Tame Horomona Rehe (7 May 1884 – 19 March 1933), also known by the anglicised name Tommy Solomon, is believed by most to have been the last Moriori of unmixed ancestry. Moriori are the indigenous people of the Chatham Islands.

Early life

Solomon was born on 7 May 1884 at Waikaripi in the Chatham Islands and raised on the Moriori Reserve near Manukau Point and was the only surviving child of his father, Rangitapua Horomona Rehe and his mother, Ihimaera Te Teira, both of whom came from the Ōwenga and Ōtonga Moriori tribes respectively. His mother died in 1903 but because of his youthful irresponsibility the interest in her land was vested in his father during his lifetime.

Career as farmer

Solomon was married in 1903 to Ada Fowler During the ceremony, Lange stated in his speech that the "Moriori were not a myth. They were, in these islands, a real people. We cannot make them live again, but we can tell the truth about who they were and what happened to them." The statue was later restored in July 2025.

References

  • Photograph of Solomon in Christchurch, 1925