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Henare Whakatau Uru (1872 – 7 March 1929) was a New Zealand politician. He was the Reform Party Member of Parliament for Southern Maori from 1922 to 1928.
Henare Uru | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Southern Maori | |
| In office 1922–1928 | |
| Preceded by | Hopere Uru |
| Succeeded by | Tuiti Makitanara |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henare Whakatau Uru 1872 Kaiapoi, New Zealand |
| Died | (aged 56) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Spouses | Ruita Te Aika
(m. 1891; div. 1896)Gladys Constance Mary Rogers
(m. 1915) |
| Relations | Hopere Uru (brother) Tui Uru (daughter) Jade Uru (great-grandson) Storm Uru (great-grandson) |
| Children | Four |
Uru was born at Kaiapoi in 1872. His father was Hoani Uru, a farmer, and his mother was Kataraina Kaiparoa. A member of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū (sub-tribe) of Ngāi Tahu, Uru was educated at Rangiora High School.[1]
He married Ruita Te Aika in 1891, but the couple divorced in 1896. Uru subsequently married Gladys Constance Mary Rogers in 1915.[1] Their son, also named Henare Whakatau Uru, served as a pilot officer during World War II and was killed while on operations over Europe with 299 Sqn in 1944.[2] Their daughter, Tui Uru, was the first Māori presenter on New Zealand television.[3]
Uru was known as a sportsman in his teens and 20s, playing rugby union for the Kaiapoi Football Club, and being involved in athletics, wrestling and tennis. He was also a noted cyclist.[1][4]
A member of the North Canterbury Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Uru attended the opening of the Australian federal parliament in 1901.[1] He also managed the Rapaki Music Company and has been credited with introducing the tune Now is the Hour to New Zealand.[1]
Uru won the Southern Maori electorate in the 1922 Southern Maori by-election following the death of his brother Hopere Uru in November 1921.[1] He retained his seat at the 1922 and 1925 general elections, but was defeated in 1928 when he finished third behind Tuiti Makitanara and Eruera Tirikatene.[5][6]
Uru's main parliamentary contribution was the progression of Ngāi Tahu issues, leading to the formation of the Ngaitahu Trust Board in 1929.[1] He was also a member of the Board of Maori Ethnological Research.[4] He died in Wellington in 1929 and was buried at Tuahiwi, near Kaiapoi.[1]
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