William Turakiuta Cooper (c.1886 – 4 August 1949) was a New Zealand interpreter and land officer.

Personal life

Cooper was 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, identifying with the

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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai R ...

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about 1886. His second wife was

Whina Cooper Dame Whina Cooper (9 December 1895 – 26 March 1994) was a respected (Māori elder), who worked for many years for the rights of her people, and particularly to improve the lot of Māori women. She is remembered for leading the 1975 Māori la ...

. Cooper was one of three members of a royal commission set up in 1926 to inquire into confiscations of native lands after the land wars of the nineteenth century as well as other grievances alleged by Māori. The commission has come to be known as the Sim Commission. The other two commissioners were

William Sim Sir William Alexander Sim (13 September 1858 – 29 August 1928) was a New Zealand lawyer and judge. He was born in Wanganui, New Zealand, and died in Wellington. Wilfrid Sim was his son. In the 1924 King's Birthday Honours, Sim was appo ...

and Vernon Herbert Reed. The Commission reported back to the Government in 1928.

References

1880s births 1949 deaths Interpreters Ngāti Kahungunu people New Zealand Māori public servants People from Muriwai 20th-century translators {{NewZealand-gov-bio-stub