Sir Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta (26 April 1939 – 1 February 2001) was a prominent

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 ...

politician. He was born Robert Jeremiah Ormsby and changed his name by deed poll. Mahuta was the first Māori leader to negotiate a satisfactory compensation settlement with the New Zealand government for tribal land confiscated under European settlement in the fledgling colony. In a deal completed in late 1994, he won a package worth NZ$170m for his

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

tribe for the seizure of 485,000 hectares of land in the North Island's

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 ...

region 131 years earlier. Significantly for all Māori, the settlement included the first formal apology given by the Crown to the indigenous people for historical wrongs during colonisation.

Family

He was born Robert Jeremiah Ormsby in

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 3, State Highways 3 and New Zealand State Highway 30, 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk rail ...

, on 26 April 1939. His father, also Robert Jeremiah Ormsby, was Māori. His mother was Te Amohia Ormsby, and his maternal grandmother was Piupiu Te Wherowhero, a leader within the ''kahui ariki'' (Māori royal family). Piupiu was a daughter of Te Wherowhero, the younger son of King

Tāwhiao ''Kīngitanga, Kīngi'' Tāwhiao (Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, ; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894), known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to ...

. Robert Ormsby was adopted by King Korokī at four weeks old, and became the brother of Princess Piki, later the Māori Queen, Dame

Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (born Pikimene Korokī Mahuta, 23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) reigned as Māori Queen from 1966 until her death in 2006. Her reign was the longest of any Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui D ...

. He changed his name by deed poll to Robert Te Kotahi Mahuta when he was 24. Mahuta married Raiha (née Edmonds) in 1964 and had one son and two daughters. His eldest is a son Tukaroto Mahuta (who has three sons and a daughter). His elder daughter, Nanaia, is a Labour MP (and has one son) and his younger daughter is Tipa (who has one daughter and a granddaughter).

Career

Mahuta studied at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

and the title of his master's thesis was ''Whaikōrero a study of formal Māori speech''. He was the director of Māori Studies and Research at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

from 1972 to 1977. He studied at

Wolfson College, Oxford Wolfson College () is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Wolfson is an all-graduate college, it prides itself on being one of the most international colleges at Oxford, with part ...

, in 1977. Mahuta served as a

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

fisheries commissioner, chairman of the Māori Development Corporation and chairman of the Tainui Māori Trust Board. For his services to the Māori people, he was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

in the

1996 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

Tributes

He died in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

aged 61. Robert Mahuta was a "warrior in the true sense", said former Member of Parliament Sir Douglas Graham. "Sir Robert's achievements are unsurpassed, irrespective of the troubles in recent times," said former

Minister of Māori Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Parekura Horomia Parekura Tureia Horomia (9 November 1950 – 29 April 2013) was a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Māori Affairs between 2000 and 2008. Early life Horomia was born in Tolaga Bay of Ngāti Porou, Te Aitanga Hauit ...

References

External links

Tributes for Sir Robert MahutaTvnz.co.nzTeara.govt.nz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahuta, Robert 1936 births 2001 deaths New Zealand Māori academics Academic staff of the University of Waikato Māori King movement Ngāti Mahuta people Waikato Tainui people People from Te Kūiti New Zealand adoptees Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Auckland alumni