The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Wahawaha, Major Hon. Ropata
Wahawaha, Major Hon. Ropata, M.L.C., N.Z.C., a Maori of distinction and a chief of the Ngatiporou tribe, is a member of the Legislative Council of New Zealand. He was a very prominent leader of the friendly tribes during the Maori war, distinguishing himself on several occasions by his personal bravery, especially in the operations against the Hau Haus in 1865 and in the pursuit of Te Kooti. He received the decoration of the New Zealand Cross, as the Gazette states, "for his personal gallantry and loyal devotion on the occasion both of the first and last attacks on Ngatapa, and more especially for the courage he showed on the first occasion, at the head of only seventy men, when all the rest of the native contingent had retreated and left him without support; Major Bopata then pushed his way close to the entrenchments and held a position at a pistol-shot distance all day, and until, under cover of night, he was compelled by want of ammunition to retire, having sustained heavy losses." Ngatapa, in the Poverty Bay district, was the stronghold of Te Kooti; and its capture took place in the winter of 1868-9. For his services in this connection a sword of honour was sent him by her Majesty in 1870,