John Atirau Asher (8 August 1892 – 14 December 1966) was a New Zealand tribal leader, politician, interpreter and racehorse owner. Of

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 ...

descent, he identified with the

Ngati Pikiao ''Ngati'' is a 1987 New Zealand feature film directed by Barry Barclay, written by Tama Poata and produced by John O'Shea. Production ''Ngati'' is of historical and cultural significance in New Zealand as it is the first feature film written an ...

, Ngati Pukenga and Te Arawa iwi. He was born in Tauranga, New Zealand, on 8 August 1892. Asher was the second-youngest of 11 children. His five brothers all became prominent rugby union and

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

players, including Ernie and

Albert Asher Arapeta Paurini Wharepapa (3 December 1879 – 8 January 1965), or Albert Asher as he was more commonly known, was a New Zealand List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballe ...

. In the

1965 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

, Asher was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to the Māori people.

References

1892 births 1966 deaths Interpreters Ngāti Pikiao people Ngāti Pūkenga people Te Arawa people People from Tauranga New Zealand hoteliers 20th-century translators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Democrat Party (1934) politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election {{Māori-bio-stub