Te Rauparaha
During his early years he travelled throughout the Wellington region that had been conquered by numerous Taranaki tribes. He became close friends with the Ngāti Toa leader Te Rauparaha who had led the invasion of the wider Wellington region during the long running Musket Wars. It was Te Rauparaha's Christian son Tāmihana who had invited him to the Māori community to live. Hadfield buried Te Rauparaha in 1849 after his release from imprisonment.