Maui Pomare
Encyclopedia
Sir Maui Wiremu Pita Naera Pomare, KBE
, CMG
(1875 or 1876 – 27 June 1930) was a New Zealand doctor and politician, being counted among the more prominent Māori political figures. He is particularly known for his efforts to improve Māori health and living conditions.
near Urenui
in Taranaki. His father, Wiremu Naera Pomare, was of Ngāti Mutunga
descent and his mother, Mere Hautonga Nicoll, was of Ngāti Toa
descent. His maternal grandmother, Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi, had been a signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi
. Both of his parents died before he reached adulthood, leaving him in the guardianship of his aunt.
and then Te Aute College
. Although his family wanted him to study law Pomare decided to become a doctor and, in 1895, he began study at a Seventh-day Adventist Church
medical college at Battle Creek
in the US state of Michigan
. He remained in the United States until 1900 and travelled extensively.
In contrast to some of his friends, notably Apirana Ngata
, Pomare was not particularly concerned about the loss of Māori cultural identity, and sponsored the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 which led to loss of many oral traditions. While Pomare and Ngata agreed on the need to modernise Māori living conditions, Pomare did not share Ngata's drive to preserve and protect traditional Māori culture and arts—instead Pomare believed that, eventually, Pākehā
and Māori would merge to form a single culture incorporating the best aspects of both (a common ideal of his iwi
).
Pomare stood for Parliament as an independent
in the Western Maori
electorate that covered Taranaki and the Waikato
. Aided by support from the "Māori King
", Mahuta Tawhiao
, he was successful, displacing the incumbent Henare Kaihau
. He was aligned with the new Reform Party
that had won the largest number of seats. When the party formed a government Pomare was appointed to Cabinet
as a minister without portfolio
, a largely symbolic position. Pomare was quite popular with his party—in part this is likely because he did not promote an independent Māori cultural identity and that fitted well with the Reform Party's generally conservative views. (Meanwhile, Pomare's old friend, Apirana Ngata
, was serving as an MP for the opposition Liberal Party
.)
During World War I Pomare and Ngata joined forces to encourage Māori to join the armed forces. Pomare and Ngata both believed that by participating strongly in the war and fighting to defend the country, Māori would demonstrate to Pākehā that they were full citizens. Pomare angered many of his constituents, however, by eventually accepting conscription
of Maori.
, then a New Zealand territory. He lobbied strongly for more funding to be given to the islands and was responsible for considerable infrastructural improvement. He opposed, however, the idea of self-governance for the islands, saying that they were not yet ready for it. On a number of occasions he overrode laws passed by the islands' own council, causing a certain amount of complaint. On the whole, however, he was well regarded in the Cook Islands, being presented with a silver cup at the end of his service.
Later, in 1923, Pomare was appointed Minister of Health
, his highest office. Due to economic problems the Health Department's budget was low, making it difficult for Pomare to affect any important reforms. Nevertheless, he managed to make gains in some areas, particularly maternity care and equipment sterilisation.
Pomare was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1922 Birthday Honours.
. In the 1928 election
Apirana Ngata
conducted Pomare's campaign on his behalf, despite belonging to the opposition party. Pomare was re-elected. Later Pomare travelled to California in the hope that the climate would be good for his health. He died in Los Angeles on 27 June 1930.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CMG
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(1875 or 1876 – 27 June 1930) was a New Zealand doctor and politician, being counted among the more prominent Māori political figures. He is particularly known for his efforts to improve Māori health and living conditions.
Early life
The date of Pomare's birth is unclear—school records give 24 August 1875 but other sources give 13 January 1876. He was born at a paPa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
near Urenui
Urenui
Urenui is a settlement in northern Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 close to the shore of the North Taranaki Bight, 13 kilometres east of Waitara and 6 km south-west of Mimi...
in Taranaki. His father, Wiremu Naera Pomare, was of Ngāti Mutunga
Ngati Mutunga
Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. Their tribal lands are in north Taranaki, with the principal marae being at Urenui.Prominent leader and anthropologist Te Rangi Hīroa was of Ngāti Mutunga descent.-External links:*...
descent and his mother, Mere Hautonga Nicoll, was of Ngāti Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
descent. His maternal grandmother, Kahe Te Rau-o-te-rangi, had been a signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
. Both of his parents died before he reached adulthood, leaving him in the guardianship of his aunt.
Education
Pomare attended Christchurch Boys' High SchoolChristchurch Boys' High School
Christchurch Boys' High School is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a 12 hectare site between the suburbs of Riccarton and Fendalton, 4 kilometres to the west of central Christchurch. The school also provides boarding facilities for 130 boys, in a...
and then Te Aute College
Te Aute College
Te Aute College is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams, an Anglican missionary, and nephew and son-in-law of Bishop William Williams. It has a strong Māori character.It was built on land provided by Te Whatuiapiti, a hapu...
. Although his family wanted him to study law Pomare decided to become a doctor and, in 1895, he began study at a Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
medical college at Battle Creek
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
in the US state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He remained in the United States until 1900 and travelled extensively.
Department of Health
At the time of Pomare's return to New Zealand there was considerable concern about public health, with the quality of housing and sanitation being a major political issue. The problem was particularly pressing in Māori communities and Pomare, as one of a small number of trained Māori doctors, was selected to serve as Māori Health Officer in the Department of Health. In this role he undertook a number of major campaigns to improve Māori health and met with considerable success. Pomare was highly active in the everyday work of his office, often walking to remote villages to give public speeches. His frequent lectures on health matters gave him considerable skill in oratory.In contrast to some of his friends, notably Apirana Ngata
Apirana Ngata
Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata was a prominent New Zealand politician and lawyer. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have ever served in Parliament, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language.-Early life:One of 15 children, Ngata...
, Pomare was not particularly concerned about the loss of Māori cultural identity, and sponsored the Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 which led to loss of many oral traditions. While Pomare and Ngata agreed on the need to modernise Māori living conditions, Pomare did not share Ngata's drive to preserve and protect traditional Māori culture and arts—instead Pomare believed that, eventually, Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
and Māori would merge to form a single culture incorporating the best aspects of both (a common ideal of his iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
).
Parliament
In the 1911 electionNew Zealand general election, 1911
The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament...
Pomare stood for Parliament as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
in the Western Maori
Western Maori
Western Maori was one of the four former New Zealand Parliamentary Māori electorates, from 1868 to 1996.-Population Centres:The electorate includes the following population centres:* -Tribal Areas:...
electorate that covered Taranaki and the Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
. Aided by support from the "Māori King
Maori King Movement
The Māori King Movement or Kīngitanga is a movement that arose among some of the Māori tribes of New Zealand in the central North Island ,in the 1850s, to establish a role similar in status to that of the monarch of the colonising people, the British, as a way of halting the alienation of Māori land...
", Mahuta Tawhiao
Mahuta Tawhiao
Mahuta Tāwhiao I, Māori King was the third Māori King, reigning from 1894 to 1912, and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 1903 to 1910.-Early life:...
, he was successful, displacing the incumbent Henare Kaihau
Henare Kaihau
Henare Kaihau was a New Zealand Māori politician, serving as Member of the House of Representatives for the Western Maori electorate from 1896 when he defeated Ropata te Ao, to 1911 when he was defeated by Maui Pomare....
. He was aligned with the new Reform Party
New Zealand Reform Party
The Reform Party, formally the New Zealand Political Reform League, was New Zealand's second major political party, having been founded as a conservative response to the original Liberal Party...
that had won the largest number of seats. When the party formed a government Pomare was appointed to Cabinet
New Zealand Cabinet
The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...
as a minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
, a largely symbolic position. Pomare was quite popular with his party—in part this is likely because he did not promote an independent Māori cultural identity and that fitted well with the Reform Party's generally conservative views. (Meanwhile, Pomare's old friend, Apirana Ngata
Apirana Ngata
Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata was a prominent New Zealand politician and lawyer. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have ever served in Parliament, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language.-Early life:One of 15 children, Ngata...
, was serving as an MP for the opposition Liberal Party
New Zealand Liberal Party
The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...
.)
During World War I Pomare and Ngata joined forces to encourage Māori to join the armed forces. Pomare and Ngata both believed that by participating strongly in the war and fighting to defend the country, Māori would demonstrate to Pākehā that they were full citizens. Pomare angered many of his constituents, however, by eventually accepting conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
of Maori.
Ministerial career
In 1916, Pomare was given ministerial responsibility for the Cook IslandsCook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, then a New Zealand territory. He lobbied strongly for more funding to be given to the islands and was responsible for considerable infrastructural improvement. He opposed, however, the idea of self-governance for the islands, saying that they were not yet ready for it. On a number of occasions he overrode laws passed by the islands' own council, causing a certain amount of complaint. On the whole, however, he was well regarded in the Cook Islands, being presented with a silver cup at the end of his service.
Later, in 1923, Pomare was appointed Minister of Health
Minister of Health (New Zealand)
The Minister of Health is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the New Zealand Ministry of Health and the District Health Boards.The present Minister is Tony Ryall, a member of the National Party.-History:...
, his highest office. Due to economic problems the Health Department's budget was low, making it difficult for Pomare to affect any important reforms. Nevertheless, he managed to make gains in some areas, particularly maternity care and equipment sterilisation.
Pomare was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1922 Birthday Honours.
Later life
In 1928 Pomare contracted tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. In the 1928 election
New Zealand general election, 1928
The New Zealand general election of 1928 was held on Tuesday, 13 November in the Māori electorates, and on Wednesday, 14 November in the general electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 23rd session of the New Zealand Parliament...
Apirana Ngata
Apirana Ngata
Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata was a prominent New Zealand politician and lawyer. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have ever served in Parliament, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language.-Early life:One of 15 children, Ngata...
conducted Pomare's campaign on his behalf, despite belonging to the opposition party. Pomare was re-elected. Later Pomare travelled to California in the hope that the climate would be good for his health. He died in Los Angeles on 27 June 1930.