Born in 1820 in the Waiapu Valley on the East Cape, he was enslaved as a boy and became known as Rāpata Wahawaha. He later obtained his freedom and as an adult, became known as Ropata. In 1865, he fought against the Pai Mārire religious movement when it expanded into the East Cape area. During the conflict, he became "rangatira" of Te Aowera, a "hapū" (subtribe) of Ngāti Porou. As a "Kūpapa", a Māori allied to the New Zealand Government, he fought alongside the Volunteer Force, New Zealand's militia, and led war parties against the Pai Mārire and their presence in the East Cape region was largely eliminated by mid-1866.