Peter Henry Buck

Peter Buck (1877?–1951), also known as Te Rangi Hiroa, was of the Taranaki tribe Ngati Mutunga. He was educated at Te Aute College and the University of Otago Medical School, where he qualified as a doctor.

In 1905 he worked as a Maori medical officer, under another Te Aute graduate, Maui Pomare. Buck and Pomare joined forces to improve the sanitation of Maori settlements and the health of the Maori people. The more conservative Maori leaders often opposed them.

Buck, who was based in Northland, was unexpectedly elected to Parliament representing Northern Maori in 1909. He served on the Native Affairs Committee and was briefly in Cabinet as representative of the Maori people. He stood unsuccessfully for the general (European) Bay of Islands seat in 1914. This marked the end of his parliamentary career.

During the First World War he worked hard to encourage Maori to enlist. He served in the Middle East, Gallipoli and France as a medical officer. He was twice mentioned in dispatches and was made a DSO. By the end of the war he held the rank of major.

After the war Buck was appointed director of the Maori Hygiene Division of the Department of Health. The Maori death rate during the influenza pandemic of 1918 was five to seven times that of Europeans. Consequently, Maori leaders worked with medical authorities to stop the spread of infectious diseases, making Buck's task a little easier.

Later in life he lived mostly overseas, pursuing his interest in anthropology and writing on Maori culture and society. He was awarded honorary doctorates by a number of universities, including the University of New Zealand and Yale. He received a knighthood in 1946.

See also: biography of Peter Buck at DNZB website