Wiremu Parata
Encyclopedia
Wiremu Te Kakakura Parata, also known as Wi Parata (born on Kapiti Island
in the 1830s, died September 29, 1906 at Waikanae
), was a New Zealand
politician
.
He was the son of a Māori mother, Metapere Wai-punahau, and of a Pākehā
father, George Stubbs, a whaler and trader originally from the United States
. His great-uncle, Te Pēhi Kupe
, had been leader of the Ngati Toa
iwi
.
at Kenakena, where Parata grew up.
In 1852, he married his second wife, Unaiki; nothing is known of his first marriage. Parata and Unaiki are thought to have had eleven children.
In the late 1860s, Parata became a farmer
, and owned about 1,600 sheep by the mid-1870s. He was, by then, relatively wealthy, and owned the largest farm in the area of Waikanae
, a town which was initially named after him ("Parata Township"). He hosted the Waikanae Hack Racing Club on his land, a practice subsequently maintained by his son and grandson until 1914.
as the member for the Western Maori
constituency, defeating the original member for the seat, Mete Paetahi
. He was re-elected for a second term.
In December 1872, he became the second Māori ever to be appointed to the Executive Council
, joining Wi Katene
who had been appointed just a month earlier.
Parata is described by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
as having been "an astute politician and skilled orator and debater". In Parliament, he expressed the view that Pākehā were not qualified to make informed decisions regarding Māori, and pressed for Māori and Pākehā MP
s to work together on laws for the benefit of both peoples. He also called for the appointment of a commission to look into Māori grievances related to land confiscations.
, the Bishop of Wellington
, to the Supreme Court
, over a breach of oral contract between the Anglican Church and the Ngati Toa, and a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
. The Ngati Toa had provided land to the church in 1848 in exchange for a promise that a school for young Ngati Toa people would be built by the church. No school was built, and, in 1850, the church obtained a Crown grant to the land, without the consent of the iwi. The case (Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington
) was a failure for Parata; Chief Justice
James Prendergast
ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simply nullity", having been signed by "primitive barbarians". The ruling had far-reaching consequences, as it was invoked as precedent during subsequent claims brought for breaches of the Treaty, well into the twentieth century.
community with financial support.
On September 29, 1906, Parata died at Waikanae, from injuries sustained after falling from a horse.
Kapiti Island
-External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *...
in the 1830s, died September 29, 1906 at Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
), was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
He was the son of a Māori mother, Metapere Wai-punahau, and of a Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
father, George Stubbs, a whaler and trader originally from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His great-uncle, Te Pēhi Kupe
Te Pēhi Kupe
Te Pēhi Kupe was a Māori rangatira and war leader of Ngāti Toa and the uncle of Te Rauparaha. He took a leading part in what became known as the Musket Wars....
, had been leader of the Ngati Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
.
Early years, and farming
After his father had drowned in a boating accident in 1838, Wi Parata and his brother were taken by their mother to the pāPa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
at Kenakena, where Parata grew up.
In 1852, he married his second wife, Unaiki; nothing is known of his first marriage. Parata and Unaiki are thought to have had eleven children.
In the late 1860s, Parata became a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, and owned about 1,600 sheep by the mid-1870s. He was, by then, relatively wealthy, and owned the largest farm in the area of Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
, a town which was initially named after him ("Parata Township"). He hosted the Waikanae Hack Racing Club on his land, a practice subsequently maintained by his son and grandson until 1914.
Political career
Parata entered politics in the 1860s. In 1871, he was elected to ParliamentParliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
as the member for the Western Maori
Western Maori
Western Maori was one of the four former New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates, from 1868 to 1996.-Population Centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:* -Tribal Areas:...
constituency, defeating the original member for the seat, Mete Paetahi
Mete Paetahi
Mete Kingi te Rangi Paetahi was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was one of four Māori elected in first Māori elections of 1868 for the new Māori electorates in the New Zealand parliament.-Private life:...
. He was re-elected for a second term.
In December 1872, he became the second Māori ever to be appointed to the Executive Council
Executive Council of New Zealand
The Executive Council of New Zealand is the body which legally serves the functions of the Cabinet. It has a function similar to that served by the Privy Council in the United Kingdom...
, joining Wi Katene
Wi Katene
Wiremu Katene, known as Wi Katene, was a Māori member of the New Zealand parliament. He was the second MP for Northern Maori.He represented the seat of Northern Maori from 1871 to 1875 when he was defeated; and in 1887 from 9 May to 15 July, when he was again defeated.In November 1872, he was the...
who had been appointed just a month earlier.
Parata is described by the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography contains biographies for over 3,000 New Zealanders. It is available in both English and Maori. All volumes of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography are available online....
as having been "an astute politician and skilled orator and debater". In Parliament, he expressed the view that Pākehā were not qualified to make informed decisions regarding Māori, and pressed for Māori and Pākehā MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
s to work together on laws for the benefit of both peoples. He also called for the appointment of a commission to look into Māori grievances related to land confiscations.
Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington (1877)
Parata is perhaps best remembered for the court case which bears his name. In 1877, he took Octavius HadfieldOctavius Hadfield
Octavius Hadfield was Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893. A missionary for thirty years, he was recognised as an authority on Maori customs and language...
, the Bishop of Wellington
Diocese of Wellington
The Diocese of Wellington is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area between the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to the area of Mount Ruapehu....
, to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of New Zealand
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort in New Zealand, having formally come into existence on 1 January 2004. The court sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London...
, over a breach of oral contract between the Anglican Church and the Ngati Toa, and a breach of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
. The Ngati Toa had provided land to the church in 1848 in exchange for a promise that a school for young Ngati Toa people would be built by the church. No school was built, and, in 1850, the church obtained a Crown grant to the land, without the consent of the iwi. The case (Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington
Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington
Wi Parata v the Bishop of Wellington was a New Zealand court case of 1877 which ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simple nullity" having been signed by "primitive barbarians"....
) was a failure for Parata; Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
James Prendergast
James Prendergast (judge)
Sir James Prendergast GCMG was the third Chief Justice of New Zealand. Prendergast was the first Chief Justice to be appointed on the advice of a responsible New Zealand government, but is chiefly noted for his far-reaching decision in Wi Parata v The Bishop of Wellington in which he described the...
ruled that the Treaty of Waitangi was a "simply nullity", having been signed by "primitive barbarians". The ruling had far-reaching consequences, as it was invoked as precedent during subsequent claims brought for breaches of the Treaty, well into the twentieth century.
Later life
In the late 1870s, Parata openly supported pacifist leader Te Whiti-o-Rongomai, providing him and his ParihakaParihaka
Parihaka is a small community in Taranaki Region, New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major campaign of non-violent resistance to European...
community with financial support.
On September 29, 1906, Parata died at Waikanae, from injuries sustained after falling from a horse.
External links
- Photography of Wiremu Parata, and related texts, New Zealand Electronic Text Centre