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Biography
Te Wera Hauraki (?–1839) was a notable New Zealand tribal leader. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Nga Puhi iwi. Hauraki was the son of Kaitara, a leader of Ngati Hineira and Te Uri Taniwha, of Nga Puhi. He lived in Pukenui pa, Te Ahuahu, in the Bay of Islands in his youth. Hauraki and his brother Te Kopiri fought as young men in the battle fought by Whaingaroa to drive Ngati Pou from Taiamai to Whangaroa and Hokianga. In 1817 Hauraki was living in the village of Motuiti, downstream from Kerikeri. He had a child who got accidentally burnt, from which Hauraki took the name Te Wera (the burning).
Te Wera went on expeditions and fought battles in various parts of the North Island, and settled in Hawkes Bay where he became a notable chief.