Dame Ngāneko Kaihau Minhinnick (15 August 1939 – 15 June 2017) was a New Zealand

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 ...

leader.

Biography

Born on 15 August 1939 of

Ngāti Te Ata Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

descent, Minhinnick grew up in

Waiuku Waiuku is a rural town in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuary, estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour, and lies on the isthmus of the Āwhitu Peninsula, which extends to th ...

and was one of 15 children. From an early age she was chosen by her people as a future leader, attending

Māori Land Court The Māori Land Court () is the specialist court of record in New Zealand that hears matters relating to Māori land. Established in 1865 as the Native Land Court, its purpose was to translate customary communal landholdings into individual ti ...

hearings from the age of 11, and becoming

kaitiaki Kaitiakitanga is a New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship of the sky, the sea, and the land. A kaitiaki is a guardian, and the process and practices of protecting and looking after the environment are referred to as k ...

of Tāhuna Marae when she was 19 years old. She had married her husband, Eden Minhinnick, when she was 16. Minhinnick was named the

New Zealand Māori Council The New Zealand Māori Council () is a body that represents and consults the Māori people of New Zealand. As one of the oldest Māori representative groups, the council exerts pressure on New Zealand governments to protect Treaty of Waitangi ri ...

's young woman of the year in 1970, recognising her involvement in community affairs as a justice of the peace,

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

interpreter, and teacher of Māori language at night classes. In 1985, Minhinnick was one of the leaders of the Manukau Harbour Claim concerning pollution of the harbour to the

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on c ...

. The tribunal's report, and Minhinnick's subsequent submissions to the government, were factors in the development of the

Resource Management Act 1991 The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zea ...

. She represented her

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

at the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

in 1988, and invited a

United Nations special rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...

to Tāhuna Marae. She also sat on the

Auckland Regional Council The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

. In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Minhinnick was appointed a

Dame 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 ...

for services to Māori and conservation. Her

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian kn ...

was at

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 5 September 2013. Minhinnick died on 15 June 2017, and her

tangihanga , or more commonly, , is a traditional funeral rite practised by the Māori people of New Zealand. were traditionally held on , and are still strongly associated with the tribal grounds, but are now also held at homes and funeral parlours. Wh ...

(a traditional Māori funeral rite) was held at Tāhuna Marae.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minhinnick, Nganeko 1939 births 2017 deaths Ngāti Te Ata New Zealand environmentalists New Zealand women environmentalists Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand justices of the peace Auckland regional councillors