The Maori King, Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki, can trace his position as king back to the 1850s when tribes from all over the country discussed the notion of appointing a king. Rapid European population growth was putting pressure on Maori to sell land, and there was a sense that Maori were losing control of their own affairs.
Maori monarchs
Potatau Te Wherowhero 1858–60
Matutaera Tawhiao 1860–94
Mahuta 1894–1912
Te Rata 1912–33
Queen Elizabeth meeting Queen Te Ātairangikaahu in 1995
The Queen meets the Māori Queen, Dame Te Arikinui Te Ātairangikaahu, in 1995, accompanied by Prime Minister Jim Bolger (left) and Minister in Charge of Treaty Negotiations Douglas Graham. During this visit Queen Elizabeth personally delivered an apology from the British Crown to the Tainui people.
See related video of this event on Te Ara
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: EP/1995/4375B/33A-F
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
1966 - key events
NZ’s longest running TV show debuts
Order of New Zealand members, 1990
This group photograph of members of the Order of New Zealand with Queen Elizabeth II was taken on 14 February 1990. The Order of New Zealand had been established in 1987.
Back row from left: Marie Shroff (Cabinet Secretary), Janet Frame (author), Henry Lang (former Secretary to the Treasury), Emeritus Professor Richard Matthews (cellular and molecular biologist), Fred Turnovsky (Manufacturers Federation), Rev Manu Bennett (Bishop of Aotearoa), Allen Curnow (poet), Arthur Lydiard (athletics coach).
Māori and English Queens, 1974
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: EP/1974/0627/26
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image.
