Story: Tōrangapū – Māori and political parties

First Māori MPs: Tāreha Te Moananui (1st of 3)

First Māori MPs: Tāreha Te Moananui

Tāreha Te Moananui (Ngāti Kahungunu) is shown here in a portrait by artist Gottfried Lindauer. Tāreha represented the Eastern Māori electorate from 1868 to 1870. He opposed the sale of tribal land at Heretaunga (Hawke's Bay) until he was 'pursued to his hotel in Wellington' by two storekeepers and an interpreter who 'hounded him for three days'. (Quoted in M. B. Boyd, City of the plains: a history of Hastings. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1984, p. 10)

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/1-019389-G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Ann Sullivan, 'Tōrangapū – Māori and political parties - Creating a Māori electoral system', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/36733/first-maori-mps-tareha-te-moananui (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Ann Sullivan, published 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 18 Jul 2016