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Rora Te Makohe (about 1840–1875, Ngati Tamakana)
This hei tiki belonged to Rora Te Makohe. The hole in the tiki’s right arm suggests that the pendant was worn sideways.
Rora was the daughter of Te Makohe, chief of Ngāti Tamakana in the upper Whānganui region's Waimarino district. In 1864, she married British administrator Major Isaac Rhodes Cooper in St John the Baptist Anglican Church, North Shore, Auckland. Major Cooper was previously commander of the Wanganui Militia, although he was dismissed of duties in 1862 due to controversy surrounding his relationship with Rora. It is also possible he had become too sympathetic to the local Māori cause in the eyes of his superiors.
Following Cooper's dismissal the couple moved north to his land at Orewa near Auckland. Their cottage - which doubled as a post office - was described as cosy, having English furniture with Māori decorations. Many guests attended the function at the home held to mark the chistening of their two children in 1864. Mrs Cooper reportedly wore a 'full-skirted lace dress and a cloak trimmed with huia feathers'. She was described as a gracious hostess, dispensing much generous hospitality.
In 1867 the Coopers moved to Thames. In 1875 Rora, - then commonly known as Laura, - died and the hei tiki passed to her daughter, Mary Laura.