Eparaima Te Mutu Kapa (1842 – 23 October 1924) was a 19th-century

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 ...

member of the

New Zealand parliament The New Zealand Parliament () is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, Sovereign and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his Governor-General of New Zeal ...

Political career

Kapa, who was from the Aupōuri

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. ...

in Northland, contested and won the 1891 by-election for the seat of

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

. His predecessor,

Sydney Taiwhanga Hirini Rawiri Taiwhanga ( 1832 – 27 November 1890), known as Sydney Taiwhanga, was a 19th-century Māori member of the House of Representatives. Taiwhanga identified with the Ngāpuhi iwi. He was born in Kaikohe, Northland, New Zealand in ...

, was elected for his second term in the 1890 general election, but died before the election results were announced. As a member of the

11th New Zealand Parliament The 11th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Elections for this term were held in 4 Māori electorates and 62 European electorates on 27 November and 5 December 1890, respectively. A total of 74 MPs were elected ...

, Kapa spoke out in support of women's enfranchisement. He was also a member of the Māori Parliament, and reported to them the proceedings of the New Zealand Parliament. Kapa contested the seat in the 1893 general election. Despite receiving significant support from women voters (who received voting rights that year), he was defeated by

Hōne Heke Ngāpua Hōne Heke Ngāpua (6 June 1869 – 9 February 1909) was a Māori and Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was born in Kaikohe, and was named after his great-uncle Hōne Heke. Ngāpua is best remembered for his advocacy for T ...

. Ngāpua also defeated Kapa for the seat in the

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

and s. and the Kapa died at Te Kao on 23 October 1924.

Family

Kapa was an uncle to the Te Aupōuri and

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

leader Mutu Paratene Kapa.

References

1842 births 1924 deaths New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election Te Aupōuri people Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians {{Māori-bio-stub