Rangiputangatahi Mawhete

Rangi Mawhete (1880–1961) was born at Jackeytown, south of Palmerston North. His main tribal affiliation was Rangitane, although he had links to Muaupoko, Ngati Apa, Ngati Te Upokoiri, Ngati Hamua and other Wanganui tribes.

He was educated at Te Aute College, and worked as an interpreter and land agent. He joined the Labour Party, and in 1925 he and other tribal representatives formed a Labour Maori Advisory Committee. Their report was later adopted as Labour's Maori policy. It dealt with rating problems, settlement of land claims, reform of the Maori electoral process and the establishment of a Maori council to advise government on Maori issues. Mawhete was the Labour candidate for Western Maori in the 1925 elections, but was heavily defeated by Maui Pōmare.

Mawhete did not stand in the 1928 election, but is thought to have helped plan policies for the Ratana movement. These were similar to Labour's Maori programme. After 1928 Mawhete concentrated on gaining cooperation between the Ratana movement and Labour. In the end, he succeeded. By 1943 all four Maori seats had been won by Ratana/Labour candidates.

In 1936 he was appointed to the Legislative Council. He continued to support the Labour government’s social welfare reforms. But he was less enthusiastic about other policies which he saw as inconsistent with the Treaty of Waitangi. He energetically promoted Maori Treaty rights during debates on the nationalisation of petroleum, lake and seabed ownership, the Waikato land confiscations and issues about the Wanganui River. Mawhete was appointed an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 1959. He died in 1961.

See also: biography of Rangi Mawhete on DNZB website