Eruera Tirikatene - Biography

Eruera Tirikatene, of Ngai Tahu, was born near Kaiapoi in 1895. When the First World War broke out in 1914 he enlisted in the army and served with distinction in France.
After the war he set up a number of profitable businesses, including a dairy farm, a timber mill and a fishing fleet. While visiting Ratana pa in 1921 he became attracted to the teachings of the religious leader and prophet T. W. Ratana, and began living there. He particularly admired Ratana's use of the Treaty of Waitangi as a way of seeking justice for Maori and settling land claims. Ratana's emphasis on land claims particularly appealed to him, as Ngai Tahu had been actively seeking redress for their claims since the 1840s.
Tirikatene became one of Ratana's key advisers, and led the movement's inner councils. When Ratana decided to win the four Maori Parliamentary seats, Tirikatene was the obvious candidate for Southern Maori. He narrowly missed in the 1928 and 1931 elections. In 1932 he won a Southern Maori by-election caused by the death of the sitting member, Tuiti Makitanara. This was the first parliamentary seat for the Ratana movement.
One of the first steps Tirikatene took was to present a petition seeking statutory recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi. After that he took every opportunity to speak of the Treaty during debates, and frequently reminded the House of Ngai Tahu's claims.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/eruera-tihema-te-aika-tirikatene

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