Tāmati Ngāpora was born in the early 19th century into Ngāti Mahuta of Waikato. His parents were Hore and Kahurimu, and he was a cousin of Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori king. His wife was named Hera and they had at least one daughter, also named Hera.¹

In the late 1850s, concerns over the alienation of Māori land and the increasing power of the government brought about the formation of the Kīngitanga. The movement was viewed with hostility by the government, which soon required all Māori north of the Mangatāwhiri River to swear allegiance to Queen Victoria or, failing that, to retire to the Waikato region. Unable to comply, Ngāpora left his base at Māngere and returned to the Waikato.

Although he played no active role in subsequent fighting between Māori and the Crown, Ngāpora accompanied Tāwhiao, the second Māori king, into exile in the lands of Ngāti Maniapoto, where he adopted the name Manuhiri (visitor).

In 1881, Tāwhiao symbolically conceded to the government by laying down weapons at Alexandra (present-day Pirongia). Ngāpora continued to live at Whatiwhatihoe, the royal village in the King Country, where he died on 5 August 1885. He was believed to be about 80 years of age.²

Ngāpora’s aged features are beautifully rendered in Lindauer’s painting. The many creases and folds of his skin are emphasised in the undulations of the intricate mataora. A shark’s tooth set in red sealing wax is suspended, by a length of black ribbon, from Ngāpora’s right ear. Around his shoulders, Ngāpora wears a piupiu with the rolled tags arranged in a striped pattern and bordered by a broad fringe. These assorted taonga signal Ngāpora’s high status within his community.