Dame Whina Cooper (9 December 1895 – 26 March 1994) was a respected (

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 Co ...

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 land march from Te Hapua 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 ...

, a distance of , at the age of 79. Her wide influence and nationally recognised activity led her to be acknowledged with awards in both the British (Imperial) and New Zealand Royal Honours Systems, and by her own people, who bestowed the title ('Mother of the Nation') upon her. She is the subject of the 2022 film '' Whina''.

Early life

Dame Whina Cooper was born Hōhepine Te Wake, daughter of community leader and Catholic

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the re ...

Heremia Te Wake and Kare Pauro Kawatihi, of the Te Rarawa iwi, at Te Karaka, Hokianga. From an early age, she showed an interest in her father's role, and in history and

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

. Her education began at Whakarapa Native School. In 1907, she attended

St Joseph's Māori Girls' College St Joseph's Māori Girls' College or Hato Hōhepa is a Catholic, integrated, boarding and day college in Taradale, New Zealand, for girls in Year 7 to Year 13. It is the largest Māori girls' boarding secondary school in New Zealand. History St ...

. After high school, she returned to Whakarapa (later

Panguru Panguru is a community in the northern Hokianga harbour, in Northland, New Zealand. The Whakarapa Stream flows from the Panguru Range in the Warawara Forest to the west, through Panguru and into the Hokianga. Demographics The SA1 statistical a ...

) where her father wanted her to enter into an arranged marriage with Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V, leader of Ngati Tuwharetoa. Cooper refused, and instead worked at a local co-operative store. She worked as a teacher for a brief time, at Pawarenga Native School. However, as one of only three teachers, she became frustrated, and found her time stretched between teaching and helping her own community. She left teaching in 1914 and was a housekeeper at the Catholic presbytery of Rāwene for two years. She kept her Catholic Christian faith her whole life.

Political activism

1914–1935: Whakarapa

Cooper's first involvement in politics was in the form of a land dispute over an area of leased mudflats in around 1914. The farmer, Bob Holland, who rented the land, wanted to drain the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

for farming. That would have obstructed current use of the land by local iwi for gathering seafood and racing horses during the drier months. Heremia challenged the lease in court, and Cooper led a group of protesters to fill in Holland's drains. The protesters were eventually charged with trespassing, but they had stalled events long enough for Heremia to be successful, and the lease was withdrawn by the Marine Department. In 1916, she returned to work at the co-operative store, and around this time, met her first husband, Richard Gilbert, of

Ngāti Wai 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, ...

. She married him on 10 May 1917, with only her parents' knowledge, which led to some unhappiness with her wider family and community, who felt they should have been consulted. After her parents died, they left the family home, and moved to family land at Te Karaka, where they had to build their own home. By 1920, they had two children, and were able to borrow money from a local priest to purchase her father's home and farm at Whakarapa and the local store. There, she played a leading role in business and the community, including in 1923 calling a hui that led to the name of Whakarapa being changed to

. Her community leadership impressed politician 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 ...

, who invited her to a national hui in 1932. She worked alongside him to promote

land development programmes in the Hokianga. Through him, she also met William Cooper of Ngāti Kahungunu, who became her second husband after Richard Gilbert died of cancer in 1935.

1949–1969s: Auckland

She moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in 1949 when her second husband, William Cooper, died. Her political activity changed from local to national. In September 1951, she was elected first president of the new

Māori Women's Welfare League The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori women and children. It held its first conference in Wellington in September 1951. The League's official aims ...

"which was able to improve things notably for Maori women", working on health, housing, education, and welfare. In 1957, she stepped down as president, and the annual conference rewarded her with the title ''Te Whaea o te Motu'' ("Mother of the Nation"). During the 1960s, she worked on a local level around Auckland, but kept largely out of the national spotlight.

1975: Land March

This changed in 1975 when a coalition of Māori groups asked her to lead them in a protest against the loss of Māori land. She agreed, proposing a hikoi (a symbolic march) from the northern tip of the North Island to Parliament in

at the other end of the island. During September and October 1975, the nearly 80-year-old Cooper again became nationally recognised, walking at the head of the Māori land march from Te Hapua to

, a distance of . The slogan of the march was "not one more acre of Maori land"; they demanded acknowledgement of property rights under the Treaty of Waitangi.

Honours and awards

*In the 1953 Coronation Honours, Cooper was appointed a

Member 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. *In the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to

Commander 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 ...

, for services to Māori welfare and culture. *In the 1981 New Year Honours, Cooper was further promoted to

Dame Commander 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 ...

, for services to the Māori people. *In 1990, Cooper received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Ze ...

. *In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, she became the twentieth appointee to the

Order of New Zealand The Order of New Zealand is the highest honour in the New Zealand royal honours system, created "to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity". It was instituted by royal warrant on 6 F ...

, New Zealand's highest civil honour. *In 1993 she was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

Death and legacy

Cooper returned to

in the Hokianga in 1983 and died there, aged 98, in 1994. Her legacy includes calling the 1923 hui that led to the name of Whakarapa being changed to Panguru. She is remembered as a leader who helped to shape

New Zealand legislation This article gives lists of New Zealand acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries w ...

relating to Māori people, as well as helping to develop the community in Auckland. However she is most remembered for winning over the hearts of so many people when she led the 1975 land march, in both Māori and Pākehā communities. She has also served as an inspiration to other Māori women, such as Tiahuia Abraham, who has been a member of the Māori Women’s Welfare League for 53 years.

Memorials

On 3 February 2020, a memorial at the Waipuna Marae was unveiled in Panguru, Hokianga, in the presence of prime minister Jacinda Ardern. The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

statue was a sculptural representation of a famous photograph of Cooper, holding the hand of her granddaughter Irenee Cooper, as they were starting the 1975 land march. Her son, Joe Cooper, unveiled the statue. Ardern promised that her story would be included in the new school history curriculum.

Honorific eponym

In 2020, the tunnel boring machine that is being used to construct the twin tunnels of the

City Rail Link The City Rail Link (CRL) is a rail project currently under construction in Auckland, New Zealand. The project consists of a 3.5 km long double-track rail tunnel underneath Auckland's city centre, between Britomart Transport Centre and M ...

in Auckland between Mount Eden station and Aotea station was named "Dame Whina Cooper".

Film

Cooper is the subject of a biographical film called '' Whina'', which was released in selected cinemas on 23 June 2022. The film was directed by

James Napier Robertson James William Napier Robertson (born 24 March 1982) is a New Zealand writer, film director, actor and producer, who wrote and directed 2009 film '' I'm Not Harry Jenson'', and 2014 film ''The Dark Horse'', for which he won Best Director, Best S ...

and Paula Whetu Jones. Cooper was portrayed by

Miriama McDowell Miriama McDowell is a New Zealand actor, director and playwright. She is a graduate of Toi Whakaari. McDowell has a long association with Massive Theatre Company in Auckland, and has both acted and directed for the Pop-up Globe, including dire ...

and

Rena Owen Renas may refer to: Places * Rena, Badajoz, a municipality in Extremadura, Spain *Rena, Norway, a village in Innlandet county, Norway * Rena, Washington, a community in Clallam County, Washington, United States People * Rena (given name), list of ...

, with the former portraying an adult, and the latter an elderly, Cooper.

References

External links

* from the ''

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went onlin ...

''
Te Matakite O Aotearoa – The Maori Land March
– Full-length documentary about the 1975 march, featuring interviews with Whina Cooper on NZ On Screen
Whina: Te Whaea o Te Motu
, 1992 documentary on the life of Dame Whina Cooper {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Whina 1895 births 1994 deaths Māori activists New Zealand women activists New Zealand activists New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand Roman Catholics People from the Hokianga Te Rarawa people Members of the Order of New Zealand New Zealand Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St Joseph's Māori Girls' College Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 People of the Māori Women's Welfare League