TE KOOTI, E HA
(A.Desmond/Anon)

Chorus
Kei taka, Te Kooti, Te Kooti, kia kaha
Ka miharo ahau ki a ia, Te Kooti
Naku tenei pamu, ko toku whare tenei
Lahore oku whenua hei hoko
Kei taka, Te Kooti, e ha!

Chorus (translation)
Gather round, Te Kooti, Te Kooti is strong
I admire him, Te Kooti
This is my farm, this is my house
I won't ever sell this land
Gather round, Te Kooti, e ha!

The Pakehas came with their rum and their gold
And soon the broad lands of our fathers were sold
But the voice of Te Kooti said, 'Hold the land, hold!'
Exult for Te Kooti, e ha!

They falsely accused him, no trial had he
They carried him off to an island at sea
But his prison he broke and once more he was free
Exult for Te Kooti, e ha!

They tried to enslave us, to trample us down
Like the millions that serve them in field and in town
But the sapling that's bended when free will rebound
Exult for Te Kooti, e ha!

In the wild midnight foray whose footsteps trod lighter?
In the flash of the rifle whose eyeballs gleamed brighter?
What man with our hero could clinch as a fighter?
Exult for Te Kooti, e ha!

We won't sell our land, 'tis the gift of the Lord
Except it be bought with the blood-drinking sword
But all men are welcome to share in its hoard
Exult for Te Kooti, e ha!

Note in 'Song of a Young Country' page 39:

Land purchased carelessly by the government through unscrupulous land agents led to the so-called 'Maori Wars'. In 1864, the confiscation of land belonging to Maoris who had resisted such purchase proved to the Maori that the wars were engineered to deprive people of their land. It took only twenty years for the Pakeha to break his Treaty of Waitingi. Chiefs such as Titokowaru and Te Kooti rebelled. To weld their people together they founded new codes of honour - Pai Mariri and Ringatu. They spoke of 'truth' and 'honesty'. An historical examination from today's standpoint shows all too clearly who was dishonest.

Te Kooti's biography

A young girl's interesting summary:

Te Koot's War

Youtube clip

Another song telling the Te Kooti story:

Click

--Stewie.