Sir Apirana 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

Maori culture

Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...

 and language.
One of 15 children, Ngata was born in Te Araroa

Te Araroa

Te Araroa is a township in the Gisborne region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 175 km north of Gisborne city, along State Highway 35 between Tokata and Awatere. Te Araroa is the birthplace of noted Māori politician Sir Apirana Ngata. Māori in the area are generally...

 (then called Kawakawa), a small coastal town about 175 kilometres north of Gisborne, New Zealand

Gisborne, New Zealand

-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

.