Pāpāhia, also known as Te Tai or Te Ataoterangi, was a chief living at Ōrongotea, Hokianga. The son of Kahi, his elder brother was Te Huhu, his sister Ngā-kahu-whero and his younger brother Whakarongo-uru. His wife was Te Koiuru and their children were Wiremu Tana and Miriama. Pāpāhia was baptised as a Catholic by Bishop Pompallier in January 1838.
Pāpāhia was probably present at the selection of the United Tribes’ flag in 1834 at Waitangi.
Pāpāhia signed the Treaty of Waitangi, most likely in the Bay of Islands, some time in 1840. His son, Wiremu Tana, and his nephews, Ngāniho Te Tai and Te Hira, also signed, probably at the same time.
Pāpāhia opposed the treaty at first, exclaiming, ‘What is the Governor come for?’
He, indeed! He to be high, very high, like Maungataniwha [a high hill near Hokianga] and we low on the ground; nothing but little hills. No, no, no! Let us be equal; why should one hill be high and another low? This is bad. [1]
Pāpāhia composed a lament for his elder brother, Te Huhu, who had signed the 1835 Declaration of Independence.
[1] T. Lindsay Buick, The Treaty of Waitangi: or, how New Zealand became a British colony, Mackay, Wellington, 1914, p. 137