Western Maori

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

The Western Maori electorate extended from South Auckland and the Waikato to Taranaki and the Manawatu. The seat originally went to Wellington. With MMP it was replaced by the Te Tai Hauāuru and Te Puku O Te Whenua electorates in 1996.

The electorate included the following tribal areas: Tainui, Taranaki

The first member of parliament for Western Maori from 1868 was Mete Kīngi Paetahi.^[1] At the nomination meeting in Wanganui, held at the Courthouse, Paetahi was the only candidate proposed.^[2] He was thus elected unopposed.^[3] He represented the electorate of Western Maori from 1868 to 1870. He contested the electorate again at the 1871 general election, but of the three candidates, he came last. He was defeated by Wiremu Parata, with Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui in second place.^[4]

In the 1879 election there was some doubt about the validity of the election result, and a law was passed to confirm the result in Western Maori and two other electorates.^[5]

From the 1890s to the 1930s the seat was held by various Reform Party MPs. In 1935, Toko Ratana the eldest son of the founder of the Ratana Church won the seat and became the second Ratana MP; he became a Labour MP following the Labour-Ratana pact. From this point until the abolition of the seat prior to the 1996 election the seat was held by Labour MPs.

Toko Ratana died in 1944 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Matiu Rātana. He died in 1949 shortly before the 1949 general election. His wife Iriaka Rātana stood in his stead, despite significant opposition from those supporting traditional leadership roles, with Te Puea Herangi speaking out against her claim to "captain the Tainui canoe". Only the strong backing of the Rātana church and her threat to stand as a Rātana Independent secured her the Labour Party nomination. She became the first woman Maori MP, getting a similar majority (6317) to her husband in 1946 (his majority then was 6491), but no less than seven independent candidates (and one Kauhananui candidate, K Nutana) stood against her; they got 116 to 326 votes each.^[6]

Candidates for the National Party (who usually came second) included Hoeroa Marumaru (1946, 1949 & 1951) and Pei Te Hurinui Jones (1957, 1960 and 1963; also earlier).

Members of Parliament

Western Maori was represented by 15 Members of Parliament:^[7]

Key

Independent Reform Ratana Labour

Election	Winner
1868 Māori election		Mete Kīngi Paetahi
1871 election		Wiremu Parata
1876 election		Hoani Nahe
1879 election		Wiremu Te Wheoro
1881 election		Wiremu Te Wheoro
1884 election		Te Puke Te Ao
1886 by-election		Hoani Taipua
1887 election
1890 election
1893 election		Ropata Te Ao
1896 election		Henare Kaihau
1899 election
1902 election
1905 election
1908 election
1908 election
1911 election		Māui Pōmare
1914 election
1919 election
1922 election
1925 election
1928 election
1930 by-election		Taite Te Tomo
1931 election		Taite Te Tomo
1935 election		Toko Ratana
1938 election
1943 election
1945 by-election		Matiu Ratana^{[lower-alpha 1]}
1946 election		Matiu Ratana^{[lower-alpha 1]}
1949 election		Iriaka Rātana
1951 election
1954 election
1957 election
1960 election
1963 election
1966 election
1969 election		Koro Wētere
1972 election
1975 election
1978 election
1981 election
1984 election
1987 election
1990 election
1993 election

Note that the affiliation of many early candidates is not known. There is contradictory information about the affiliation of Henare Kaihau. In Wilson's New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984, the authoritative work covering parliamentary history, Kaihau is listed as a Reform Party supporter from the party's inception in 1908.^[8] Kaihau does, however, appear on a poster of the Liberal Party in 1910.^[9] The New Zealand Herald, in its 1905 election reporting, also lists him as a government supporter, i.e. a Liberal.^[10]

Another example of contradictory reporting is for the 1911 election. Three newspapers, The Marlborough Express, The New Zealand Herald, and the Auckland Star reported political affiliations. Two papers have Māui Pōmare as an independent, whilst the third has him as a Labour supporter. Henare Kaihau is given three different affiliations: independent, Liberal, and Reform. Pepene Eketone is categorised as Labour by two of the papers, whilst the third has him as a Liberal supporter. The Auckland Star lists another Labour supporter, but the name is a composite of first and last names of two of the candidates.^[11]^[12]^[13]