Ngāneko Minhinnick

Dame Ngāneko Kaihau Minhinnick (15 August 1939 – 15 June 2017) was a New Zealand Māori leader.

Biography Born on 15 August 1939 of Ngāti Te Ata descent, Minhinnick grew up in Waiuku and was one of 15 children. From an early age she was chosen by her people as a future leader, attending Māori Land Court hearings from the age of 11, and becoming kaitiaki of Tāhuna Marae when she was 19 years old. She had married her husband, Eden Minhinnick, when she was 16.

In 1985, Minhinnick was one of the leaders of the Manukau Harbour Claim concerning pollution of the harbour to the Waitangi Tribunal. She represented her iwi at the United Nations Human Rights Council in 1988, Her investiture was at Government House in Wellington on 5 September 2013.

Minhinnick died on 15 June 2017, and her tangihanga (a traditional Māori funeral rite) was held at Tāhuna Marae.