Sir Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta (26 April 1939 – 1 February 2001) was a prominent

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 ...

politician. He was born Robert Jeremiah Ormsby and changed his name by deed poll. Mahuta was the first Māori leader to negotiate a satisfactory compensation settlement with the New Zealand government for tribal land confiscated under European settlement in the fledgling colony. In a deal completed in late 1994, he won a package worth NZ$170m for his

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 ...

tribe for the seizure of 485,000 hectares of land in the North Island's

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region 131 years earlier. Significantly for all Māori, the settlement included the first formal apology given by the Crown to the indigenous people for historical wrongs during colonisation.

Family

He was born Robert Jeremiah Ormsby in Te Kuiti, on 26 April 1939. His father, also Robert Jeremiah Ormsby, was Māori. His mother was Te Amohia Ormsby, and his maternal grandmother was Piupiu Te Wherowhero, a leader within the ''kahui ariki'' (Māori royal family). Piupiu was a daughter of Te Wherowhero, the younger son of King

Tāwhiao Tāwhiao (Tūkāroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894) was leader of the Waikato tribes, the second Māori King, and a religious figure. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta (Hapū) of Waikato. Biography T ...

. Robert Ormsby was adopted by King Korokī at four weeks old, and became the brother of Princess Piki, later the Māori Queen, Dame

Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) was the Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her title Te Arikinui (meaning ''Paramount C ...

. He changed his name by deed poll to Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta when he was 24. Mahuta married Raiha (née Edmonds) in 1964 and had one son and two daughters. His eldest is a son Tukaroto Mahuta (who has three sons and a daughter). His elder daughter, Nanaia, is a Labour MP (and has one son) and his younger daughter is Tipa (who has one daughter and a granddaughter).

Career

Mahuta studied at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and the title of his master's thesis was ''Whaikōrero a study of formal Māori speech''. He was the director of Māori Studies and Research at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

from 1972 to 1977. He studied at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Located in north Oxford along the River Cherwell, Wolfson is an all-graduate college with around sixty governing body fellows, in addition to both research and ...

, in 1977. Mahuta served as a

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

fisheries commissioner, chairman of the Māori Development Corporation and chairman of the Tainui Māori Trust Board. For his services to the Māori people, he was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Tributes

He died in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

aged 61. Robert Mahuta was a "warrior in the true sense", said former Member of Parliament Sir Douglas Graham. "Sir Robert's achievements are unsurpassed, irrespective of the troubles in recent times," said former

Minister of Māori Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Parekura Horomia Parekura Tureia Horomia (9 November 1950 – 29 April 2013) was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Māori Affairs between 2000 and 2008. Early life Horomia was born in Tolaga Bay of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga Hauiti, ...

References

External links

Tributes for Sir Robert MahutaTvnz.co.nzTeara.govt.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahuta, Robert 1936 births 2001 deaths New Zealand Māori academics University of Waikato faculty Ngāti Mahuta people Waikato Tainui people People from Te Kuiti New Zealand adoptees Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit