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Story: Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi

First Māori MPs: Tāreha Te Moananui

First Māori MPs: Tāreha Te Moananui

Tāreha Te Moananui was a prominent rangatira of Ngāti Kahungunu from Ahuriri (Napier). After supporting the government’s military actions against followers of the Pai Mārire religion, he became the first member of Parliament for the Eastern Māori electorate in 1868.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/1-019389-G

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Claudia Orange, Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the Treaty of Waitangi – Māori responses to te tiriti – 1880 to 1900, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/36368/first-maori-mps-tareha-te-moananui (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Claudia Orange, published 5 June 2012, reviewed and revised 28 March 2023 with assistance from Claudia Orange. It was translated into te reo Māori by Basil Keane.