Paraire Paikea

Paraire Paikea, of Te Uri-o-Hau, was born at Ōtamatea, Kaipara, in 1894. He trained for the Methodist ministry, and was ordained in 1920. Later he was attracted to the teachings of Tahupōtiki Rātana, the religious prophet and faith healer, and began to take a prominent role in the Rātana movement.

In 1924 he helped prepare a petition seeking compensation for Treaty of Waitangi grievances, which Rātana attempted to present to King George V. In 1925 Paikea became a minister in the Rātana church.

After 1928 Paikea played a greater role in the political side of the Rātana movement. He made special efforts to resolve the grievances of Ngāti Whātua - in particular ongoing land loss at Orakei, in Auckland. He also worked as Rātana's private secretary, and by 1930 was a member of the Tokowhitu (Committee of Seven), which formed the Rātana executive.

He played a leading role in forging the historic alliance between Rātana and Labour in 1936. In 1938 Paikea won the Northern Māori seat, and entered Parliament as a Rātana/Labour member. In 1941 he was appointed to Cabinet as a representative of the Māori people. During World War II he worked hard to set up and coordinate the Māori War Effort Organisation. Over 300 tribal committees were tasked with recruiting Māori for the armed forces and essential industries. As the war progressed more responsibilities were added. As the historian Claudia Orange notes, many Māori welcomed this rare chance to show that they could perform demanding duties.

Paikea wanted to turn the War Effort Organisation into a peacetime body which would help Māori to control their own affairs. This was not to be, as Māori hopes were dashed by the watered-down Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. Paikea died suddenly in 1943.

Adapted from the DNZB biography by Angela Ballara

• Read the full biography in Te Ara Biographies

Paraire Karaka Paikea

I whānau a Paraire Paikea ki Ōtamatea i te takiwā o Kaipara i te tau 1894. Ko Te Uri-o-Hau tōna iwi. Ka whakangungua ia hei minita mō te hāhi Wēteriana, nō te tau 1920 a ia ka whakawahia. Nō muri ka whakawhirinaki ia ki ngā tohutohu a Tahupōtiki Rātana, te matakite nāna tōna ake hāhi i waihanga. Ko te tīmatanga tēnei o tana kuhu haere ki ngā whakahaere o te rōpū Rātana. I te tau 1924 ka āwhina ia ki te whakatakoto i tētahi pitihana e rapu paremata ana mō ngā takahitanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi. I kawea e Rātana ki Ingarangi hei whakatakoto ki mua i te aroaro o Kīngi Hōri V. I te tau 1925 ka whakawahia a Paikea hei minita i te hāhi Rātana.

I te tau 1928 ka kaha ake te whai wāhi a Paikea ki ngā mahi tōrangapū a te rōpū Rātana. I ngana ia ki te whakatau i ngā nawe o Ngāti Whātua mō te rironga tonutanga o ō rātou whenua kei Ōrākau i Tāmaki-makau-rau. Ko ia hoki te hēkeretari tūmataiti a Tahupōtiki. I te tau 1930 kua uru ia ki te Tokowhitu, ngā kaiwhakahaere o te rōpū Rātana.

He wāhi nui tōna i te hononga o Rātana me Reipa i te tau 1936. I te tau 1938 ka pōtitia a Paikea ki te Pāremata hei Mema Māori mō Te Tai Tokerau. I te tau 1941 ka kuhu ia ki te rūnanga kāwanatanga hei kanohi mō te iwi Māori. I te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ka pau tana kaha ki te whakatū i te kaupapa o ngā Mahi a te Māori mō te Whawhai. Neke atu i te 300 ngā komiti Māori i whakatūria ki te rapu tāngata hei hōia, hei kaimahi i ngā ahumahi ka āwhina i te pakanga. Ka haere te pakanga ā, ka nui atu ngā kawenga i runga i ngā komiti nei. E ai ki te tumu kōrero a Claudia Orange, ka hiahia tonu ngā Māori tokomaha ki te whakaatu i tō rātou kaha ki ngā mahi ahakoa te taumaha.

Ko te hiahia o Paikea ina mutu te pakanga, kia haere tonu te kaupapa ngā Mahi mō te Whawhai, hei āwhina i te iwi Māori ki te whakahaere i āna ake kaupapa. He aha hoki. Ka puta te Ture Whakapakari i te Ora me te Ōhanga o te iwi Māori 1945, he waimehatanga kau o tāna i tūmanako ai. Ohorere te matenga o Paikea i te tau 1943.