Īhāia Pōrutu Puketapu (7 February 1887 – 1 July 1971) was a New Zealand tribal leader, butcher, roading contractor, and labourer. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Te Āti Awa iwi.
Biography
Īhāia Puketapu was born at Waiwhetū in the Hutt Valley on 7 February 1887. He was the eldest of four brothers and one sister. His father was Hapi Tūtūā Puketapu and his mother was Mihi Kōrama Woodgate, both belonging to the Te Matehou, Hāmua, and Puketapu hapū (sub-tribes) of Te Āti Awa.
As a young man, he was trained by the prophet Te Whiti at Parihaka before returning to the Wellington region. A dedicated Christian, he was an advocate for Christian pacifism.
He was active in the early New Zealand Labour Party and had close friendships with Prime Minister Peter Fraser and Walter Nash. He was active in the campaign for the Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act 1945. He met with Fraser to reaffirm the ownership of the 100-acre block where he lived, which had been set aside for Māori under the Wakefield land settlement, so that the land could be used for state-built rental homes for Māori. He stood as a Labour candidate for the Lower Hutt City Council, unsuccessfully, at the 1947 local-body elections.
Family
Puketapu married Amiria Ake Ake in Hāwera about 1907, but she died in 1916. He remarried Pākehā Vera May Yeates (1904–1991) on 15 March 1930 in Wellington. They had many children, including Ihakara Puketapu and Erenora Puketapu-Hetet. One of his sons, Te Rira (Teri) Puketapu, served as a Lower Hutt City Councillor from 1974 to 1989 and built and renovated the Waiwhetū marae.
Honours
In 1953, Puketapu was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. In the 1960 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for social welfare services to Māori youth.
Death
Puketapu died in Lower Hutt on 1 July 1971, aged 84.
