Dame Whina Cooper ONZ DBE was born at Te Karaka, Hokianga, in northern New Zealand on 9 December, 1895, the daughter of a Maori leader of the Te Rarawa iwi.
From an early age she showed an interest in her father’s role, as well as in history and genealogy. She worked as a teacher for a brief time, but - stirred on by a local land dispute, she soon developed a taste for a form of home-spun politics, including passive resistance.
Whina took a leading role in community activities, and her flair and abilities led to her becoming the undisputed Maori leader of the northern Hokianga by her mid-30s. She impressed prominent Maori politician Sir Apirana Ngata, who invited her to a national hui in 1932, and worked alongside him to promote Maori land development programmes in the Hokianga.
Though she was briefly out of favour with the local Maori comminuty (for becoming pregnant out of wedlock), she gradually resumed a role as community leader in the late 1940s, though with less support than before.
In 1949, with the death of her second husband, Whina moved to Auckland. The move coincided with a change from local to national political activity. In September 1951 she was elected first president of the new Maori Women’s Welfare League. The leage’s success was largely due to Whina’s efforts, and she became well-known throughout the country. In 1957 she stepped down as president and the annual conference rewarded her with the title Te Whaea o te Motu ("Mother of the Nation").
During the 1960s Whina Cooper worked on a local level around Auckland, but, with declining health, she kept largely out of the national spotlight. All this was to change in 1975, however, when a coalition of Maori groups asked her to lead them in a protest against the loss of Maori land. She agreed, and proposed a hikoi - a symbolic march from the northern tip of the North Island to Parliament in Wellington at the oher end of the island. During September and October 1975, the 80-year-old Whina Cooper again became nationally recognised, walking at the head of the hikoi from Te Hapua to Wellington.
The image of this determined figure, no longer strong in body but strong in mana and will, still remains for many New Zealanders. She was made a Dame Commander in the Order of the British Empire in 1981 and a member of the Order of New Zealand in 1991.
Whina Cooper had returned to Panguru in the Hokianga in 1983. She died there on 26 March, 1994 at the age of 98.
References
King, Michael (2003). Cooper, Whina 1895 - 1994. In Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
External Link
Michael King's full DNZB essay on Dame Whina Cooper
