Henry Matthew Stowell
Nga Puhi interpreter, genealogist
Henry Matthew Stowell (1859–1944), also known by the pen-name Hare Hongi, was a New Zealand language interpreter and genealogist of European and Māori descent.
Biography
He was born in Waimate North, Northland, New Zealand on 4 February 1859. His father was John Shephard Stowell, a sawyer who had come from the United States. His mother was Hūhana (Susan) Farley, daughter of Matthew Farley and Rīmaumau (Maumau), a high-born woman of the Ngāpuhi iwi. He attended schools in Auckland, firstly, Singer's School, Parnell and later, Three Kings College (Wesleyan Native Institution), Mount Roskill, after intervention from Governor George Grey.
In his teens, he spent over a year at Waitaha village, near Ahipara, where he learned Māori lore from Ngā Kuku Mumu, a tohunga. He went to live at Waiwhetū, in the Hutt Valley.
After school, he became a surveyor in Northland, and, in 1888, became an authorised Māori–English interpreter in the Native Land Court at Taranaki and later, Wellington. He travelled from Cape Reinga to the Bluff twice, studying Māori language, and collecting histories, lore and legends. He published books, articles and produced radio broadcasts.
The public source identifies “Henry Matthew Stowell” as nga Puhi interpreter, genealogist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Henry, Matthew and Stowell.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5725593. VIAF identifies the subject as 51371183. The Library of Congress control number is no2003017162. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1859, 1944 and 1888.
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This entry incorporates text from “Henry Matthew Stowell” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.