TE HETJHEU. 
319 
MONUMENT OF TE nEUREU, AT PUKATVA, TAUPO. 
Of all the New Zealand Chiefs, there has not been a more 
distinguished one than Te Heuheu, the head Chief of Taupo, 
and the most influential native in the interior of this island. 
His noble figure (for he stood upwards of six feet high), his 
broad chest, his good-natured countenance, his white locks, 
his dignified manner as he sat on a rock in front of his house, 
like a king on his throne, surrounded by his tribe, and survey¬ 
ing his dependents at their work, to whom he repeatedly issued 
his commands in a tone which compelled obedience, presented 
altogether a perfect picture of the savage Chief. His great 
bravery in war, his eloquence in council, his perfect acquaint¬ 
ance with the mythology of the country, his being a Chief 
Priest as well, tended to extend his influence amongst the 
New Zealand tribes, and caused them to view him as a sacred 
character. 
Though successful in war, he does not appear to have de¬ 
lighted in it so much as his countrymen generally have done. 
He was never averse to making peace. In 1844, he visited 
the little settlement of Wanganui with a war party of about 
two hundred, intending to fight with the Waitotara tribe, and 
avenge the death of Kotuku-rae-roa, Tauteka, and Te Waka- 
rau, great Taupo Chiefs, who were killed there three years 
before; but, being reasoned with, and recommended to make 
