Henare Tomoana (1820/30s – 20 February 1904) was a prominent Māori leader and politician from the Hawke's Bay area in the North Island, New Zealand.

In 1851 he, along with his father and brothers, had signed deeds for the sale of major land blocks in Ahuriri (now the city of Napier) and at Waipukurau.

In 1856 he joined is elder half-brother Karaitiana Takamoana in an attempt to bridle the rate at which land was being sold by Te Hapuku, another powerful Māori leader from the same area.

During this time he accrued large debts to European store owners, and was forced to lease or sell land to repay what he had owed.

By 1867 he had sold a large block at Wahaparata (near the present day site of Havelock North) and had leased over 17,000 acres of land in the Heretaunga Plains to Thomas Tanner for an initial annual sum of £600.

Then in 1868, he took command of a contingent of Māori troops from the Heretaunga-Tamatea region and supported the government's pursuit of Te Kooti up the Ruakituri River toward Wairoa.

In December 1868 he fought at the Battle of Makaretu, helping to repel Te Kooti's incursion into the Poverty Bay area.

Te Kooti succeeded in capturing Tomoana's horses and much of his equipment, but was forced to retreat under heavy fire.

However, he did not receive regular pay, as the Hawke's Bay superintendent, John Davies Ormond, claimed that the government could not afford it.

The sale of his share led to the eventual loss of the entire Heretaunga block, where the city of Hastings now stands.

The Auckland lawyer John Sheehan was a supporter of the repudiation movement and criticised many of the past land sales in the region as "iniquitous".

[6] Tomoana's greatest contribution to repudiation was to set up, publish and edit a Māori newspaper called Te Wananga, at Pakowhai.

He was supported by Karaitiana Takamoana and Henare Matua, and advised by John Sheehan, who was soon to become the native minister in government.

[1] Tomoana's elder half-brother Karaitiana Takamoana was elected to parliament for the Eastern Maori electorate in 1871, and served until his death in 1879.

Like other contemporary Māori members he was hampered by a lack of fluent English, but he gained valuable experience in parliamentary procedure and European politics.

He intervened with less immediate success in a land dispute between John Harding and Heta Tiki of Waipawa, but the case was eventually resolved in favour of the Māori owners.

[1] In the 1884 election, Tomoana was defeated by Wi Pere, and returned to his role as a chief and leader in Hawke's Bay.

This request reflected Tomoana's growing involvement with Te Kotahitanga, the movement for an independent Māori parliament.

Hāmiora Mangakāhia, several times premier of the Māori parliament, credited Tomoana with being one of the principal agents of its establishment.

Tomoana took a moderate line, accepting the bill as a basis for discussion, whereas most others regarded it as a violation of the rules and procedures of the Māori parliament.