Hone Heke Ngapua

Hone Heke Ngapua, of Nga Puhi, was born in 1869 at Kaikohe. He was named after his great-uncle, Hone Heke Pokai, who had opposed Crown sovereignty in the mid-1840s and famously (and repeatedly) cut down the British flagstaff at Russell .

Ngapua attended native schools and St Stephen’s school in Parnell, Auckland. He later worked as a clerk in an Auckland law firm. In the 1880s he became involved in the Kotahitanga movement. This aimed for Maori control over Maori lands and a degree of local self-government through a Maori Parliament.

In 1893, while only in his early 20s, Hone Heke addressed the Kotahitanga Parliament. He showed a sophisticated understanding of the Kotahitanga concept, and skilfully expressed the key issues facing Maori.

Through his obvious ability and skills as a speaker he was elected to the House of Representatives later in 1893, representing Northern Maori. In 1894 he introduced the Native Rights Bill. It sought a constitution for Maori, implementation of the Treaty of Waitangi, and a separate Maori Parliament. Although supported by many tribes, the bill was not passed. But it influenced some later legislation, in particular the Maori Councils Act 1900.

In 1898 a number of Maori residents of the Waima Valley, Hokianga, began a protest led by Hone Toia. They refused to pay the dog tax and other taxes imposed by the government and local bodies. The government sent out troops, and an armed conflict threatened to break out. However, Hone Heke stepped in to prevent bloodshed, and Toia and his men laid down their weapons and surrendered. Although on the surface this incident was about rates and taxation it was, on a deeper level, one of the final challenges to Crown sovereignty.

Hone Heke remained a tireless supporter of the Kotahitanga movement until his early death of tuberculosis, at the age of 40, in 1909.

• See also: biography of Hone Heke Ngapua on the DNZB website