Pōmare I, also called Whetoi, was a Māorirangatira of the Ngāpuhiiwi in New Zealand. He was a leader of the Ngāti Manuhapū of the Ngāpuhi. Whetoi adopted the name of Pōmare, which was the name of the first king of Tahiti and founder of the Pōmare dynasty. After his death he was called Pomarenui by the Ngati Manu in order to distinguish him from his nephew Whiria. The Ngāti Manu originally lived at Tautoro, south of Kaikohe, however disputes with the Ngāti Toki in Pōmare’s lifetime forced them to move and settle at Kororāreka, Matauwhi, Otuihu, Waikare and Te Karetu on the southern shore of the Bay of Islands. Pōmare I established a pā at Matauwhi, near to Kororareka, in what is now called Pomare Bay. Following the death of Pōmare I in 1826, his nephew Whiria adopted his uncle’s names, Whetoi and Pōmare, so that Whiria is referred to as Pōmare II, so as to distinguish him from his uncle.
The Church Missionary Society arrived in the Bay of Islands in 1814. Pōmare supplied food and timber to the missionaries. He traded timber for tools and he also traded timber for muskets to provided security against the northern hapū within the Ngāpuhi, which was led by Hongi Hika, Tareha, Ruatara, and Rewa a chief of the Ngāti Tawake hapū of Kerikeri. At this time there was fighting between the hapū of the Ngāpuhi as well as intertribal fighting. The Rev. Henry Williams was appointed the leader of the CMS mission in 1823. He stopped the CMS trading muskets with the Ngāpuhi. However other Europeans continued to trade muskets with the Ngāpuhi and other Māori tribes. The missionaries regarded Pōmare as one of the important leaders in the Bay of Islands, together with Hongi Hika, Te Whareumu and Rakau. In July 1815 Pōmare went to visit Port Jackson in the missionary vessel Active.
Pōmare I as a war leader
Pōmare I led a number of war parties against other Māori tribes:
In 1820 he engaged in a six-month siege of Te Whetu-matarau pā at Te Kawakawa in the East Cape region of the North Island;
In 1821 he joined Hongi Hika in the attack on the Ngāti Pāoa at the Mau-inaina pā at Mokoia between the Waitematā and Manukau Harbours; then the Ngāpuhi attached the Ngāti Maru of Te Totara pā, in the Thames area;
In 1823 he joined Hongi Hika in the attack on against the Te Arawa on Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua. A dispute arose between Pōmare I and Hongi Hika over the conduct of the attack;
In 1826 Pōmare I was killed during a raid in the Waikato.
Legacy
The death of Tiki, the son of Pōmare I, and the subsequent death of Te Whareumu in 1828 threw the Hokianga into a state of uncertainty as the Ngāpuhi chiefs debated whether revenge was necessary following the death of a chief. The Rev. Henry Williams, Richard Davis and the chief Tohitapumediated between the combatants. As the chiefs did not want to escalate the fighting, a peaceful resolution was achieved. Pōmare I was succeeded as leader of the Ngāti Manu hapū by his nephew, Whiria, who took his uncle’s names, Whetoi and Pōmare.
