June 07, 2016
Sir Graham Latimer 1926 – 2016
Sir Graham Latimer 1926 – 2016
A mighty totara has fallen.
Sir Graham Latimer, long serving chair of the New Zealand Maori Council, died today at his home in Pamupuria at the age of 90.
He was the most influential Maori of his generation, shaping the future of Aotearoa-New Zealand through a series of struggles for Maori rights and the Treaty of Waitangi.
After service in occupied Japan with J Force, he married Emily Moore, the sister of an army friend, and joined the railways.
Postings in the Kaipara district sparked their ambitions to farm, and in 1961 the couple bought land at Tinopai.
By that stage he had been shoulder-tapped to represent Ngati Whatua and was taking part in the newly-formed Maori Council.
In 1973 he was elected to chair the council, a role he relinquished because of ill health 40 years later.
He cultivated strong relationships in political circles, standing for National in Northern Maori against Matiu Rata in 1969 and 1972 and serving as the party’s Maori vice-president from 1981 to 1992.
His advice and insights were sought and valued across the political spectrum.
On Waitangi Day 1981 at Waitangi he was made a Knight the British Empire. The ceremony, at which Dame Whina Cooper also received her award, was disrupted by young protesters from Te Kawariki, who in later years were to become some of his strongest supporters.
The image of Sir Graham as an establishment figure was broken in 1987 when along with iwi from around the country the New Zealand Maori Council challenged the plans of the Third Labour Government to sell the crown’s farms, forests and trading departments and to privatise fisheries.
The inclusion of a treaty protection clause in the State Owned Enterprise Act 1986 at the behest of Muriwhenua claimants opened the door for the council to take the crown the court the next year.
The judgment by the Court of Appeal in codified in law the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as defined up to that point, and have provided a starting point for other claims.
Sir Graham was part of the team of rangatira who negotiated settlements over land, fisheries and forests, and he served on a number of settlement bodies including the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission and the Crown Forestry Settlement Trust.
He was also a member long serving member of the Anglican Church General Synod.
His beloved wife and lifetime collaborator Emily Lady Latimer died last year.
The tangi for Sir Graham Latimer is at Te Paatu Marae at Pamupuria, just south of Kaitaia.
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