Sir Graham Stanley Latimer KBE, 1926 – 2016

Sir Graham Stanley Latimer KBE, February 7, 1926 – June 7, 2016

Sir Graham Latimer, long serving chair of the New Zealand Māori Council, died today at his home in Pamapuria.

He was the most influential Māori of his generation, shaping the future of Aotearoa-New Zealand through a series of struggles for Māori rights and the Treaty of Waitangi.

He was born February 7, 1926 by the side of the road on the Aupouri Peninsula, the third son of Graham Latimer of Ngāti Kahu father and his Scottish-Irish wife Lillian.

He enlisted in for the army during World War II but was held back to his father Graham, a noted community leader, recruit for the Māori Battalion. He eventually joined J Force and served in occupied Japan.

On his return he married Emily Moore, the sister of an army friend, and joined the railways.

Postings in the Kaipara district sparked their ambitions to farm, and in 1961 they bought land at Tinopai and immersed themselves in the sports and social activities of the community.

By that stage he has already been shoulder-tapped to represent Ngāti Whātua and was taking part in the newly-formed Māori Council.

In 1973 he was elected to chair the council, a role he was only able to relinquish because of ill health 40 years later.

He cultivated strong relationships in political circles, standing for National in Northern Māori against Matiu Rata in 1969 and 1972 and serving as the party’s Māori vice-president from 1981 to 1992.

His advice and insights were sought and valued across the political spectrum.

On Waitangi Day 1981 at Waitangi he was made a Knight the British Empire. The ceremony, at which Dame Whina Cooper also received her award, was disrupted by young protesters from Te Kawariki, who in later years were to become some of his strongest supporters.

The image of Sir Graham as an establishment figure was broken in 1987 when along with iwi from around the country the New Zealand Māori Council challenged the plans of the Third Labour Government to sell the crown’s farms, forests and trading departments and to privatise fisheries.

The inclusion of a Treaty protection clause in the State Owned Enterprise Act 1986 at the behest of Muriwhenua claimants opened the door for the council to take the Crown the court the next year.

The judgment by the Court of Appeal in codified in law the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as defined up to that point, and have provided a starting point for other claims.

Sir Graham was one the four Māori fisheries negotiators, along with Muriwhenua leader Hon. Matiu Rata, Tainui’s Sir Robert Mahuta and Ngāi Tahu chair Sir Tipene O’Regan.

After the first interim settlement of 1998, Sir Graham moved off the then Māori Fisheries Commission and instead chaired the commercial arm of the settlement, setting up what has become Aotearoa Fisheries.

The expiry of the interim settlement coincided with the opportunity to buy a stake in New Zealand’s largest deepwater fishing company, Sealord, and negotiations resumed leading to a full settlement of Māori commercial fishing claims that two decades on has put Māori interests in control of more than a third of the New Zealand catch.

The council and the Federation of Māori Authorities negotiated a settlement allowing the crown to sell cutting rights to crown forests while claims to the underlying land were heard. This mechanism has provided funding for much of the research into historic claims as well as formed a significant component of many settlements. Sir Graham chaired the Crown Forestry Rental trust from its inception until 2011.

In Te Taitokerau, Sir Graham chaired the Taitokerau Māori Trust Board, building up a sizeable asset base including the Copthorne Hotel Waitangi. He also chaired the Ngāti Kahu Māori Trust Board.

He was also a member long serving member of the Anglican Church General Synod.

His beloved wife Emily Lady Latimer died last year. He is survived by five children and many mokopuna.

The tangi for Sir Graham Latimer is at Te Paatu Marae at Pamapuria, just south of Kaitaia.

ENDS

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