Key Characters

Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron

Duncan Alexander Cameron was  born on 19 December 1808, the son of Sir John and Lady Cameron. His mother's birth name was Brock. Duncan Cameron's forebears, descended from the chiefs of their clan and after the defeat of the Scots by the English in 1745 pursued careers in the English army.   More Info >

Tawhiao Tukaroto Matutaera Te Wherowhero

Tawhiao was the second Maori King who inherited the mantle from his famous father Potatau Te Wherowhero in 1860 just at the time of the outbreak of the First Taranaki War. He was of Ngati Mahuta, one of the senior iwi in the vast Tainui confederation of tribes. He was born at Orongokoekoea on the upper Mokau River towards the end of the musket wars between Nga Puhi and Waikato.   More Info >

Sir George Grey

Sir George Grey was a man of high intelligence but surprising moral contradictions. He was said to have been appalled by the poverty of the Irish people and shocked by the misery inflicted on them by the landlords but thought nothing of illegally dispossessing New Zealand Maori of millions of acres of tribal lands.   More Info >

Rewi Maniapoto

Manga, later called Rewi Maniapoto, was born in Waikato early in the nineteenth century. He was the direct descendant and namesake of his founding tribal ancestor, Maniapoto. Rewi's father was Te Ngohi, also known as Kawhia, of Ngati Maniapoto. His mother was Te Kore, of Ngati Maniapoto, who was killed by Waikato at Paterangi, near Kihikihi. Rewi belonged to Ngati Paretekawa, a hapu of Ngati Maniapoto.   More Info >