Born: 1895 (Te Karaka, Hokianga)
Died: 1994
Biography:
Dame Whina Cooper ONZ DBE (9 December 1895 – 26 March 1994) was a respected kuia (Māori elder), who worked for many years for the rights of her people, and particularly to improve the lot of Māori women. She is remembered for leading the 1975 Māori land march from Te Hapua to Wellington, a distance of 1,100 km (680 mi), at the age of 79. Her wide influence and nationally recognized activity led her to be acknowledged with awards in both the British (Imperial) and New Zealand Royal Honors Systems, and by her own people, who bestowed the title Te Whaea o te Motu (‘Mother of the Nation’) upon her. She is the subject of the 2022 film Whina.
Early Life:
Dame Whina Cooper was born Hēpine Stirling, daughter of community leader and Catholic catechist Heeni Stirling and Karepauro Kawatihi, of the Te Rarawa iwi, at Te Karaka, Hokianga. From an early age, she showed an interest in her mother’s role, and in history and genealogy. Her education began at Whakarapa Native School. In 1907, she attended St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College. After high school, she returned to Whakarapa (later Panguru) where her parents wanted her to enter into an arranged marriage with Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V, leader of Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Cooper refused and instead worked at a local cooperative store. She worked as a teacher for a brief time at Pawarenga Native School. However, as one of only three teachers, she became frustrated and found her time stretched between teaching and helping her own community. She left teaching in 1914 and was a housekeeper at the Catholic presbytery of Rāwene for two years. She kept her Catholic Christian faith her whole life.
Political Activism 1914–1935: Whakarapa
Cooper’s first involvement in politics was in the form of a land dispute over an area of leased mudflats around 1914. The farmer, Bob Holland, who rented the land, wanted to drain the estuary for farming. That would have obstructed the current use of the land by local iwi for gathering seafood and racing horses during the drier months. Heeni challenged the lease in court, and Cooper led a group of protesters to fill in Holland’s drains. The protesters were eventually charged with trespassing, but they had stalled events long enough for Heeni to be successful, and the lease was withdrawn by the Marine Department.
In 1916, she returned to work at the cooperative store, and around this time, she met her first husband, Richard Gilbert, of Ngāti Wai. She married him on 10 May 1917, with only her parents’ knowledge, which led to some unhappiness with her wider family and community, who felt they should have been consulted.
Awards:
– In 1974, Dame Whina Cooper was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
– In 1981, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
– In 1991, she received the Order of New Zealand (ONZ).