Rangi Mawhete

The Honourable Rangi Mawhete OBE
Member of the Legislative Council
In office 9 March 1936 – 8 March 1950
Personal details
Born	(1880-03-04)4 March 1880 Tiakitahuna, Manawatu, New Zealand
Died	24 July 1961(1961-07-24) (aged 81) Palmerston North, New Zealand
Political party	Labour Party

Rangiputangatahi Mawhete OBE (4 March 1880 – 24 July 1961), born as William Arthur Moffatt and commonly known as Rangi Mawhete, was a New Zealand land agent, interpreter and politician.

Early life

Of Māori descent, he identified with the Muaūpoko and Rangitāne iwi. He was born in Tiakitahuna, Manawatu/Horowhenua, New Zealand on 4 March 1880.^[1] He was a grandson of the Rangitane chief Te Aweawe, and educated at Te Aute College.

Political career

He unsuccessfully stood for Western Maori; in 1914 with an unknown political affiliation (of six candidates, he came fourth),^[2] in 1922 as an Independent, and in 1925 for Labour.^[1] He organised a 1931 meeting between Ratana and Labour and organised the 1932 Māori Labour conference. In 1935 he warned against an exclusive Ratana-Labour alliance as dividing rather than uniting Māori.^[3]

He was a member of the Legislative Council for two terms from 9 March 1936 to 8 March 1950.^[4]

In the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mawhete was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to the Māori people.^[5]

References

1. Orange, Claudia. "Mawhete, Rangiputangatahi". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
2. "The General Election, 1914". National Library. 1915. pp. 31–33. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
3. Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: A biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 290. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
4. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 159. OCLC 154283103.
5. "No. 41729". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 13 June 1959. p. 3740.