Career
Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngati Te Whatuiapiti and Ngati Kahungunu iwi. He was born in Te Hauke, Hawke"s Bay, in about 1879. He was a great grandson, through his mother, of Ngati Te Whatuiapiti chief Te Hapuku.
His father, Hamiora Tupaea, was a younger son of the leading Tauranga chief Hori Kingi Tupaea of Ngai Te Rangi.