Maori Hero - Maui Pomare

Maori Hero - Maui Pomare

Where he was born, lived and died

Sir Maui Pomare - full name is Sir Maui Wiremu Pita Naera Pomare, (born January 13, 1876, Pahou Pa, New Zealand - died in June 27, 1930, Los Angeles, California, U.S.). Sir Maui Pomare was a Maori statesman and physician whose public health work helped revive New Zealand’s Maori population, which had declined nearly to extinction by the late 19th century.

Where he went to school and education

Maui attended primary schools at Waitara and the Chathams, St Stephen's Native Boys' School, and the Church of England Grammar School in Parnell, Auckland. Because his parents were followers of Te Whiti he also sometimes lived at Parihaka, and was present when the Armed Constabulary invaded the settlement in 1881.

What he was famous for and what he did

As a member of Parliament from 1911 to 1930 and minister for the Maori race (1912–28), Pomare helped form two royal commissions that allowed the Taranaki Maori to buy back their ancestral lands, and compensated tribes that had lost land in the Waitara district. His term as Minister of Health (1923–26) under William F. Massey was noted for the reorganisation of New Zealand’s mental hospitals. 

As minister for the Cook Islands (1916–28), Pomare helped to improve the islands’ educational and legal systems and fought monopoly trading interests. 

After his health declined in 1928, he collaborated with James Cowan in writing The Legends of the Maori.

He was knighted in 1922.