Ruhia’s cloak - a life spared

This kaitaka (fine flax cloak) once belonged to Ruhia Pōrutu, a Māori woman of high status. It recalls a dramatic encounter between early European settlers and Māori in Wellington – and reveals how a cloak can offer symbolic protection. 

A chiefly family

Ruhia Pōrutu was married to Īhāia Pōrutu, son of Te Rīrā Pōrutu, a rangatira (chief) of the tribes Ngāti Hāmua and Te Āti Awa. Te Rīrā Pōrutu lived at Pipitea Pā, in what is now Wellington, in the early to mid 1800s.

Tapu – out of bounds

In 1840, the people of Pipitea were building a house for Dr George Evans, a lawyer for the New Zealand Company. For Māori, a house under construction is considered tapu, or out of bounds.
Teenage immigrant named Thomas Wilmor McKenzie, who had just arrived by ship, decided to shelter there for the night, not knowing that he was breaking a life-and-death rule. He and a friend were just settling down for the night when chief Te Rīrā Pōrutu and 30 others found them.

A life-saving act

Chief Pōrutu burst in, furious with the boys. He raised his greenstone weapon, named Horokiwi, ready to strike – but before he could, Ruhia threw her kaitaka over McKenzie. Her act saved his life, as in Māori custom, throwing a cloak over a person symbolises protection.
Chief Pōrutu spared McKenzie, who grew up to be a prominent Wellington citizen and a lifelong friend of Ruhia and her family. When he died in 1911, the kaitaka was placed over his casket.