John Hopere Wharewiti Uru (26 March 1868 – 29 November 1921), sometimes known as Billy Uru, was a New Zealand sportsman and politician. He represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

at both

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and was an Independent (and sometimes

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

) Member of Parliament for

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

Early life and family

Uru was born at

Kaiapoi Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...

, the son of farmer Hoani Uru and his wife Kataraina Kaiparoa, probably on 26 March 1868. A member of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū (sub-tribe) of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

, Uru was educated at

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori language, Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams (missionary), Samuel Williams, an Anglicanism, Anglican missionary, and ...

from 1889. He married Rahera Muriwai Mutu in 1892; the couple subsequently divorced in 1915 and it is not thought that they had any children. The following year he remarried, to Riwaka Anaha Tauwhare, and subsequently had two children. A captain in the North Canterbury Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Uru was sergeant of the Māori contingent at the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria in London in 1897, commander of the Māori contingent at the opening of Australia's federal parliament in 1901, and second-in-command of the New Zealand contingent at the coronation of Edward VII.

Sporting career

fast bowler Fast bowling (also referred to as pace bowling) is a type of bowling in cricket, in which the ball is delivered at high speed. The fastest bowlers bowl the ball at over . Practitioners of fast bowling are known as fast bowlers or quicks. Also ...

, Uru played two first-class games for the

Canterbury cricket team Canterbury is a first-class cricket team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. It is one of six teams that compete in senior New Zealand Cricket competitions and has been the second most successful domestic team in New Zealand history. They compete ...

, one in each of the 1893–94 and 1894-95 seasons. He took nine wickets at an average of 11.33, and achieved best bowling figures of 5 for 43. Uru also represented

at rugby union as a three-quarter in 1896, and was noted as a fine kicker. He was a member of the Kaiapoi Football Club, which later became the Tuahiwi Club, of which he was captain. In 1896 his playing weight was . He was also noted as a wrestler,

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

er and

caber toss The caber toss () is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (), normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. The term "caber" derives from the Gaelic word ''cabar'', whi ...

er.

Political career

Uru unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in the

electorate against

Tame Parata Tame Parata (1837 – 6 March 1917), also known as Thomas Pratt, was a Māori and a New Zealand Liberal Party, Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Parata was born on Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait. His father was a Ca ...

at the

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

and 1911 general elections. Finally, in the 1918 by-election precipitated by the death of sitting member Taare Parata, Uru was elected to Parliament, defeating Parata's brother Henare Parata, with a majority of 19 votes (242 votes to 223). Uru was an independent member, but tended to align himself with the Reform Party. He was re-elected at the 1919 general election and held the seat until his death from

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 29 November 1921. His body was returned to Tuahiwi Pā, near Kaiapoi, for

lying in state Lying in state is the tradition in which the body of a deceased official, such as a head of state, is placed in a state building, either outside or inside a coffin, to allow the public to pay their respects. It traditionally takes place in a ...

before burial. He was active in Ngāi Tahu's political and legal fight for resources and land. In 1907 he was elected secretary of Te Kerēme o Ngāi Tahu rāua ko Ngāti Māmoe, the Ngāi Tahu committee charged with pursuing the tribe's claim. While in Parliament, he was successful in seeking the establishment of a commission to investigate the Kemp Purchase (the purchase in 1848 of 20 million acres of land in Canterbury for £2,000).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uru, John Hopere Wharewiti 1868 births 1921 deaths Ngāi Tahu people People from Kaiapoi Independent MPs of New Zealand Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand MPs for Māori electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election New Zealand rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union three-quarters New Zealand cricketers Canterbury cricketers New Zealand male hammer throwers New Zealand male sport wrestlers Deaths from nephritis People educated at Te Aute College Colony of New Zealand people