Ana Hamu

Ana Hamu was a Māori woman of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) in northern New Zealand. She was a woman of high rank. Hamu was closely related to Eruera Maihi Patuone.^[1]

Hamu was baptised on 5 October 1834 by the Revd. Henry Williams and adopted the name Ana.^[2]

Hamu was the widow of Te Koki,^[3][4] a chief of Te Uri-o-Ngongo Hapū. They had at least two children together, Te Ahara and Rangituke. She later became the wife of the chief Pukututu.^[5]

Te Koki and Hamu gave the Church Missionary Society (CMS) permission to occupy land at Paihia.^[6][3][4]

Hamu gave her signature to the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, and was one of only a few women to sign the treaty.^[2]

She was connected with the CMS Girls' School in Paihia, where she kept the Māori children within bounds by her presence.^[7]

She was believed to be approximately 60 years old when she died in 1848.^[7]