Eta Mokena, daughter of Mokena Hou, and her husband, Hare Renata

Abstract

The family backgrounds of both Eta Mokena and Hare Renata can be traced, but little is known about her life compared with that of her husband. From an early age he lived in various places in Hauraki, cultivating, running pigs, catching birds, fish, and eels, and selling some of these to Pakeha. Both owned interests in several blocks of land, and Eta, being childless, gifted some interests to her nephew and nieces. Hare Renata had to fight off other claimants for several blocks of land, not always successfully, and not always by giving truthful evidence. Despite selling some of their interests in land, they were never financially secure. Renata held interests in three goldfields whereas Eta held only one, in a claim named after her family. They settled in several places, and only rarely lived at Te Aroha until their last years.