Retimana Te Korou was born in the late 1700s and was the son of Te Raku and Te Kai. His parents were descendents from the Rangitaane and Ngati Kahungunu peoples of Wairarapa.
THE
STORY OF MASTERTON
As quoted in Ian Grant’s book, ‘North of the
Waingawa’, produced by the District Council in 1995, the Wairarapa was an
attractive proposition from the earliest days of European settlement in New
Zealand. Only access difficulties
held back immediate development.
To satisfy both the ambitious young entrepreneurs
arriving in Wellington, and to provide food for the growing population, the
pressure for grazing land produced a succession of forays to find the best way
through the mountains guarding the Wairarapa.
The book details several accounts of suryeyors
struggling for a glimpse of the valley, and eventually the coastal route was
chosen. Leading Wellington
entrepreneurs, including William Fox, Charles Clifford and William Vavasour made
the coastal trip to Wairarapa to satisfy themselves about the region’s grazing
possibilities and to meet Maori chiefs.
Several years and land purchases followed but it
wasn’t until the Lambton Quay cooper, Joseph Masters and Henry Jackson, a
Maori speaking farmer tramped over the Rimutaka Ranges to meet with Ngati
Kahungunu Chief Retimana Te Korou at Ngaumutawa, that the possibility of a town
being established became more realistic.
Masters had promoted the formation of a Small Farms
Association in March 1853, allowing working men the opportunity to own their own
piece of land. Governor George Grey
also became involved with negotiations and eventually preferred settlement
sites, which became Masterton and Greytown, were confirmed and purchased by the
government.
When the settlements were laid out, the Small Farms
Association purchased the whole block from the government at 10 shillings an
acre. One acre sections were
balloted to their members for one pound each, the difference paying for
surveying and other expenses. In
Masterton, town acres were on both sides of what was to be known as Bridge and
later Queen Street, and were surveyed in the shape of a cross.
On the 21st May 1854 the first of the Pakeha
settlers arrived in Masterton.
During the 1830s, Wairarapa Maori faced mounting
pressure from Te Rauparaha and his allies, the Taranaki tribes, who had moved
south to Wellington and into Wairarapa. Although
the tribes initially lived peacefully, troubles arose and a number of battles
took place. Te Korou was among a number of Wairarapa Maori captured.
Te Wera, of Ngati Mutunga, was taking him to Wellington
when Te Korou escaped by killing Te Wera. Realising that it was no longer safe in the Wairarapa, Te
Korou and his wife, Hine-whaka-aea and their children joined other Wairarapa
Maori at the east coast stronghold of Nukutaurua on Mahia Peninsula.
Te Korou was a member of a party of Wairarapa chiefs
who concluded a peace treaty with the Taranaki tribes in Lower Hutt in 1841 and
returned to the Wairarapa where he was involved in encouraging Pakeha
settlement. Te Korou’s tribe
decided to sell some of their land to the Small Farm Association established by
Masters and his colleagues. Hence,
the small farm settlement of Masterton began in May 1854.
In 1826, Masters married Sarah Bourton and in 1832 they
moved to Tasmania, Australia with their two daughters.
In the 1840s, Joseph Masters and family moved to New Zealand and he set
up as a cooper in Lambton Quay, Wellington.
Masters was also looking for land in the Wairarapa.
He was promoting the concept of small farm settlements whereby groups of
working men could pool together to buy large blocks, which they could then
subdivide amongst their membership.
In 1853 a Small Farm Association was formed.
Masters and C.R. Carter (after whom Carterton is named) paid a visit to
Governor George Grey convincing him of the scheme.
Masters and committee member, H.H. Jackson, met with Te Korou at the
village of Ngaumutawa, west of Masterton.
Te Korou’s tribe decided to sell some of their land
to the Small Farm Association established by Masters and his colleagues.
Hence, the small farm settlement of Masterton began in May 1854.
Masters was a vigorous promoter of Masterton,
representing the area on the Wellington Provincial Council and helping to
establish the Trust Lands Trust. He
died in December 1873.
Te Korou became disillusioned with Pakeha settlement
and he and his son, Karaitiana, supported the King movement during the turbulent
1860s. When Te Korou died in 1882
however, many of Masterton’s leading settlers joined in the 300 strong
cortege, which made its way to Te Korou’s burial place in Masterton cemetery.
Te Korou and Masters are buried 50 metres apart in the
Pioneer Cemetery in Queen Elizabeth Park.
Further details on the history of the Masterton
district are available from:
Wairarapa Archive
Te Puranga Korero O Wairarapa
79 Queen Street
Masterton
Phone 06-378-9666 extn 808
and by clicking on the following link -