New Zealand politician
Sir Eruera Tihema Te Aika Tirikatene
KCMG
(5 January 1895 ? 11 January 1967) was a New Zealand
M?ori
politician of the
Ng?i Tahu
tribe. Known in early life as Edward James Te Aika Tregerthen, he was the first
Ratana
Member of Parliament and was elected in a by-election for
Southern Maori
in
June 1932
after the death of
Tuiti Makitanara
.
He remained the MP until his death in 1967, when his daughter
Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
succeeded to the seat, also in a by-election.
Early life
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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 M?ori (Pioneer) Battalion, reaching the rank of sergeant and commended for carrying a wounded soldier while under fire.
[1]
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. During the Second World War in 1944 their second son, Sergeant Pilot John Aperehama, aged 21, was killed in an aircraft accident in Auckland. He was buried at Te Kai A Te Atua Urupa,
Kaiapoi
.
By 1921 he visited Ratana p?, 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.
Election to Parliament
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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 1928 he and most of his extended family spent the election at Ratana Pa helping with the wheat harvest. At the time there were few provisions for
absentee voting
, and unable to even vote for himself, Tirikatene lost the election by one vote.
[2]
In June 1932, the sitting MP for
Southern Maori
,
Tuiti Makitanara
died suddenly and Eruera won the by-election to become the first Ratana MP. Tirikatene continued to represent his electorate until his death in January 1967. His initial majorities were small, only 43 in
1935
.
Member of Parliament
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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 of that time, M?ori 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 M?ori, as M?ori did not have to register births until 1919. Tirikatene spoke out against this discrimination in social welfare which caused poverty to M?ori and the removal of this inequality by the Labour Government strengthened the Labour and Ratana bond.
Following the Ratana-Labour alliance, Tirikatene became the First President of the Labour Party M?ori Advisory Council, a committee to set M?ori policy for the party. During the Second World War, Tirikatene set up and led the M?ori War Effort Organisation. The experience of M?ori running their own affairs led him to introduce the M?ori 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 Ng?i 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 M?ori Affairs, which was taken by Prime Minister
Walter Nash
. The two often clashed, with Tirikatene wanting greater autonomy for M?ori. One achievement of this period was the official recognition of
Waitangi Day
through the
Waitangi Day Act 1960
, commemorating the signing of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
.
Tirikatene continued committee work while in opposition after 1960, and remained an MP until his death. He was succeeded in the seat by his daughter,
Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan
.
Recognition
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Sir Eruera, Minister of Forests, with Lady Tirikatene, in October 1960, shortly after he was knighted. He is wearing the insignia of the Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
In 1935, Tirikatene was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
.
[3]
In 1953, he was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
.
[4]
He was appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
in the
1960 Queen's Birthday Honours
.
[5]
Within the Ratana movement, he was known as Te Omeka.
References
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