Today we look back at a landmark moment in Aotearoa’s political history – when Māori first gained seats in the New Zealand Parliament.
In 1867, the Māori Representation Act was passed, creating four Māori electorates in the House of Representatives. This groundbreaking law gave all Māori men aged 21 and over the right to vote, a form of universal suffrage 12 years before it applied to all Pākehā men.
On 15 April 1868, the first elections for those Māori seats were held. The results brought four historic Māori members into Parliament:
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Frederick Nene Russell was elected unopposed for Northern Māori.
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Mete Kīngi Te Rangi Paetahi was elected unopposed for Western Māori.
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Tāreha Te Moananui won Eastern Māori after a show of hands at nomination day.
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In Southern Māori, where three candidates stood, John Patterson (Hōne Paratene Tamanui a Rangi) won the seat after a poll.
These men became the first Māori MPs, taking their seats in 1868, just 14 years after the first New Zealand Parliament was established.
Tāreha Te Moananui was also the first Māori MP to speak in Parliament, urging lawmakers to pass fair laws and encouraging cooperation between Māori and Pākehā – his speech delivered in Māori and translated by an interpreter.
Initially intended as a temporary measure, the Māori seats were supposed to last only five years. But they proved so important that in 1872 the experiment was extended and in 1876 the Māori electorates were made permanent features of New Zealand’s electoral system.
This moment marked a significant step in Indigenous participation in national governance – a tradition that continues today with Māori holding seats not only in dedicated Māori electorates but across Parliament, contributing to debates and decisions that shape the future of this country.
