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|name=Wi Pere
|name=Wi Pere
|honorific-suffix = MP
|honorific-suffix = MP
|image= Portrait_of_Wiremu_Pere.jpg
|image=
|caption=<!-- Wi Pere, circa 1905 -->
|caption=Wi Pere, circa 1884
|constituency_MP2=[[Eastern Maori]]
|constituency_MP2=[[Eastern Maori]]
|parliament2=New Zealand
|parliament2=New Zealand
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|successor3=Sir [[Āpirana Ngata]]
|successor3=Sir [[Āpirana Ngata]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1837|3|7|df=y}}
|birth_date={{birth date|1837|3|7|df=y}}
|birth_place=[[Poverty Bay]], [[Gisborne, New Zealand]]
|birth_place=[[Gisborne, New Zealand]]
|death_date={{death date and age|1915|12|9|1837|3|7|df=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1915|12|9|1837|3|7|df=y}}
|death_place=[[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]], New Zealand
|death_place=Gisborne, New Zealand
|spouse=Arapera Matenga Toti (married 1856)
|spouse=Arapera Matenga Toti (married 1856)
| relatives = Thomas Halbert (father)<br/>[[Rongowhakaata Halbert]] (grandson)
|party=[[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal]]
|party=[[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal]]
}}
}}


'''Wiremu''' "'''Wi'''" '''Pere''' (7 March 1837 – 9 December 1915), was a [[Māori people|Māori]] Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Pere himself was an outstanding figure amongst the Poverty Bay and East Cape Māori, and one of Poverty Bay's most illustrious sons.
'''Wiremu''' "'''Wi'''" '''Pere''' (7 March 1837 – 9 December 1915), was a [[Māori people|Māori]] Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He represented [[Eastern Māori]] in the [[New Zealand House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] from 1884 to 1887, and again from 1893 to 1905.<ref name="nzhistory" /> Pere's strong criticism of the government's Māori land policies and his involvement in the turbulent land wars in the 1860s and 1870s made him a revered Māori leader<ref name="monument" /> and he was known throughout his career as an contentious debator<ref name="mackay" /> and outstanding orator in the use of the [[Māori language]] within the House of Representatives.{{citation needed}}


==Biography==
==Biography==
Wi Pere was born in 1837 at Turanga ([[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]]), the son of Poverty Bay trader Thomas Halbert and Riria Mauaranui.<ref name="teara-bio"/> He was of mixed [[Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki]], [[Rongowhakaata]] and European descent.<ref name="nzhistory"/> Pere was baptised William Halbert but commonly went by his Maori name, Wiremu Pere (William Bell).<ref name="teara-bio" />

From a young age Pere was noted for his shrewdness and identified by elders as having exceptional intelligence.<ref name="wiperetrust">{{cite web|title=The Man - Wi Pere|url=http://wipere.com/about-wi-pere-trust/wi-pere-the-man.aspx|website=Wi Pere Trust|accessdate=6 May 2017}}</ref> He was raised largely under the tutelage of his mother and was schooled in tribal lore and genealogy by Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki iwi elders of the Maraehinahina whare [[wānanga]]. This formed the basis of his authority in land dealings and [[Native Land Court]] proceedings from the 1870s.<ref name="teara-bio" />

The local Anglican mission also identified Pere as an emerging leader, and he became a member of the first standing committee of the [[Anglican Diocese of Waiapu|Diocese of Waiapu]].<ref name="teara-bio" />

In 1856, Pere married Arapera Matenga Toti at Waerenga-a-hika.<ref name="teara-bio" />

==Political career==

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Wi Pere was born in Turanga-nui-a-Kiwa ("The place where 'Kiwa' - of the [[Tākitimu]] [[Waka (canoe)|waka]] - stood"), now called [[Gisborne, New Zealand|Gisborne]]. He gained a wide knowledge of Māori traditions and customs, and proved an able spokesman in proceedings before the Native Land Court, was an outstanding orator in the use of the [[Māori language]] within the House of Representatives.


In 1865, as [[Pai Marire]] emissaries gained support in Poverty Bay and tensions grew amid local iwi, Wi Pere remained a government supporter and constant to his Anglican allegiance.<ref name="teara-bio" /> However despite this, he protested against the exile of Poverty Bay Māori to the [[Chatham Islands]], and strongly opposed the government's attempts to confiscate their land.<ref name="nzhistory" /> Through his work in the Repudiation movement to support Māori land owners, Pere became an important Māori leader in the region and gained wide support in his first bid for Parliament in 1884.<ref name="teara-bio" />
Pere served for some years in both branches of the Legislature, fighting for the rights of his Maori people, particularly in Land legislation. Even in boyhood, he was noted for his shrewdness. As a youth Wi Pere was selected by the elders as a young man of special intelligence and was carefully taught and trained in Māori history and genealogy, which information was handed down through the generations by word of mouth. He described the influence of his mother as follows: "My mother was a woman of great mana over the whole of the district; her name was Riria Mauaranui, a chieftainess of great influence of Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki and Rongowhakaata tribe".{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}


He won the [[Eastern Maori]] seat in parliament in the [[New Zealand general election, 1884|1884 election]], as the fourth representative for the electorate, and attracted much attention. But he lost the seat to [[James Carroll (New Zealand politician)|James Carroll]] in [[New Zealand general election, 1887|1887]] and in [[New Zealand general election, 1890|1890]].
Pere attracted much attention when he won the [[Eastern Māori]] seat in the [[New Zealand general election, 1884|1884 general election]]<ref name="mackay" />. As the fourth representative for the electorate, Pere spoke strongly against the Native Land Court's actions of giving land title to individuals, believing land should be owned by hapū (sub-tribes) or whanau (family). He also joined the [[Kotahitanga]] movement and supported its efforts to establish a separate Māori Parliament.<ref name="nzhistory" />


However, in [[New Zealand general election, 1893|1893]] Carroll stood down in order to contest the [[Gisborne (New Zealand electorate)|Gisborne]] (European) seat. Pere won Eastern Maori back, and from 1893 supported the [[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal Party]]. In [[New Zealand general election, 1905|1905]] though Pere lost the Eastern Maori seat to [[Āpirana Ngata]].<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=James Oakley|title=New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984|edition=4th|origyear=1913|year=1985|publisher= V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer|location=Wellington|oclc=154283103}}</ref><ref name="DNZB Pere">{{DNZB|Ward|Alan|2p11|Wiremu Pere|December 2011}}</ref>
In both the [[New Zealand general election, 1887|1887]] and [[New Zealand general election, 1890|1890 elections]] Pere lost the Eastern Māori seat to [[James Carroll (New Zealand politician)|James Carroll]],<ref name="mackay"/> who was opposed to the Kotahitanga separatist movement. When Carroll stood down in 1893 to contest the [[Gisborne (New Zealand electorate)|Gisborne]] (European) seat,<ref name="carroll-bio"/> Pere won Eastern Maori back as a member of the [[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal Party]]. He served a further four terms before losing the seat to [[Āpirana Ngata]] in the [[New Zealand general election, 1905|1905 general election]].<ref name="Wilson"/><ref name="teara-bio"/>


Pere was appointed to the [[New Zealand Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] on 22 January 1907, where he was effectively the only Māori member.<ref name="teara-bio" /> By this time Pere had become a strong empire loyalist. He offered to lead a Māori contingency to the South African war of 1899–1902 and urged military training for all New Zealanders.<ref name="nzhistory" /> Pere was unseated from the Legislative Council in 1912.<ref name="teara-bio" /><ref name="pbh-seat">{{cite news|title=Wi Pere's Seat|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/PBH19120927.2.27|accessdate=6 May 2017|agency=Poverty Bay Herald|issue=12879|date=27 September 1912}}</ref>
He was appointed to the [[New Zealand Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] on 22 January 1907, but lost it because of absence on 27 June 1912, a technicality beyond his control.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2015}}
⚫
Upon the death of Wi Pere, 9 December 1915, Judge Jones of the Gisborne Native Land Court, made reference as follows; "A great Chief and one whose name was a household word among the Māori. No one loved the Māori people more than he did".


Wi Pere died on 9 December 1915, and was buried in a vault at Waerenga-a-Hika on 3 January 1916. In his eulogy Apirana Ngata remarked: "No man ever did more for his people...never was there a greater fighter for his race than Wi Pere.”<ref name="mackay" />
The local newspaper highlighted Wi's death with such headings as "Champion of the Māori Race", "A Link with the Past", "The Last of the Great Chiefs". Apiraana Ngata stated: "Wi Pere was one of the great chiefs of the East-Coast. No man ever did more for his people". The Native people and Government of New Zealand, as a final tribute to Wi Pere, erected a monument along Reads Quay, Gisborne in 1919.


⚫
Upon his death Judge Jones of the Gisborne Native Land Court, made reference as follows; "A great Chief and one whose name was a household word among the Māori. No one loved the Māori people more than he did". The local newspaper highlighted Pere's death with such headings as "Champion of the Māori Race", "A Link with the Past", "The Last of the Great Chiefs".{{citation-needed}}
⚫
[[Rongowhakaata Halbert|Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert]] was a grandson of Wi Pere.<ref name="DNZB Halbert">{{DNZB|title=Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert|first=Peter|last=Gordon|id=4h4|accessdate=June 2015}}</ref>


As a final tribute to Wi Pere, a monument was erected along Reads Quay, Gisborne in 1919 to coincide with the return of Māori troops from war. It was unveiled on 9 April 1919 by Hon. James Carroll.<ref name="monument" /><ref name="pbherald"/>
⚫
==References==

{{Reflist}}
Māori historian [[Rongowhakaata Halbert|Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert]] was a grandson of Wi Pere.<ref name="DNZBHalbert"/>


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.wipere.co.nz/ Wi Pere Trust]
*[http://www.wipere.co.nz/ Wi Pere Trust]
*[http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2p11/pere-wiremu Wiremu Pere Biography from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography]

⚫
==References==
{{reflist|3|refs=
<ref name="monument">{{cite web|title=Wi Pere Monument|url=http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/3535|website=Heritage New Zealand|publisher=Ministry of Culture and Heritage|accessdate=6 May 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="mackay">{{cite book|author1=Joseph Angus Mackay|title=Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z.|date=1949|publisher=J. A. Mackay|pages=353-354|url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-MacHist-t1-body-d38-d7-d1.html#name-208955-mention|accessdate=6 May 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="carroll-bio">{{cite web|title=James Carroll Biography|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/james-carroll|website=NZ History|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|accessdate=6 May 2017}}</ref>
⚫
<ref name="DNZBHalbert">{{DNZB|title=Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert|first=Peter|last=Gordon|id=4h4}}</ref>
<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=James Oakley|title=New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984|edition=4th|origyear=1913|year=1985|publisher= V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer|location=Wellington|oclc=154283103}}</ref>
<ref name="nzhistory">{{cite web|title=Wiremu Pere|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/wiremu-pere|website=NZ History|publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage|accessdate=6 May 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="teara-bio">{{cite web|author1=Alan Ward|title=Pere, Wiremu – Biography|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2p11/pere-wiremu|website=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography|publisher=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand}}</ref>
<ref name="pbherald">{{cite news|title=Wi Pere Memorial|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/PBH19190410.2.3#|accessdate=6 May 2017|issue=14883|publisher=Poverty Bay Herald|date=10 April 1919|pages=2}}</ref>
}}


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Revision as of 10:03, 6 May 2017

The Honourable
Wi Pere
MP
Wi Pere, circa 1884
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Eastern Maori
In office
1884–1887
Preceded byHenare Tomoana
Succeeded byJames Carroll
In office
1893–1905
Preceded byJames Carroll
Succeeded bySir Āpirana Ngata
Personal details
Born(1837-03-07)7 March 1837
Gisborne, New Zealand
Died9 December 1915(1915-12-09) (aged 78)
Gisborne, New Zealand
Political partyLiberal
SpouseArapera Matenga Toti (married 1856)
RelativesThomas Halbert (father)
Rongowhakaata Halbert (grandson)

Wiremu "Wi" Pere (7 March 1837 – 9 December 1915), was a Māori Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He represented Eastern Māori in the House of Representatives from 1884 to 1887, and again from 1893 to 1905.[1] Pere's strong criticism of the government's Māori land policies and his involvement in the turbulent land wars in the 1860s and 1870s made him a revered Māori leader[2] and he was known throughout his career as an contentious debator[3] and outstanding orator in the use of the Māori language within the House of Representatives.[citation needed]

Biography

Wi Pere was born in 1837 at Turanga (Gisborne), the son of Poverty Bay trader Thomas Halbert and Riria Mauaranui.[4] He was of mixed Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and European descent.[1] Pere was baptised William Halbert but commonly went by his Maori name, Wiremu Pere (William Bell).[4]

From a young age Pere was noted for his shrewdness and identified by elders as having exceptional intelligence.[5] He was raised largely under the tutelage of his mother and was schooled in tribal lore and genealogy by Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki iwi elders of the Maraehinahina whare wānanga. This formed the basis of his authority in land dealings and Native Land Court proceedings from the 1870s.[4]

The local Anglican mission also identified Pere as an emerging leader, and he became a member of the first standing committee of the Diocese of Waiapu.[4]

In 1856, Pere married Arapera Matenga Toti at Waerenga-a-hika.[4]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1884–1887 9th Eastern Maori Independent
1893–1896 12th Eastern Maori Liberal
1896–1899 13th Eastern Maori Liberal
1899–1902 14th Eastern Maori Liberal
1902–1905 15th Eastern Maori Liberal


In 1865, as Pai Marire emissaries gained support in Poverty Bay and tensions grew amid local iwi, Wi Pere remained a government supporter and constant to his Anglican allegiance.[4] However despite this, he protested against the exile of Poverty Bay Māori to the Chatham Islands, and strongly opposed the government's attempts to confiscate their land.[1] Through his work in the Repudiation movement to support Māori land owners, Pere became an important Māori leader in the region and gained wide support in his first bid for Parliament in 1884.[4]

Pere attracted much attention when he won the Eastern Māori seat in the 1884 general election[3]. As the fourth representative for the electorate, Pere spoke strongly against the Native Land Court's actions of giving land title to individuals, believing land should be owned by hapū (sub-tribes) or whanau (family). He also joined the Kotahitanga movement and supported its efforts to establish a separate Māori Parliament.[1]

In both the 1887 and 1890 elections Pere lost the Eastern Māori seat to James Carroll,[3] who was opposed to the Kotahitanga separatist movement. When Carroll stood down in 1893 to contest the Gisborne (European) seat,[6] Pere won Eastern Maori back as a member of the Liberal Party. He served a further four terms before losing the seat to Āpirana Ngata in the 1905 general election.[7][4]

Pere was appointed to the Legislative Council on 22 January 1907, where he was effectively the only Māori member.[4] By this time Pere had become a strong empire loyalist. He offered to lead a Māori contingency to the South African war of 1899–1902 and urged military training for all New Zealanders.[1] Pere was unseated from the Legislative Council in 1912.[4][8]

Death and legacy

Wi Pere died on 9 December 1915, and was buried in a vault at Waerenga-a-Hika on 3 January 1916. In his eulogy Apirana Ngata remarked: "No man ever did more for his people...never was there a greater fighter for his race than Wi Pere.”[3]

Upon his death Judge Jones of the Gisborne Native Land Court, made reference as follows; "A great Chief and one whose name was a household word among the Māori. No one loved the Māori people more than he did". The local newspaper highlighted Pere's death with such headings as "Champion of the Māori Race", "A Link with the Past", "The Last of the Great Chiefs".[citation needed]

As a final tribute to Wi Pere, a monument was erected along Reads Quay, Gisborne in 1919 to coincide with the return of Māori troops from war. It was unveiled on 9 April 1919 by Hon. James Carroll.[2][9]

Māori historian Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert was a grandson of Wi Pere.[10]

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Wiremu Pere". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Wi Pere Monument". Heritage New Zealand. Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Joseph Angus Mackay (1949). Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast, N.I., N.Z. J. A. Mackay. pp. 353–354. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Alan Ward. "Pere, Wiremu – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  5. ^ "The Man - Wi Pere". Wi Pere Trust. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  6. ^ "James Carroll Biography". NZ History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  7. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
  8. ^ "Wi Pere's Seat". No. 12879. Poverty Bay Herald. 27 September 1912. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  9. ^ "Wi Pere Memorial". No. 14883. Poverty Bay Herald. 10 April 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  10. ^ Gordon, Peter. "Rongowhakaata Pere Halbert". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Eastern Maori
1884–1887
1893–1905 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
James Carroll
 Succeeded by
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