Te Wharerahi (born c. 1770) was a highly respected rangatira (chief) of the Ipipiri (Bay of Islands) area of New Zealand.
Te Wharerahi married Tari, the sister of the Hokianga chiefs Eruera Maihi Patuone and Tāmati Wāka Nene.
Te Wharerahi and his two brothers Rewa and Moka 'Kainga-mataa' participated in the bloody Musket Wars of the 1820s-1830s, which caused wholesale destruction across the North Island; resulting in numerous deaths, imprisonment, and the displacement of a large number of people.
Te Wharerahi and his two brothers were original signatories to the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand signed at Waitangi on 28 October 1835, which guaranteed the Māori chiefs their sovereignty with this document being officially recognised by the Crown in 1836.
Captain William Hobson was sent to New Zealand with the express aim, of ensuring that this was achieved and arrived in the Bay of Islands aboard HMS Herald on 29 January 1840.
Hokianga chiefs; Eruera Maihi Patuone and his brother Tāmati Wāka Nene, would join Wharerahi and show their support toward the Crown, by arguing for them to remain in New Zealand.
There are a number of interesting dynamics here; Te Wharerahi was brother-in-law to Tāmati Wāka Nene and Eruera Maihi Patuone (both of which wished for peace) whilst there is a suspicion that Rewa and Moka may have been close to the Bishop Pompallier, who spoke against the signing of the Treaty to some of the Māori chiefs.