1868 First Māori Members of Parliament

Following the Māori Representation Act 1867, and while Titokowaru and Te Kooti still led violent resistance, the first four Māori members were elected to parliament. Under this statute, adult Māori men were given universal suffrage (voting rights) – 11 years before Pākehā men, who still faced property qualifications. However, there were only four Māori seats, at a time when Māori should have had many more, based on their population. Only in the 1890s did Māori begin to achieve significant influence in parliament, first through James Carroll (member for Eastern Māori and then Gisborne), then through younger activists such as Apirana Ngata, Hone Heke Ngapua, Peter Buck and Maui Pomare. The number of Māori seats remained constant at four until the first MMP election in 1996. Since then, they have increased by one seat per election (reflecting the increasing numbers of voters on the Māori roll).