Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK, also called in English the Ministry of Māori Development) is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsibilities to promote Māori achievement in education, training and employment, health, and economic development; and monitor the provision of government services to Māori. The Māori name means "a group moving forward together". History Protectorate Department (1840-1846) Te Puni Kōkiri, or the Ministry of Māori Development, traces its origins to the missionary-influenced Protectorate Department, which existed between 1840 and 1846. The Department was headed by the missionary and civil servant George Clarke, who held the position of Chief Protector. Its goal was to protect the rights of the Māori people in accordance with the Treaty of Waitangi. The Protectorate was also tasked with advising the Governor on matters relating to Māori and acting as an interpreter for the courts, colonial officials, and the military. Clarke's determination to protect those rights led Governor George Grey to abolish the Protectorate Department in 1846. Grey was opposed to the legal recognition of Māori customs and Māori participation in the judicial system. Native Department (1861-1893) The Protectorate Department was succeeded by the Native Department, which was created in 1861 to manage the growing tensions between Māori and European settlers which eventually culminated in the New Zealand Wars. The Native Department was tasked with delivering services to Māori in the areas of education, healthcare, and policing, and to assimilate Māori into European (or Pakeha) society. Under the purview of the Native Department, Governor Grey established a system of elected Māori committees or Rūnanga and recruited Māori into the civil service. After the abolition of the Rūnanga system, Native Department conducted its activities through a network of resident magistrates, commissioners, assessors, police and mail carriers. In addition, the native schooling system was established and Māori electorates were created in the New Zealand House of Representatives to ensure Māori representation and participation in the country's governance. In 1893, the Native Department was disbanded and its health, education, and policing functions were reallocated to other government departments. Native/Māori Affairs Department (1906-1989) In 1906, the Native Department was established under the leadership of Native Affairs Minister James Carroll with an initial focus on land management and Māori healthcare. One early priority of the Department was developing Māori land in