The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Waka, Nene Tamati
Waka, Nene Tamati (formerly known as Te Nene), was a very influential chief of the Ngapubi tribe, and will always be remembered in the history of New Zealand as the friend of the white man. He lived at the Bay of Islands, which was the place first selected for irregular colonisation, and from the beginning gave the intruders a generous welcome. He used his influence with the Maoris to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. In after years, when Hoani Heke commenced hostilities against the settlers at Kororarika, the friendship of Tamati Waka was invaluable. In his old age he received a well-merited pension of £100 per annum from the British Government in recognition of his long and faithful service. In 1861 the Queen sent him a silver cup as a mark of her friendship; and in 1868 he had an interview with Sir George Bowen at Waitangi. He lived to an extreme old age, and died at Russell (Kororarika) on August 4th, 1871, where his remains are interred under a modest monument erected at the public expense.