Eruera Maihi Patuone (c.1764 – 19 September 1872) was a Māori rangatira (chief), the son of the Ngāti Hao chief Tapua and his wife Te Kawehau. His exact birth year is not known, but it is estimated that he was at least 108 years old when he died.
His younger brother was Tāmati Wāka Nene. With his father and brother he was one of the first Māori people to have contact with Europeans when James Cook's ship visited in 1769.
Name
He was called Patuone when born but acquired the more full name when he was baptised by Archdeacon Henry Williams at Paihia on Sunday, 26 January 1840, just prior to the initial signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February. Eruera Maihi (Edward Marsh) was the name of Williams' spiritual mentor in England, and this name was also given to Williams' oldest son. Patuone's third wife was Takarangi, sister of the chief Te Kupenga a chief of Ngāti Paoa. Takarangi was baptised at the same time, adopting the name Riria (Lydia). Prior to this, in the Māori fashion, the name was simply Patuone, commemorating the deaths of two older brothers, Te Anga and Te Ruanui, killed fighting alongside their father Tapua during wars against the Whangaroa tribe Ngāti Pou, who had earlier been forced out of the Hokianga area by expanding hapu (sub-tribal) groupings of what later came to be called Ngāpuhi.
Family
Both of Patuone's older brothers Te Anga and Te Ruanui had been killed in fighting on a beach (one), suffering blows from clubs (patu) in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Thus Patuone's name commemorates an important family event, this being a typical Māori naming convention.
Patuone was born the third son and fourth child, there being, in addition to Te Anga and Te Ruanui, an older sister Tari, later to marry the Bay of Islands chief Te Wharerahi, older brother of Rewa and Moka 'Kainga-mataa' and their sister Te Karehu. Patuone's younger brother Nene (later to be Tāmati Wāka (Thomas Walker) Nene after his baptism which took place prior to Patuone's) was also a highly distinguished chief and collaborated with his tuakana (older brother) on many military and commercial campaigns. Both were fierce promoters of European ways. In their eyes, once Māori had begun to accept European goods in trade and adopt European ways as land sales took place, there was no turning back. Pākehā (Europeans) were there to stay.
The Tapua/Te Kawehau family was directly descended through multiple senior chiefly lines from the eponymous ancestor of Ngāpuhi, Rahiri, and his first-born son Uenuku (whose mother was Ahuaiti) and second-born son, Kaharau (whose mother was Whakaruru). In addition to being the ariki of Ngāti Hao, Tapua was also the tohunga (high priest). These were the roles and status (mana) Patuone was to inherit from Tapua. Patuone's grandmother Ripia was also a tohunga in her own right. Patuone was to invoke her name in a famous pepeha (retort) to his kinsman Hone Heke at Ohaeawai: "Ko te whaiti a Ripia!" ("We are the small band of Ripia!") meaning that we are small in number but valiant in battle. This was in response to Heke's observation that Patuone and Nene, having arrived as a taua to confront their kin who had taken an anti-British stand, with a force of some one hundred, would do better to return home, whereas the forces Heke and Kawiti numbered some eight hundred. Thus Patuone was both inheritor of famous warrior blood and of priestly authority, two attributes which explain in part his capacities and longevity through endless tribal wars and changes such as the arrival of the Pākehā.
As one of the senior chiefs of the Ngāpuhi confederation, Patuone was involved, together with his younger brother Nene, in many military campaigns throughout the North Island. Through descent from Rahiri also, Patuone was closely related to all the major chiefs of Ngāpuhi, including Hongi Hika, Moetara, Hōne Heke, Te Ruki Kawiti, Waikato, Pōmare, Tītore, Muriwai, Pangari, Taonui, Te Whareumu and Taiwhanga.
Patuone was thus born into the fighting aristocracy of the Ngāpuhi and from an early age was trained in both the arts of war and in the priesthood. He was famed for his skills and knowledge in both areas, becoming a trusted confidant of many in both the Māori and Pākehā worlds. In fulfilment of the predictions of seers who foretold the coming of the Pākehā, Patuone witnessed their arrival. His father Tapua was received on board the Endeavour by Captain James Cook on his visit to the Bay of Islands in 1770. Potential enemies knew of the warrior reputation of the Tapua family.