Hēni Materoa Carroll

Hēni Materoa Carroll, Lady Carroll (1852 or 1856–1930), also known as Te Huinga, Hēni Kara, and Reiri Kara (a Māori transliteration of Lady Carroll), was a New Zealand Māori leader, land administrator and philanthropist of Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki. The daughter of the prominent rangatira Riperata Kahutia, she inherited a position of considerable mana in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa and became one of the most influential Māori women on the East Coast.

Early life and whakapapa

Hēni Materoa, also known from childhood as Te Huinga, was born at Makauri, northwest of Tūranga, now Gisborne. Sources differ over her birth date, giving either 27 October 1852 or 29 October 1856.

Her mother, Riperata Kahutia, was a leading rangatira of Rongowhakaata and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, and belonged to the Ngāi Tāwhiri, Ngāi Te Kete and Te Whānau-a-Iwi hapū. Her father, Mīkaere Tūrangi, belonged to Rongowhakaata and was the son of the rangatira Paratene Tūrangi, one of the Tūranga signatories to the Treaty of Waitangi. During the 1923 Pātūtahi Block inquiry Heni Materoa stated: "...Paratene Tūrangi, was one of the leaders of Rongowhakaata while he was alive. My Mother was a leader under Ngāi Tāwhiri and Ngāi Te Kete, I took up their positions after they died."

Through both parents, Materoa was connected to chiefly lines extending across the East Coast from Waiapu to Wairoa. A whakapapa published by Āpirana Ngata traced her maternal descent through Kahutia and Kataraina Kahutia, and her paternal descent through Mīkaera Tūrangi. Her mother's status as a rangatira and specialist in tribal history placed Materoa within a family whose authority preceded its recognition by colonial institutions.

In 1865, during the political and religious upheaval associated with the spread of Pai Mārire in Tūranga, Riperata Kahutia and her people moved closer to the township and established Piripono pā beside Waikanae Creek. Materoa spent much of her childhood there. Although she received little or no formal schooling, she was educated within her whānau in whakapapa, tribal history and customary knowledge.

By 1881 Materoa had inherited interests in at least twenty-five Māori land blocks extending from Makauri and Waikanae to Tolaga Bay. In January that year an application was lodged before the Trust Commissioner recording a settlement under which Hēni Materoa (then Miss Kahutia) conveyed her interests in Makauri, Waikanae and twenty-two other blocks to her mother, Riperata Kahutia, in trust. The arrangement demonstrates that, while still unmarried, Materoa was already one of the district's substantial Māori landowners and that the administration of her estate was closely integrated with Riperata's wider programme of land management and protection.

The couple had no biological children, but raised numerous children from their extended family, particularly those of Pare Keiha. Their household was frequently crowded with relatives, visitors and people requiring assistance. In 1905 the court named her alongside Wiremu Kōnohi, Ereti Tuketenui Amaru, Mini Te Kani and Houpara Kōnohi as a member of the committee responsible for administering the Kaiaua No. 2C block.

These appointments reflected a wider history of Māori women's authority in landholding and management. Historian Kirstine Moffat has identified Materoa among Māori women who sought to advance Māori interests through colonial political structures, while retaining their own bases of customary authority. Ngahuia Te Awekotuku has similarly placed Materoa within a continuing tradition of Māori female leadership grounded in whakapapa, whenua and the public exercise of mana.

Philanthropy and community work

Materoa was a major benefactor of both Māori and the wider Gisborne community. She donated land and money to churches, schools, public facilities and organisations concerned with women and children. Her approach continued the pattern established by Riperata Kahutia, who had used her resources and authority to care for whānau and retain a viable base for her people. The institution continued caring for children affected by illness, bereavement and family disruption for decades after her death.

She gave land for Awapuni School and supported numerous recreational organisations. These included the Kahutia Bowling Club and women's hockey, for which she provided the Carroll Shield for competition between Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay. The closely related Kahutia and Keiha families also provided land for golf, horse racing, schools, parks and other public purposes. In April 1919 she was one of the speakers at the great Gisborne hui welcoming the Māori contingent home from overseas service.

Later life, death and legacy

Sir James Carroll died on 18 October 1926. Materoa's health and interest in public life declined following his death.

At a crowded memorial service in Holy Trinity Church, Bennett described her as the “mother of our Māori people” and emphasised both her pride in her Māori identity and her efforts to improve relations between Māori and Pākehā. Robinson concluded that her influence had crossed racial divisions and that her mana was recognised by Māori and Pākehā throughout New Zealand.