Hēnare Pōtae
late 1820s – 1895Ngāti Porou
- Date
- 1901 or before
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 523 x 445 mm
- Other titles
- Henare Potae, [title, 2026]Henare Potae, [1930 catalogue]Henare Potae, [Deed of gift, 1915]Henare Potae, [1901 catalogue]Oil Painting of the Maori Chief Henare Potae, [copyright certificate, 1902]Henare Potae / Chief at Tokomaru / East Coast, [Lindauer's inscribed title]
- Inscriptions
- Front, LL: G. LindauerBack, LR: Henare Potae / Chief at Takomaru / East Coast
- Takiwā / region
- Te Tairāwhiti
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr H E Partridge, 1915
- Accession no.
- 1915/2/6
Hēnare Pōtae belonged to the Ngāti Porou and Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti people. His father was Te Pōtae Aute, who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi in June 1840 at Tokomaru Bay, and his mother was Mākere Te Materonea.
Pōtae married Tepora Kahukino and they had two children, Wiremu and Keriana. For many years, he was a member of the Church of England, but in 1884 he was baptised into the Mormon faith with his son Wiremu and his cousin Hone Te Whaia.1
Upon the death of his older brother Tama Whakanehua in 1854, the leadership role passed to Pōtae. He became involved in Ngāti Porou politics and worked to discourage the iwi from joining the Kīngitanga. At this time, he also became a Native Land Court assessor.
Hēnare Pōtae had his main kāinga at Tuatini in Tokomaru Bay. He died at Kaitī, Tūranga Gisborne, on 5 October 1895, and his tangihanga was held at Tokomaru Bay, where he was buried with his father in the Tuatini urupā.2
Hēnare Pōtae was photographed by Swan & Wrigglesworth, who kept a studio in Ahuriri Napier from 1864. It is possible that Lindauer’s portrait is based on this photograph – but if so, Lindauer has aged him, replacing his thick glossy locks with grey hair.Alternatively, the source image remains to be found. On 29 April 1912, Mahuru Pōtae from Tokomaru Bay visited the Lindauer Art Gallery in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland to see the portrait of Hēnare Pōtae, leaving the following comment in the Māori Visitors’ Book:
- He nui te hari o toku ngakau mo taku tipuna Henare Potae. Kia ora tonu te tangata ara a G Lindauer.
- I am so pleased at seeing my ancestor Hēnare Pōtae. Salutations and greetings to G[ottfried] Lindauer.
- Steven Oliver, 'Potae, Henare ? - 1895', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007, accessed 24 February 2010.
- Steven Oliver, 'Potae, Henare ? - 1895', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007, accessed 24 February 2010.
