Hōri Kerei Taiaroa (born 1830s or early 1840s – 4 August 1905), also known as Huriwhenua, was a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

member of the

New Zealand parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

and the paramount chief of the southern

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim), Mount Mahanga and Kahurangi Point ...

. The son of Ngāi Tahu leader

Te Mātenga Taiaroa Te Mātenga Taiaroa ( 1795 – 2 February 1863) was a leader of Ngāi Tahu, a Māori iwi (tribe) of the South Island of New Zealand. Taiaroa belonged to Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki and Ngāti Moki hapū of Ngāi Tahu, which were centred on Taumutu, a ...

and Mawera Taiaroa, he was born at Ōtākou on the

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula ( mi, Muaūpoko) is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies sou ...

in the 1830s or early 1840s. He represented the

Southern Maori Southern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Eastern Maori, Western Maori and Eastern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, an ...

electorate from 1871 to February 1879, when he appointed to the Legislative Council. He was disqualified from the Legislative Council in August 1880 over a technicality, which caused bitterness and resentment among Māori. When appointed by Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

Taiaroa held (and continued to hold) a salaried (government) office, hence was not eligible to sit in the council, despite having attended three sessions. He was drawing a salary as a Native Assessor and it was suggested that a Validation Act would have been passed for a European member in that situation. In 1881 Ihaia Tainui who had held the electorate since 1879 resigned so that Taiaroa could resume the electorate. Taiaroa then held the electorate from 1881 to 1885 when he was again appointed to the Legislative Council, where he served for 20 years until his death. Taiaroa was active in pursuing Ngāi Tahu land claims in Parliament. Taiaroa's son

John Taiaroa John Grey "Jack" Taiaroa (16 September 1862 – 31 December 1907), of Ngāi Tahu descent, was a New Zealand rugby union player. A halfback, he played nine matches for the New Zealand national team in 1884—the warm-up in Wellington and all eig ...

played all for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

in their 1884 tour of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and went on to work as a lawyer in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

References

19th-century births 1905 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Ngāi Tahu people New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council People from Otago Peninsula 19th-century New Zealand politicians Ellison family {{NewZealand-politician-stub