Tiaki Omana (18 December 1891 – 24 June 1970), also known by the English name Jack Ormond, was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and politician. He won the

Rātana The Rātana movement ( mi, Te Haahi Rātana) is a church and pan-''iwi'' political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th-century New Zealand. The Rātana Church has its headquarters at the settlement of Rātana Pā near W ...

Movement's fourth Maori electorate of

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

in 1943 from

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 ...

who had held it since 1905.

Biography

Early life

He was born John (Jack) Ormond on 18 December 1891 at Mahia, but became commonly known as Tiaki Omana. He was the fourth child of George Canning Ormond, a sheepfarmer, and his wife Maraea Kiwiwharekete who was of

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

. He was of aristocratic

Ngāti Rongomaiwahine Ngāti Rongomaiwahine or Rongomaiwahine is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) traditionally centred in the Māhia Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. In the 2006 New Zealand census, 2006 census, 4,254 people identified as Rongomaiw ...

descent and was also a grandson of

John Davies Ormond John Davies Ormond (31 May 1831 – 6 October 1917) was a New Zealand politician whose positions included Superintendent (politics), Superintendent of Hawke's Bay Province, Minister of Public Works and member of the New Zealand Legislative Coun ...

, first Superintendent of

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

. A keen rugby player, even after joining the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion and fighting in France during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was still able to play on the wing for the Pioneer Battalion team. Omana played

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

matches for his province,

, and once 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 1923 against a touring team from

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 ...

. Omana was a sheepfarmer on the isolated

Māhia Peninsula Māhia Peninsula (Maori: or ) is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, in the Hawke's Bay region, between the towns of Wairoa and Gisborne. Rocket Lab has set up its Launch Complex 1 close to Ahuriri Point at the southe ...

before becoming a Member of Parliament.

Member of Parliament

koata Koata was the term for the four Māori electorates reserved for Māori in Parliament, used in 1928 by T W Ratana, who called himself Piri Wiri Tua or the campaigner. From the Māori language and literally meaning a quarter, the word is applied t ...

of the 'second cut', Omana first contested the ''Tairawhiti'' electorate of

in , finally winning the electorate in 1943. As a Rātana/Labour member, he raised the issue of land claims, housing and health for Māori, and discrimination in social security. Omana held the electorate until his retirement in 1963, when he returned to farming and to his original

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

faith. Former press gallery reporter Leslie Hobbs wrote that "Jack Omana, was one of the most popular and respected members of the House, but he never worked up any enthusiasm for party politics, particularly the fighting side of it. He liked everyone too much and everyone liked him." He was noted as frequently bringing boxes of kumara grown his farm in Mahia back to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

as presents for his friend, but political adversary,

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

(a fellow farmer).

Death

Omana died on 24 June 1970 at Napier and was buried at Mokotahi, Mahia Beach.

Personal life

Omana married Nellie Airini Elizabeth Perry at the Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist in Napier on 23 February 1921. The couple had twin children, a girl and a boy. They soon divorced on 29 November 1922. He later remarried to Polly Gemmell on 6 February 1926 at

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

. They had one child, a daughter who died in infancy. Polly herself died in 1949. Omana married a third time to Rangiwhakio Rarere (née Kemara), a widow, at Wairoa on 15 March 1962. She died soon after in November that same year.

Ratana name

Tiaki Omana was also referred to as ''Hamuera'' after Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana's son Hamuera Ratana, symbol of the end of

tohunga In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...

witchcraft.

Notes

References

* * Henderson, James Mcleod (1963). ''Ratana The Man, The Church, The Movement'' (1st ed.) A.H & A.W. Reed Ltd . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omana, Tiaki 1891 births 1970 deaths Ngāti Kahungunu people New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand farmers New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand people of World War I People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch People from Māhia Peninsula Rātana MPs New Zealand Rātanas New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Hawke's Bay rugby union players Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election Rugby union players from the Hawke's Bay Region Tiaki