Northern Māori Wars Retold

“ ‘I hereby secure to you in the name of the Queen of England, big guns, rockets, shells and muskets…
But your lands, your forests and fisheries I mean to take as soon as I can.’"
— Hone Heke, in response to Governor FitzRoy, 1845

Inspired by the powerful words of Hone Heke and the rich oral histories of my tūpuna, this kaupapa is an educational project that will bring our history to life through an historical novel, a dedicated website, and an interactive timeline spanning from Kororāreka to Ruapekapeka.

By retelling these events through a Mana Whenua lens, this work seeks to challenge and correct long-standing historical inaccuracies. More importantly, it is created as a source of inspiration for our rangatahi—grounding them in the strength, resilience, and leadership of those who came before us.

This project is about reclaiming our narratives, instilling pride in our heritage, and ensuring our future generations can see themselves reflected in the stories of our past.

Ko wai au?

Ko Whiria tōku maunga, ko Hokianga tōku moana, ko Moria tōku marae, ko Hikutu tōku hapū, ko Ngāpuhi tōku iwi. Ko Rawiri McKinney ahau.

I am a history teacher and published author from Whirinaki and Karetu in Te Tai Tokerau. My work is grounded in a deep commitment to telling our stories with integrity, care, and accountability to our people.

This project builds on that foundation. I have already engaged with kaumātua from across the rohe, including Ngāti Manu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hou, and Te Kapotai. Through these relationships, I have been entrusted with thousands of pages of invaluable taonga, particularly from Ngāti Manu and Ngāti Hine, which will help guide and shape this kaupapa.

I also have formal letters of support from the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga Education Manager and the Ruapekapeka Trust Board—alongside the unwavering tautoko of our aunties, whose guidance and belief in this mahi continue to uplift and strengthen this work.

After a long consultation and research phase, I have put together an in-depth timeline including biographies of key figures .  These will be included in the suite of resources.

As with historical novels I will weave the fictional korero through the purakau staying true to the facts. This includes mōteatea, karakia and correspondence between parties.

The funds raised from this Boosted campaign will partially cover the following areas. 

• Travel and accommodation
• Marae
• Koha
• First draft
• Final draft
• Publish

I want to write the novel in the Bay Of Islands drawing on the wairua of the rohe and the 10k I raise through Boosted NZ will support this. 

Ideally I'd love to take 6 plus months off work and focus 100% on this but in reality that's not going to happen, which is ok.  But if there are any publishers out there I'm all ears lol 

The pūrākau of the Northern Māori Wars has long been misrepresented, and in many cases, continues to be told incorrectly. The leadership of my tūpuna—Hone Heke, Tāmati Wāka Nene, Te Ruki Kawiti, and others has too often been misunderstood or diminished in books, films, and mainstream narratives.

This project responds directly to that need for correction and reclamation, particularly for our rangatahi.

Why an historical novel?

Historical storytelling offers a powerful and accessible way for rangatahi to connect with the past:

• It is more engaging than traditional non-fiction, drawing readers into the story.
• It connects with rangatahi on both an emotional and intellectual level.
• It allows them to see themselves in the characters and immerse in the world of their tūpuna.
• It builds understanding of geography, culture, leadership, conflict, belief systems, and everyday life through lived narrative.
• It enables rangatahi to absorb history naturally, rather than feeling like they are being “taught.”

Most importantly, our rangatahi deserve to see real heroes from their own whakapapa—not only those presented through mainstream or sporting narratives.

By sharing our histories through a Mana Whenua lens, we empower our communities, honour our ancestors, and inspire future generations.

Why is this important now?

Many published accounts of the Northern Māori Wars remain unfavourable to Māori perspectives and, in some cases, are factually inaccurate. At the same time, Aotearoa’s curriculum requires the teaching of this history—yet there is a clear lack of accessible, accurate Mana Whenua resources to support kaiako.

The current portrayal of Hone Heke, in particular, continues to diminish the mana of one of our greatest rangatira.

There is also an urgency to this work. The knowledge held by our kaumātua is precious and irreplaceable. As time passes, we risk losing these histories before they are properly recorded and shared. The loss of that mātauranga would be immeasurable.

This kaupapa is about ensuring those stories are preserved, respected, and passed on—correctly.

Ngāpuhi rangatahi  face a lot of diversity growing up given how our northern culture was ruptured by colonisation prior to the rest of the motu. This historic trauma is very real and I believe the telling of our story, in our words, is an opportunity for healing. 

Our young Ngāpuhi tane lead all the negative statistics for Māori youth across the motu and this has always troubled me.

My korero will not only capture the events but also the persons involved, the engineering, culture, beliefs, tohunga, social constraints, religions, conflicts etc of our people linking in with the curriculum. Our whānau can experience what an awesome leader Hone Heke Pokai was, how astute Pomare was, see the peacemaker skills of Nene, and learn about the engineering brilliance of Kawiti; real Māori heroes to look up to.

 Titiro Whakamuri ki anga Whakamua