Set back along the waterfront of Russell is this commemorative patch of land which pays homage to a historical local. Tamati Waka Nene was born sometime during the 1780s and died in 1871. He was the chief of the Ngati Hao people in the Hokianga region and important war leader.
He fought in the musket wars of the 1820s, and after the death of Hongi Hika in 1828 he took on the responsibility of protecting the the Wesleyan missionaries in the Hokianga.
During the 1830s he joined the Wesleyan faith but he wasn't baptized until 1839 and took on the name of Thomas Walker after an English merchant who was the patron of the Anglican Church Missionary Society. This area that is marked with carvings shows where his house once stood.
Linking up with Our World Tuesday and My corner of the World.
