Mere pounamu (nephrite weapon), 'Tawhito-whenua"

Tawhito-whenua is an old and famous mere pounamu (greenstone weapon) from the Wellington region. During the early nineteenth century, the chief Te Kotuku (Muaupoko, Ngāti Ira-kai-pūtahi, Rangitāne, Ngāti Kahungunu) presented Tawhito-whenua to Te Kekerengu.

Te Kekerengu
Te Kekerengu (Ngāti Ira) was a chief of great importance in the greater Wellington district. His father was Te Whānake, also known as Te Hukatai-o-Ruatapu, paramount chief of Ngāti Ira of Wellington and closely related by descent to the Wairarapa tribes and those in the Kapiti and Horowhenua districts and the upper South Island.

Te Kekerengu's mother, Tamairangi, was a celebrated ariki tapairu (high born chieftainess). She was associated with the senior descent lines of the tribes from Wellington and the Wairarapa, and also Ngāti Kuia of Arapaoa in the South Island. It is said that when travelling between villages her male attendants always carried her on a litter so that her feet would not have to touch the ground. Such was Tamairangi's fame that she was celebrated in waiata (song) throughout New Zealand.

Tensions
Shortly after Ngāti Toa settled in the Kapiti district during the 1820s, a combined force of Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Hinetuhi, and Ngāti Kaitangata migrated from Taranaki to reinforce and consolidate Ngāti Toa's position. Ngāti Toa allocated Wellington to them as a suitable residence for their relatives. Tensions between the Taranaki tribes and the resident Ngāti Ira quickly ignited as they both competed for control of the natural resources.

The Taranaki tribes, assisted by Ngāti Toa, attacked the Ngāti Ira at Rangitatau pā (fortified village), situated on Wellington's southern coastline near present-day Island Bay. A small band of survivors, including Tamairangi and her son Te Kekerengu, retreated to the small island of Tapu-te-ranga, where they were eventually overwhelmed. When the invading chiefs gathered to execute their esteemed prisoners, Tamairangi, with perfect dignity, asked leave to sing her poroporoaki (song of farewell) to her ancestral lands. It is said that she sang with such pathos that the Ngāti Toa chief Te Rangihaeata was moved to spare her and her son's lives. It was at this moment that Te Kekerengu presented Tawhito-whenua to Te Rangihaeata.

Passing on
Following Te Rangihaeata's death in 1855, Tawhito-whenua passed to his first cousin Hohepa Tamaihēngia (died 1871). History is vague until 1880, when Tawhito-whenua was placed upon the coffin of the Ngāti Kahungunu chief Tareha Te Moananui (died 19 December 1880) by Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngai Te Upokoiri chief Renata Kawepo. Tawhito-whenua then passed to Tareha and Kawepo's grandniece, Airini Karauria Tonore (Donnelly), daughter of the chief Karauria Pupu. Tawhito-whenua was purchased at auction by Te Papa's predecessor, the National Museum of New Zealand, in 1991.