Wiremu Kīngi Maketū was born around 1824, the son of Ruhe, a chief of the Ngāpuhi iwi in the Waimate area of New Zealand’s Northland. As a young rangatahi (youth), Maketū was raised during a time of deep cultural, political, and spiritual change. The arrival of Christian missionaries, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, and increasing British colonial presence deeply disrupted traditional Māori social structures.

By 1841, Maketū had left his tribal home and was working as a laborer for a European widow, Elizabeth Roberton, on Motuarohia Island (also known as Roberton Island) in the Bay of Islands. Reports suggest he was around 16 years old, possibly younger, at the time.

Despite his youth, Maketū was already caught in the tension between two worlds: the customary law of Māori society, which emphasized collective justice and utu (reciprocal balance), and the newly imposed British legal system. He reportedly had a volatile temperament and had clashed with his employer, Elizabeth Roberton, and another worker named Thomas Bull, also known by his Māori transliteration, Tamati Puru.

On November 20, 1841, tragedy unfolded on Motuarohia Island. Maketū murdered Thomas Bull, reportedly in retaliation for mistreatment. Using an adze, he attacked and killed Bull. Following this act of violence, Maketū turned on the household of Elizabeth Roberton, murdering Elizabeth, her two young children, and Isabella Brind, the granddaughter of Rewa, a chief of the Ngai Tawake hapū. He also set fire to the Roberton home in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

The killing of Isabella Brind, who was of mixed Māori and European descent and related to a prominent Ngāpuhi chief, created a cultural and political dilemma for Māori leaders. The act demanded utu, but colonial law now held sway in the region. Some chiefs, including Hōne Heke, opposed surrendering Maketū to British authority, viewing it as an erosion of Māori sovereignty.

On December 16, 1841, a significant tribal gathering was held in Paihia, organized by missionary Rev. Henry Williams and attended by over 1,000 Ngāpuhi, including major figures like Tāmati Wāka Nene, Pomare II, and Rewa. The debate was intense. Hōne Heke advocated for resisting colonial jurisdiction, even going as far as brandishing a hatchet during the discussions. Despite his protests, the majority of the chiefs sided with the call for justice under British law.

Ruhe, Maketū's father, reluctantly consented to the surrender of his son. A signed declaration dissociating the Ngāpuhi from Maketū's actions was sent to the colonial government via George Clarke, the Protector of Aborigines. Though supportive at first, Ruhe later expressed regret, even threatening Clarke’s property after Maketū was taken into custody.

On March 1, 1842, Maketū stood trial in the Supreme Court in Auckland, presided over by Chief Justice William Martin. His defense, led by C.B. Brewer, was hastily assembled and argued that British courts had no jurisdiction over a Māori youth unfamiliar with British law. But the prosecution, led by Attorney General William Swainson, insisted that the law applied equally to Māori and Europeans.

Despite the defense’s protest, Maketū was tried. He pleaded not guilty, but the jury was swayed by confessions he had reportedly made and the circumstantial evidence. After a brief deliberation, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging.

In the days leading to his execution, Maketū requested to be baptized into the Anglican faith, receiving the name Wiremu Kīngi. On the morning of March 7, 1842, the teenage boy, now 17 years old, was hanged in Auckland, at the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets.

Before his death, Maketū dictated a statement accepting responsibility: “It is my own doing... I have prayed to God to wash my sins away.”