Sir Āpirana Ngata

Who is Sir Āpirana Ngata?

Āpirana Turupa Ngata was born on 3 July 1874 at Te Araroa on the East Coast of New Zealand, of the Ngāti Porou iwi. He became the first Māori to complete a degree at a New Zealand university, gaining a BA and later a law degree. Elected to Parliament as member for Eastern Maori in 1905, he served for nearly four decades and rose to become Minister of Native Affairs. Ngata devoted his career to the survival and revival of Māori society, championing land-development schemes to keep Māori on their land, and reviving traditional arts through carving schools and the promotion of kapa haka. A dedicated scholar, he compiled and translated 'Ngā Mōteatea', a monumental collection of traditional Māori songs and chants. He was knighted for his services and remains one of the most influential Māori leaders of the twentieth century. He appears on the New Zealand fifty-dollar note.

Sources: Āpirana Ngata (comp.), 'Ngā Mōteatea' (1928 onward) · Ranginui Walker, 'He Tipua: The Life and Times of Sir Āpirana Ngata' (2001) · M. P. K. Sorrenson, 'Ngata, Apirana Turupa', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (1996)