Te Rangi Hīroa

Te Rangi Hīroa
Te Rangi Hīroa in academic dress, circa 1904
Born	c. October 1877 Urenui, Taranaki, New Zealand
Died	1 December 1951(1951-12-01) (aged 74) Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Nationality	New Zealand
Other names	Sir Peter Henry Buck

Te Rangi Hīroa, also known as Sir Peter Henry Buck KCMG DSO (ca. October 1877 – 1 December 1951), was a prominent member of the Ngāti Mutunga Māori iwi. He was a doctor, military leader, health administrator, politician, anthropologist and museum director.

He was born in Urenui, New Zealand, the only child of William Henry Buck. He was raised by William and his wife Ngarongo-ki-tua, though she was not his biological mother. According to local custom, when the couple found themselves unable to have children, one of Ngarongo's relatives, Rina, became part of the household and produced a child for the couple. Rina died soon after her child was born, and Ngarongo raised Peter as her own. He claimed to have been born in 1880, but it is more likely that an entry in the primary school register pointing to October 1877 is correct.

Te Rangi Hīroa was descended on his Māori (maternal) side from the Taranaki iwi of Ngati Mutunga, whose elders renamed him Te Rangi Hīroa in honour of a notable ancestor. His paternal ancestry was English and Irish. Though he was largely brought up within the Pākehā community, Ngarongo-ki-tua and his great aunt Kapuakore instilled a love of Māori tradition and language in him.

After Ngarongo's death in 1892 he moved with his father to the Wairarapa. In 1896 he started attending Te Aute College, a school that produced many Māori leaders of the time. In 1899 he was named Dux and passed a medical examination, entitling him to attend the University of Otago Medical School. He was later associated with the Young Māori Party.

Buck did badly at Otago Medical School, where he also was kicked out of sport, becoming national long jump champion in 1900 and 1903. He completed his MB ChB in 1904, and an MD six years later. During this time, in 1905, he married Irish-born Margaret Wilson. Their long marriage was often fiery, but was strong, and it was Margaret who often gave the impetus to Peter's career.