Twhiao
Tāwhiao, also spelled Tawhiao, was the second Māori King and the leader of the Kingitanga movement in the Waikato region. He reigned from 1860 until his death in 1894, succeeding his father, Potatau Te Wherowhero, the first Māori King. The Kingitanga sought to unite Māori under a single sovereign to defend land and autonomy and to provide a political alternative within New Zealand.
Born in the Waikato area in the early 1830s, Tāwhiao inherited a movement already charged with significance
Following the wars, Tāwhiao governed from the Kingitanga center at Ngāruawāhia and worked to sustain unity among
Tāwhiao died in 1894 and was succeeded by his son Korokī Mahuta as the third Māori King.