Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
The first Māori king · New Zealand · On the map · Historical Figures · Lived 1775 to 1860 · aged 85
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was a Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato iwi of the Tainui confederation, he was the founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty.
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero is read about 69 times a day, in 12 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 30 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 98 days, one point a day.
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His 1858 coronation followed years of efforts to create the Kīngitanga, a Māori monarchy intended as an equivalent of the British monarchy, and to foster Māori nationalism against settler encroachment.
