Sir Āpirana Turupa Ngata (3 July 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a prominent New Zealand statesman. He has often been described as the foremost Māori politician to have served in parliament in the mid-20th century, and is also known for his work in promoting and protecting Māori culture and language. His legacy is one of the most prominent of any New Zealand leader in the 20th century, and is commemorated by his depiction on the fifty dollar note. Ngata practiced as a lawyer before entering politics in 1897, when he established the Young Māori Party alongside numerous alumni of Te Aute College, including future fellow cabinet minister Māui Pōmare. Here he challenged the traditional views of his people, advocating the abandonment of some traditional practices and customary healing in favour of science and Pākehā-style sanitation, which made him a controversial figure. In 1905, he was elected the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastern Maori, retaining this seat for nearly 40 years. He served in government as Minister of Native Affairs from 1928 to 1934. In this he tried to accomplish as many reforms for Māori as possible, although he was forced to resign as minister in a widely publicised spending scandal. Nevertheless, he continued to serve as MP for Eastern Maori until he was ousted in 1943 by Rātana candidate (affiliated with Labour) Tiaki Omana, as Labour swept the Māori electorates. At the age of 69 he returned to his Ngāti Porou home 129 kilometres north of Gisborne, where he lived with his four sons and four daughters, and multiple grandchildren, until his death seven years later. Early life Ngata was born in Te Araroa (then called Kawakawa), a small coastal town about north of Gisborne, New Zealand. His iwi was Ngāti Porou. His father was Paratene Ngata, a tribal leader and expert in traditional lore, and his mother was Katerina Naki, the daughter of an itinerant Scot, Abel Enoch. Ngata was greatly influenced both by his father and by his great-uncle Ropata Wahawaha (who had led loyal kupapa Ngāti Porou forces against their Pai Mārire enemy (commonly known as Hauhau) in the East Cape War and later Te Kooti's escapees from the Chatham Islands). Ngata was raised in a Māori environment, speaking the Māori language, but his father also ensured that Ngata learnt about the Pākehā world, believing that this understanding would be of benefit to Ngāti