was made a minister to Maori in 1814 by the Rev Samuel Marsden at the Bay of Islands. There he was taught to read and write.

“About 1830 he first came to the Kaipara, where he has lived on the banks of the Oruawharo river, about two miles west of Port Albert. This remarkable chief was the original owner of what is now known as the Wharehine district.

“Te Aria’s death came somewhat suddenly, on Sunday morning, December 6^th, 1891. But when he found his time was short he called his family around him, and urged them to be united. Word soon spread that Soloman was dead. Messengers were sent to the different hapu and as each of these arrived from all points of the compass by boats and on horseback, salvoes of musketry were fired in honour of the dead.

“On Wednesday the 9^th the funeral took place. The coffin was placed in a boat and taken to Rengarenga Cemetery while mourners followed along the beach. Prior to this, a fire was made and lit, the smoke signaling that all was ready at the cemetery.

“The cortege arrived, mats placed under the coffin which was covered with a black cloth, then it was carried from the beach to the burying ground.

“After the ceremony, the people went back to the settlement where some 200 (mostly men) Maori sat in groups for the tangi. Te Aria’s widow, Miriam, sat in deep mourning; her bitter crying could not help but move the stoutest heart. “Knowing Te Aria from 1862, he was the most remarkable native that I have ever come in contact with, always courteous and helpful and I fully believe he ended his days a genuine Christian.”