TUPAEA Hori Kingi
Personal Details
Life dates1800-1881
BiographyHori Kingi Tupaea was a Māori leader of the Te Whānau-a-Tauwhao hapu of Ngāi Te Rangi iwi of the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. Tupaea was born probably at Tauranga. He succeeded his father as Paramount Chief of Ngāi Te Rangi in the 1830s.
In 1831 he and Te Waharoa of Ngāti Hauā defeated and destroyed a 150-strong war party of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kurī led by Te Haramiti at Motiti Island. Tupaea sold land at Maketu to Pākehā trader Phillip Tapsell in the early 1830s and the two were on good terms. In 1836 Tupaea supported Te Waharoa in an attack at Maketu that destroyed a Te Arawa pā and Tapsell's trading station. Tupaea saved Tapsell and his Te Arawa wife.
Tupaea did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi when it was twice presented to him in 1840. He was baptised by Anglican missionary Alfred Brown on 30 April 1848, taking the baptismal name of Hori Kingi (George King), and became a mission teacher. In the 1860s he got involved in the Pai Mārire religious movement, which resulted in him spending some time in prison. He became an assessor to the Native Land Court. He was also approached for the role of the first Maori king with the advent of the Kingitangi movement; "Ko Maunganui te Maunga, ko Tauranga te moana, Ko Tupaea te Tangata."
He declined and the role went to Potatau te Wherowhero.
He died on 26 January 1881 at Rangiwaea Island in Tauranga Harbour and was buried on Matakana Island.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hori_Kingi_TupaeaPlace of birthTaurangaOccupationParamount ChiefPlace of ResidenceTauranga
BiographyHori Kingi Tupaea was a Māori leader of the Te Whānau-a-Tauwhao hapu of Ngāi Te Rangi iwi of the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. Tupaea was born probably at Tauranga. He succeeded his father as Paramount Chief of Ngāi Te Rangi in the 1830s.In 1831 he and Te Waharoa of Ngāti Hauā defeated and destroyed a 150-strong war party of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Kurī led by Te Haramiti at Motiti Island. Tupaea sold land at Maketu to Pākehā trader Phillip Tapsell in the early 1830s and the two were on good terms. In 1836 Tupaea supported Te Waharoa in an attack at Maketu that destroyed a Te Arawa pā and Tapsell's trading station. Tupaea saved Tapsell and his Te Arawa wife.
Tupaea did not sign the Treaty of Waitangi when it was twice presented to him in 1840. He was baptised by Anglican missionary Alfred Brown on 30 April 1848, taking the baptismal name of Hori Kingi (George King), and became a mission teacher. In the 1860s he got involved in the Pai Mārire religious movement, which resulted in him spending some time in prison. He became an assessor to the Native Land Court. He was also approached for the role of the first Maori king with the advent of the Kingitangi movement; "Ko Maunganui te Maunga, ko Tauranga te moana, Ko Tupaea te Tangata."
He declined and the role went to Potatau te Wherowhero.
He died on 26 January 1881 at Rangiwaea Island in Tauranga Harbour and was buried on Matakana Island.
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hori_Kingi_Tupaea
Place of birthTaurangaOccupationParamount ChiefPlace of ResidenceTaurangaloading google map....
TUPAEA Hori Kingi. Western Bay of Plenty Community Archives, accessed 03/05/2026, https://westernbay.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/1424
