IWI / HAPU AFFILIATIONS
A political activist for Māori, Hone Heke, was a renowned orator
and a person held in high regard by both Māori and Pākehā during
his short life.
Hone Heke Ngapua was born in 1869 at Kaikohe, and traced his whakapapa to the Mataatua waka.
Descended from Rahiri, founder of the Ngāti Rahiri branch of
Ngāpuhi, his parents were Hone Ngapua and Niurangi Puriri. He
was named after his great uncle, Hone Heke Pokai, famed Ngāpuhi
chief of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland).1
Hone Heke entered Parliament at the early age of 24 in 1893, and
in the following year, introduced the Native Rights Bill, which
sought a separate Parliament and constitution for Māori and
protection of Māori rights under the Treaty of Waitangi.2 Although this Bill did not
become law, two Acts of 1900 pertaining to Māori land, contained
some of the principles of the earlier Bill. As the Member of
the House of Representatives (MHR) for Northern Māori, it has been
said that, …'Maori representation in the House was invigorated and
emboldened by his presence, and he gave new cause for his Maori
colleagues to aim for'.3
Comfortable in both Māori and Pākehā worlds, Hone Heke responded
to Lindauer's patron, Henry Partridge, on the meaning of the
phrase, kia
ora, with a full explanation and he was one of the signatories
to a published welcome statement to the Duke and Duchess of York on
their visit in 1901.4 Hone Heke
also signed the Māori Visitors' Book at the Lindauer Art Gallery in
Auckland which he visited on 6 June 1901. He noted that his place
of residence was the Bay of Islands but left no other comment.
There are reports of at least two instances where his
intervention prevented bloodshed of both Māori and those fighting
on the Government's side. James Cowan, who was known
personally to Hone Heke, wrote of how he 'hurried up from
Wellington and rode at top speed … to Waima (in Northland), using
frequent relays of horses',5
to persuade Hokianga resident, Hone Toia, and his followers to lay
down their weapons, on the occasion of their refusal to pay taxes,
including the dog tax, imposed by the Government and local
council.
Lindauer's portrait of Hone Heke, in a suit and tie is similar
to that of an official government portrait of him during his
political career. This was cut short by his untimely death
from tubercolosis at the age of 39.
CM
Tukua mai āu nā kōreroSubmit your storyTāhuhu kōrero
Contributed stories
Do you have a story related to this portrait? Maybe you have images of this person? If you would like to see your story published on this website, please submit it here. All stories are reviewed before publishing.