Mihi Kōtukutuku Stirling (1870–1956) was a New Zealand

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 ...

tribal leader and prominent landowner in the Raukokore district. She was a member of the

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zeala ...

and

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (Iwi is the Maori word for tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early ...

Life

Mihi Kōtukutuku was born in Pohaturoa,

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

, New Zealand in 1870. Her parents were each of the senior line in their respective ; Mihi was their third daughter, but her eldest sister had drowned before Mihi was born, and her second sister died young. Their deaths were attributed to (witchcraft) motivated by disapproval of having women destined for chiefly office. To avert the curse, Mihi was advised not to marry a local man. Accordingly, in 1896 she married architect Duncan Stirling, originally from Riverton, in the church he had built in Raukokore. The couple had ten children and lived in a large house that Duncan built, locally known as "Stirling Castle". The Stirlings took up farming in addition to Duncan Stirling's building business. Stirling was an expert in growing exceptionally large

kūmara The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoot ...

by traditional methods, which she supplied to all major local . When the

Native Land Court Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

investigated local land titles in 1919, Stirling was awarded much of the district on the strength of her father's successful claim in the previous century. Stirling generously included several other local families in the titles, and was a successful land investor, leveraging her shares in the Tawaroa land block to set up the

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

industry in the region. As chief, Stirling took an active role in preserving

tikanga Māori Tikanga is a Māori concept incorporating practices and values from mātauranga Māori, Māori knowledge. Tikanga is translated into the English language with a wide range of meanings — culture, custom, ethic, etiquette, fashion, formali ...

. She was one of the few women of her generation in the district who had the right to speak on

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

. This right was from time to time challenged by male leaders, most famously the

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Mita Taupopoki Mita Taupopoki ( – 14 January 1935) was a notable Māori tribal leader of New Zealand. He identified with Ngāti Wāhiao, a hapū (subtribe) of the Tūhourangi iwi of Te Arawa. He was born near Lake Rotorua, New Zealand, probably in 1845 ...

, who told her to get off "his" marae. She stood her ground and when he had finished his objections she defended her position. She recited her , showing that she was descended from a lineage senior to his. She was not on ''his'' marae, she was on ''her'' marae. She insulted him by exposing her genitals, telling the chief that that was where he came from. Those assembled were asked to gainsay her speech but no one came forward. Exposing your genitals is a Maori gesture known as and this countered the insult that was aimed at her. Stirling was a lifelong supporter of Sir

Āpirana Ngata Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in Parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work ...

. She funded his land investments in the name of

and was involved, along with her husband and their second son Eruera, in his campaigns for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. Unlike some of his other supporters, she remained loyal when he resigned from Parliament in disgrace over misappropriation of funds in the

Department of Native Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

. When he died she led the laments at his . In recognition for her community service, Stirling was awarded a medal and certificate from Buckingham Palace in 1911 on the occasion of the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, and in 1953 she was presented to Queen Elizabeth II during the royal visit to Rotorua. She died of breast cancer at the age of 87 and was survived by Duncan Stirling, who was then 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Mihi Kotukutuku 1870 births 1956 deaths Ngāti Porou people Te Whānau-ā-Apanui people Māori tribal leaders