Hana Te Hemara
Hana Te Hemara (16 February 1940 – 10 October 1999) was a prominent Māori activist and leader. Biography. Te Hemara, of Te Āti Awa and Ngāti Raukawa descent, was the seventh of 12 children, born in Puketapu and educated at the Waitara Convent. She grew up in Mangakino where her father worked on the dams at Karapiro and Mangakino Later she worked as a telephone operator in various places Te Hemara started studying at the University of Auckland in 1969 at the age of 30 to study politics and New Zealand history. Actively involved with Ngā Tamatoa. She  strongly supported Tino Rangatiratanga, the revival of the Māori language, and the Māori protest movement in general. In the 1970s Te Hemara was one of the founding members of Ngā Tamatoa, a Maori activist group. The group organised protests at Waitangi On 14 September 1972, Te Hemara along with Titewhai Harawira, Rawiri Paratene and Syd Jackson presented a petition of over 30,000 signatures to parliament challenging the politicians to prioritise saving Te Reo Māori. This led to the day being declared Māori Language Day. Three years later, it was expanded to Māori Language Week. In 1979, Te Hemara joined the  Māori Affairs Department with the Māori Language Commission, a result of her work. She formed the first Māori Business and Professional Association in 1980 and organised Te Kopu Designers' Award for Māori designers in 1984. Te Hemara later gained notoriety in 1988, when it was reported she said, ""Kill a white and become a hero."" Te Hemara maintained her comment was taken out of context. Te Hemara married Syd Jackson in 1961. She died in Auckland on 10 October 1999, aged 59.