Tawhai Hone Mohi 1821 1880

edmondsallan - hello - this is journal is about a person who is just the opposite to " Henare " although a relative , very little is known about him . " Old faithful " helped me out . I see I had put his name into the " be researched file " and after eleven ( 11 ) years have just completed it .THAT'S BAD - ! BAD ! BAD! I wonder what else is in that file ? When I finish this Journal Session , I had better ask " old faithful ", what I haven't done in research .
" Hone Mohi Tawhai " was the son of Mohi Tawhai and his wife, Rawinia Hine-i-koaia (also known as Harata). His father belonged to Te Mahurehure, a hapu of the Nga Puhi confederation, and the family was also connected with Te Whanau Puku. Te Mahurehure held the territory of Waima in Hokianga, and it was probably there that Hone Mohi Tawhai was born in 1827 or 1828. He was about 12 years of age when his father signed the Treaty of Waitangi at Hokianga on 12 February 1840. Little is known of his early life, but it is likely that he attended a local mission school and was associated with the Wesleyan missionaries in the area. His name, Hone Mohi (John Moses), is probably a baptismal name.
Tawhai assumed the responsibilities of leadership early in life. When the official runanga at Waimate North (established under Sir George Grey's runanga system) became defunct in 1865, he kept an informal one functioning in Hokianga. He was appointed as an assessor to the Native Land Court in the north and influenced the people at Waimate North to co-operate peacefully with the court. He became highly regarded, and in 1867 was recommended by the resident magistrate E. M. Williams to the government for commendation for negotiating peace during an inter-tribal conflict that had led to blows. When quarrels again broke out over land at Otaua in 1882, the resident magistrate Spencer von Stürmer acknowledged the part played by Tawhai in preventing bloodshed. By 1876, however, Tawhai had become disillusioned with the Native Land Court. The expense of getting a Crown grant, including survey and court costs, was seen as an unnecessary financial imposition. In June, in a letter to the council of Tuhourangi at Rotorua, he indicated that Nga Puhi wanted the court abolished and the law changed so that land which had not been put through the court would remain under ancestral title. Nevertheless, he represented his hapu before the court, and conducted their cases for major claims such as the Waima block in 1885 and 1886.
Tawhai was the member of the House of Representatives for Northern Maori from 1879 to 1884. In January 1880 he was appointed to sit on the West Coast Royal Commission to inquire into Maori claims against land confiscations in Taranaki and the detention of prisoners who resisted the government survey. Initially, he did not want to take his place, but he was persuaded by the minister for native affairs on the grounds that he was impartial, not having been involved in the wars. Although not well known he seems to have been quite active . I all so hope that those, that may be following my journals ( For family Records Pass me ons ) are noticing just how really large our family is. Most of the whole of the Northland people , who we rub toes with,are related .Not following --- Ok Fair enough . Not related ? - Perhaps you should do a recheck and good hunting . Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan