Eruera Tirikatene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eruera Tirikatene | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | January 5, 1895 Te Rakiwhakaputa pa, Kaiapoi, New Zealand |
| Died | January 11, 1967 Kaiapoi, New Zealand |
Sir Eruera Tihema Tirikatene, KCMG (5 January 1895 - 11 January 1967) was a New Zealand Māori politician of the Ngai Tahu tribe. He was the first Ratana Member of Parliament, elected in a by-election for Southern Māori in June 1932.
He remained MP until his death in 1967, when his daughter Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan succeeded to the seat, also in a by-election.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
After education at St Stephen's Anglican Church, Tirikatene worked on farms before enlisting in 1914 for the First World War. He served three years with the New Zealand Māori (Pioneer) Battalion, reaching the rank of sergeant and commended for carrying a wounded soldier while under fire.
In 1919, he was married to Ruti Matekino Solomon and the couple went on to have twelve children. In the same year, he settled on a small farm near Kaiapoi, where he also set up a dairy farm, a saw mill, a fishing fleet and a ferry service.
By 1921 he visited Ratana pā, and T. W. Ratana, the spiritual leader or Te Mangai of Ratana predicted an important role for him. Te Mangai persuaded him to stay, and with his practical skills, served the movement by taking charge of harvesting of the Ratana lands.
[edit] Election to Parliament
As the Ratana movement developed into a political movement, Eruera Tirikatene became a leader in the internal political council and stood for parliament in the 1928 and 1931 elections, being defeated narrowly in both. In June 1932, the sitting MP for Southen Māori, Tuiti Makitanara died suddenly and Eruera won the by-election to become the first Ratana MP. Tirikatene contained to represent his electorate until his death in January 1967.
[edit] Political Career
From his maiden speech, Tirikatene made recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi one of his major aims, presenting a petition with over 30,000 signatures. The petition from the Ratana morehu was held over for thirteen years before being virtually ignored, but Tirikatane continued to raise the Treaty issue in debates.
During the depression, Māori were expected to subsist from their land, and were not given equal access to unemployment payments and relief work. Proving entitlement to the old age pension was also more difficult for Māori, as Māori did not have to register births until 1919. Tirikatene spoke out against this discrimination in social welfare which caused poverty to Māori and the removal of this inequality by the Labour Government strengthened the Labour and Ratana bond.
Tirikatene became the First President of the Labour Party Māori Advisory Council, a committee to set Māori policy for the party and during the Second World War, Tirikatene set up and led the Māori War Effort Organisation. The experience of Māori running their own affairs led him to introduce the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act of 1945, but it did not give the independence for iwi he had hoped for.
Between 1946 and 1949, Tirikatene was involved in land claim settlements for Waikato--Maniapoto and Taranaki. He persuaded the Ngai Tahu to accept the Ngaitahu Claim Settlement Act of 1944 and became president of the Ngaitahu Trust Board.
After a period in opposition, he was appointed Minister of Forests, and Minister in charge of Printing and Stationery. Tirikatene was expecting Māori Affairs, which was taken by Prime Minister Walter Nash. The two often clashed, with Tirikatene wanting greater autonomy for Māori. One achievement of this period was the establishment of Waitangi Day as a public holiday to commemorate the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Tirikatene continued committee work while in opposition after 1960, and remained a MP until his death.
[edit] Recognition
Sir Eruera Tihemia Tirikatene was knighted in June 1960 and was awarded the title of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. Within the Ratana movement, he was known as Te Omeka.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tirikatene, Eruera |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Edward James Te Aika Tregerthen |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 5, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Te Rakiwhakaputa pa |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 11, 1967 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Kaiapoi |
