Pei Te Hurinui Jones (9 September 1898 – 7 May 1976) 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 ...

political leader, writer, genealogist, and historian. He identified with the

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on the ...

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, an ...

. As a leader of the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato. There are oth ...

confederation of iwi and of the Kingitanga movement, he participated in negotiations with the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

government seeking compensation for land seizures, served on several boards, and authored a number of works in

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, including the first history of the Tainui people.

Early life

Pei's mother, Pare Te Kōrae was descended from the Ngati Maniapoto iwi. His father, David Lewis, was a Pakeha storekeeper at Poro-o-Tarāo of

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish descent. They had two sons,

Michael Rotohiko Jones Michael Rotohiko Jones (14 September 1895 – 24 January 1978) was a New Zealand interpreter, land agent, sportsman, private secretary, public administrator and broadcaster. Early life Rotohiko was born in Poro-o-Tarao, King Country, New Zeal ...

('Mick'), born 1895, and Pei, who was born in

Harataunga Kennedy Bay (also called Kennedy's Bay and Harataunga) is a locality in the north eastern Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand. The Harataunga and Omoho Streams flow from the Coromandel Range past the settlement and into the bay to the east. Ther ...

Thames/Coromandel The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the w ...

, on 9 September 1898. Lewis did not return to New Zealand after the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Pare Te Kōrae remarried to David Jones, of Nga Puhi, and both sons adopted their step-father's surname. They moved to Te Kawakawa, where Pei's maternal grand-uncle (''korua''), Te Hurinui Te Wano acted as his foster-father "profoundly affecting the rest of his life". Te Hurinui Te Wano died in 1911 and Pare Te Kōrae died in 1915. Pei was known as 'the child with significant dreams' because he was troubled by

night terrors Night terror, also called sleep terror, is a sleep disorder causing feelings of panic or dread and typically occurring during the first hours of stage 3–4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and lasting for 1 to 10 minutes. It can last long ...

which the tribe believed to have a supernatural element. Two ceremonies were undertaken to cure him of these dreams, which "confirmed a commitment to his traditional Māori heritage. Pei had very limited formal education. He was enrolled at Wesley Training College in 1913, but attended rarely, and was largely self-taught.

Political career

In 1920, Pei joined the Maori Affairs Department, working first at

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

and then as Land Title Consolidation Officer in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Because he was Maori, he was not allowed to hold any position with financial responsibility, which eventually led him to leave the department. Pei, along with his brother Michael Rotohiko, and

Leslie George Kelly Leslie George Kelly (10 May 1906 – 6 August 1959) was a New Zealand journalist, engine driver and historian. Kelly's father, Sidney Mellish Kelly, was descended from Edward Meurant, a trader and interpreter at Kawhia in the 1830s, and his wife ...

, was involved in the Kingitanga, as an advisor to Te Puea of Turangawaewae, the Maori king

Korokī Mahuta Korokī Te Rata Mahuta Tāwhiao Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (16 June 1906 – 18 May 1966) was the fifth Māori King. He was the elder son of the fourth Māori King, Te Rata Mahuta, and Te Uranga Matai of the Ngāti Korokī tribe. He was named Koro ...

and his successor, Queen Te Atairangikaahu. He considered himself senior in his genealogical ties to Te Puea with whom he worked. Te Puea, referred to Pei and Rotohiko as "those bloody Hurai" (Jews), as their father, Daniel Lewis, was Jewish.''Being Pakeha Now''. M. King. Penguin. 2004.P 130 In 1928, the Sim Native Land Confiscation commission recommended that Tainui should be compensated for the land confiscations that followed the

invasion of the Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

in 1863. This initiated a long series of negotiations, in which Pei served as a representative of the Kingitanga, culminating in the

Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Claims Settlement Act 1946 The Waikato-Maniapoto Maori Claims Settlement Act 1946 was an act passed by the New Zealand Parliament on 7 October 1946. The purpose of the act was "to effect a Final Settlement of certain Claims relating to the Confiscation of Maori Lands in t ...

. Pei served as first chairman of the Tainui Maori Trust Board, established by the Act to receive and administer funds received from the New Zealand government. He was involved with the Maori Land Court, and with the consolidation of Māori land, and with the development of Māori land in the

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

, principally through the establishment in 1945 of the Puketapu Incorporation, which managed logging, timber milling, and sheep farms in the

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

region, on behalf of Maori shareholders. It was sold to the

Kauri Timber Company The Kauri Timber Company, Limited (KTC) Auckland was from 1888 to 1971 a large logging and sawmilling company in New Zealand. KTC was formed in 1888, with a capital of £1,250,000, paid up to £750,000, and its operations were of a very comprehe ...

in 1960. Pei was the second president of the

New Zealand Māori Council The New Zealand Māori Council is a body representing and consulting the Māori people of New Zealand. The council is one of the oldest Māori representative groups. Recently, the council increased its focus on social challenges and issues that ...

, a board member of the Maniapoto District Maori Council, and the Taumarunui Borough Council. Jones was a strong National Party advocate. He stood for Parliament several times between and . In 1930 he stood as an Independent in the for Western Maori. In the , when he stood as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the Western Maori electorate (with National Party support), he came second after

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Toko Ratana Haami Tokouru Ratana (21 July 1894 – 30 October 1944) was a New Zealand politician and president of the Rātana Church. He joined Eruera Tirikatene in parliament as the second Rātana Independent Member of Parliament (MP), elected for the We ...

. He stood as the National Party candidate for Western Maori in , , , and , although a newspaper report said he was "Unofficial Labour" in 1943. In the 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours, Jones 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.

Writings

Pei wrote extensively in

and English. He wrote the first Māori translations of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'', ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'', and ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', as well as Edward FitzGerald's '' Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam''. He completed '' Ngā Mōteatea'', a collection of Māori songs begun by

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 ...

, producing nearly all of the English translations. In English he wrote ''King Pōtatau,'' a historical novel on

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took the ...

, the first Maori king. He was also a frequent contributor to the ''

Journal of the Polynesian Society The Polynesian Society is a non-profit organisation based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, dedicated to the scholarly study of the history, ethnography, and mythology of Oceania. History The society was co-founded in 1892 by Percy ...

'' and ''

Te Ao Hou / The New World ''Te Ao Hou / The New World'' was a quarterly magazine published in New Zealand from 1952 to 1975. It was published by the Māori Affairs Department and printed by Pegasus Press. It was bilingual, with articles in both English and Māori, and c ...

''. Pei served as chairman of the

Dictionary Revision Committee, which revised Henry Williams' ''Dictionary of the New Zealand Language'' (1844, 1852, 1871), and was appointed to the New Zealand Geographic Board for expertise in Māori language and history. Pei was very invested in the traditions and whakapapa (genealogy) of Tainui and wrote the first history of the Tainui people, in Māori. He began collecting material from oral sources in the late 1920s, publishing ''Māhinārangi'', an account of the construction of the Māhinārangi meeting house at Turangawaewae marae in 1929. By 1936, Pei had produced a manuscript which covered Tainui history from the arrival of the

Tainui canoe In Māori tradition, ''Tainui'' was one of the great ocean-going canoes in which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand approximately 800 years ago. In Māori tradition, the ''Tainui'' waka was commanded by the chief Hoturoa, who had decided ...

in New Zealand, until the early nineteenth century. In 1943, when Pei was suffering from cancer and expected to die, he gave the manuscript to Leslie George Kelly to produce a typescript. Kelly subsequently incorporated the material into his 1949 book ''Tainui: The Story of Hoturoa and his Descendants'', without attribution. Pei published a short text in 1950, "Te Korero o Tainui". He drafted a complete manuscript in the 1970s with the assistance of G. H. Rowell. After his death, the manuscript was edited by

Bruce Biggs Bruce Grandison Biggs (4 September 1921 – 18 October 2000) was an influential figure in the academic field of Māori studies in New Zealand. The first academic appointed (1950) to teach the Māori language at a New Zealand university, he taug ...

and published as ''Nga Iwi o Tainui'' in 1995, with notes and facing English translation. Dame Te Atairangikaahu said "we look upon these words as the living presence of our tupuna (ancestors) and so they are a living

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Maori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current d ...

for us all." He also published numerous pamphlets regarding the foundations of specific marae. He was awarded an honorary degree by Waikato University in 1968 to recognise his major contribution to Waikato Tainui literature and development.

Personal life

Pei met his first partner, Hepina Te Miha Teri of

Ngati Tuwharetoa ''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 ...

, around 1916 and married her in hospital in Hawera on 16 October 1943 while he was suffering from cancer. Hepina died in 1956. They adopted three children including Brian Hauauru Jones. He married for a second time to Kate Huia Apatari in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

on 6 January 1958. He died at Taumarunui on 7 May 1976 and is buried at Te Tōkanga-nui-a-noho marae in Te Kuiti next to his foster father, Te Hurinui Te Wano.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Pei Te Hurinui 1898 births 1976 deaths New Zealand translators 20th-century New Zealand historians Interpreters New Zealand Jews New Zealand genealogists Ngāti Maniapoto people New Zealand Māori writers New Zealand Māori public servants New Zealand National Party politicians People from Coromandel Peninsula Māori politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1938 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election 20th-century translators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Wesley College, Auckland