Rua Kenana's temple at Maungapohatu

Rua Kenana's temple at Maungapohatu

Shown above is the meeting house and courthouse built by Rua Kenana in Urewera. Constructed in 1908, it was circular, 13.5 metres in diameter and nine metres high. The patterns it was decorated with were inspired by playing cards. Unfortunately it no longer exists.

Early in the 20th century, Rua Kenana founded a religious community at the foot of Maungapohatu, a mountain sacred to Tuhoe in the heart of the Urewera region. By 1907 around 600 followers were living there with him. This building was the focal point of that community.

While Rua's ideas were worthy – the community operated on a cooperative basis and was based on non-violent principles – Maungapohatu was too remote, and bitter winters, bad housing, and a poor diet meant that by 1913 the community had declined from more than 500 people to about 30 families.

New Zealand government officials considered Rua to be a troublemaker, especially when, as a pacifist, he objected to Tuhoe participating in World War One. Acting on the excuse that alcohol was being sold illegally at Maungapohatu, Rua was summoned to appear in court. He refused, explaining that as it was harvest time, he would come later. Angered by his response, the police mounted an armed expedition, arriving at Maungapohatu on 2 April 1916. Rua was there to meet them, standing unarmed on his marae, when a shot was fired. Two Maori were killed, including his son Toko, and while the police claimed the first shot came from Rua's camp, modern analysis of events on the day makes this seem unlikely.

Rua was charged with treason and while he was found not guilty by the jury, judge Frederick Chapman, did find him guilty of resisting arrest and sentenced him to one year of hard labour, followed by further 18 months imprisonment. Eight of the jury members protested at the harshness of his sentence and successfully petitioned to have it reduced. Rua was released in April 1918 and returned to Maungapohatu. The community was in decline, however, and by the early 1930s, most people had left to find work elsewhere. Rua moved on to Matahi in eastern Bay of Plenty, and lived there until his death in 1937.

Parts of this story are dealt with in Vincent Ward's 2008 film The Rain of the Children, which is about the life of Rua's daughter-in-law Puhi. She also featured in Ward's documentary In Spring One Plants Alone, made shortly after he left art school in the late 1970s.

Read more about Rua Kenana at the New Zealand Dictionary of Biography website.

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image