Sir Āpirana Ngata
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The Honourable Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata |
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Āpirana Ngata in 1934
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| 22nd Minister of Māori Affairs | |
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In office 10 December 1928 – 1 November 1934 |
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| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister |
Sir Joseph Ward George Forbes |
| Preceded by | Gordon Coates |
| Succeeded by | George Forbes |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Eastern Maori |
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In office 1905 – 1943 |
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| Preceded by | Wi Pere |
| Succeeded by | Tiaki Omana |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 July 1874 Te Araroa, Gisborne, New Zealand |
| Died | 14 July 1950 (aged 76) Waiomatatini, New Zealand |
| Political party |
Liberal United National |
| Spouse(s) | Arihia Kane Tamati (married 1895) |
Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand politician and lawyer. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have ever served in Parliament, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language.
One of 15 children, Ngata was born in Te Araroa (then called Kawakawa), a small coastal town about 175 km (109 mi) north of Gisborne, New Zealand. His iwi was Ngāti Porou. His father was Paratene Ngata, a tribal leader and expert in traditional lore, and his mother was Katerina Naki, the daughter of an itinerant Scot, Abel Knox. Ngata was greatly influenced both by his father and by his great-uncle Ropata Wahawaha (who had led loyal kupapa Ngāti Porou forces against their Pai Mārire enemy (commonly known as Hauhau) in the East Cape War and later Te Kooti's escapees from the Chatham Islands.) Ngata was raised in a Māori environment, speaking the Māori language, but his father also ensured that Ngata learned about the Pākehā world, believing that this understanding would be of benefit to Ngāti Porou.
Ngata attended primary school in Waiomatatini before moving on to Te Aute College, where he received a Pākehā-style education. Ngata performed well, and his academic results were enough to win him a scholarship to Canterbury University College (now the University of Canterbury), where he studied political science and law. He gained a BA in politics in 1893, the first Māori to complete a degree at a New Zealand university, then gained an LL.B. at the University of Auckland in 1896 (the first New Zealander, Māori or Pakeha, to gain a double degree).
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