Dame Whina Cooper (9 December 1895 – 26 March 1994) was a respected (Māori elder), who worked for many years for the rights of her people, and particularly to improve the lot of Māori women. She is remembered for leading the 1975 Māori land march from Te Hapua to Wellington, a distance of , at the age of 79. Her wide influence and nationally recognised activity led her to be acknowledged with awards in both the British (Imperial) and New Zealand Royal Honours Systems, and by her own people, who bestowed the title ('Mother of the Nation') upon her. She is the subject of the 2022 film Whina. Early life Dame Whina Cooper was born Hōhepine Te Wake, daughter of community leader and Catholic catechist Heremia Te Wake and Kare Pauro Kawatihi, of the Te Rarawa iwi, at Te Karaka, Hokianga. From an early age, she showed an interest in her father's role, and in history and genealogy. Her education began at Whakarapa Native School. In 1907, she attended St Joseph's Māori Girls' College. After high school, she returned to Whakarapa (later Panguru) where her father wanted her to enter into an arranged marriage with Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V, leader of Ngati Tuwharetoa. Cooper refused, and instead worked at a local co-operative store. She worked as a teacher for a brief time, at Pawarenga Native School. However, as one of only three teachers, she became frustrated, and found her time stretched between teaching and helping her own community. She left teaching in 1914 and was a housekeeper at the Catholic presbytery of Rāwene for two years. She kept her Catholic Christian faith her whole life. Political activism 1914–1935: Whakarapa Cooper's first involvement in politics was in the form of a land dispute over an area of leased mudflats in around 1914. The farmer, Bob Holland, who rented the land, wanted to drain the estuary for farming. That would have obstructed current use of the land by local iwi for gathering seafood and racing horses during the drier months. Heremia challenged the lease in court, and Cooper led a group of protesters to fill in Holland's drains. The protesters were eventually charged with trespassing, but they had stalled events long enough for Heremia to be successful, and the lease was withdrawn by the Marine Department. In 1916, she returned to work at the co-operative store, and around this time, met