Henare Ngata

Sir Hēnare Kōhere Ngata (19 December 1917 – 11 December 2011) was a Māori leader and accountant. A prisoner of war in Germany after his capture in Greece, he returned to New Zealand to finish his university studies and became an accountant. He held directorships and chaired boards in the Gisborne Region. He was particularly knowledgeable about Māori land issues and became a forceful advocate and legal expert. His alma mater, Victoria University of Wellington, awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) for his legal knowledge in 1979. Ngata was knighted in 1982 for services to the Māori people. He tried to follow his father, Āpirana Ngata, into politics but was unsuccessful when he stood in the 1969 general election.

Early life

Ngata was born in 1917 in Waiomatatini, a locality in the Waiapu Valley and on the south bank of the Waiapu River in the Gisborne District, New Zealand. His iwi was Ngāti Porou. He was named after Hēnare Kōhere, who had died in WWI in France in 1916. The lexicographer Hōri Ngata (1919–1989), his nephew, was his eldest brother Mac's son. Whai Ngata was Hōri Ngata's son.

Ngata received his education at Waiomatatini School, Te Aute College, and Victoria University of Wellington. His tertiary studies were interrupted by WWII, but against the expectations of his father, he did not enlist immediately. He had a new girlfriend, Lorna Mete-Kingi, whom he had met at Victoria. He enlisted in October 1939 and received his military training at Trentham Military Camp. Before he went overseas, he married Mete-Kingi at Putiki near Wanganui on 24 February 1940. With the rank of sergeant major, he left New Zealand as part of the 28th Māori Battalion in May 1940. He initially went to England, then to Egypt in 1941 and later that year to Greece. On 29 April 1941, he was part of the large group of Māori Battalion soldiers captured by German forces. They remained prisoners of war in a German camp until they were liberated by American forces in 1945. The following year, Ngata graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce. they took her mokopuna (either a grandchild or grand-niece) Wikitoria ("Wiki") Whyte as an 11-year-old who had until then been raised by them. In 1950, Lorna Ngata's sister-in-law was expecting a seventh child and Lorna asked whether they could have the child after birth; they named the boy Apirana ("Api") Turupa Maihi. In 1951, they adopted the then 11-year-old Sue Hinehou Rahera Cooper. She was a daughter of Ngata's late sister Hana Cooper (1909–1940). He was a member of the Gisborne / East Coast Regional Development Council from 1973 to 1978. For a time, he was a member of the Gisborne Regional Committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. He retired from his accountancy practice in 1990.

Political career Ngata was active in the National Party. He was one of five candidates who stood for selection in the Eastern Maori electorate for the 1954 election, but was defeated by Claude Anaru, the deputy-mayor of Rotorua. From 1967 to 1969, Ngata was Māori vice-president of the National Party. For the 1969 election, he was their candidate for Eastern Maori but was defeated by the Labour Party incumbent, Paraone Reweti.

Death Ngata died on 11 December 2011 at his home in Gisborne and was buried at Taruheru Lawn Cemetery. In 1979, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (LLD) from his alma mater. In the 1982 New Year Honours, his OBE was upgraded to Knight Commander. His wife was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service.