Pounamu - Āpirana Ngata 1874 - 1950

Television (Full Length Episode) – 1990

Ngāti Porou leader, land reformer, politician and scholar Sir Āpirana Ngata (1874-1950) is celebrated in this series about leading Māori figures, produced by TVNZ's Māori Department. Ngata was seemingly ordained for greatness from birth. The first Māori university graduate, he was an MP and a Minister of Native Affairs, and a firm believer that Māori had to live alongside Pākehā and learn from them. Reforms he instituted helped his people retain their lands and language; and he led a cultural renaissance that revitalised action songs, waiata and haka.

It was commonly said at the time, if the Māori had numbered millions instead of thousands, Ngata would have been as great as Gandhi.
– Jock McEwan, former secretary of Māori Affairs