Kīngitanga leader Te Puea Hērangi is shown here (centre right) at the opening of the Tūrangawaewae meeting house, Tūrongo, in 1938. On the extreme left of the photo is Apirana Ngata. In the 1920s, when Te Puea decided to build Tūrongo’s companion house, Māhinārangi, intending it to be a hospital for Māori, Ngata helped her gain government money and timber for the building. Ngata's iwi, Ngāti Porou, also contributed over £1,300 toward the cost. Māhinārangi was to be a Māori environment, where rules of tapu were adhered to, while European medical care was provided. Despite the very high Māori death rate, Health Department officials refusing to allow Māhinārangi to be used as a hospital.