Henare Uru

Uru was born at Kaiapoi in 1872. His father was Hoani Uru, a farmer, and his mother was Kataraina Kaiparoa. A member of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū (sub-tribe) of Ngāi Tahu, Uru was educated at Rangiora High School.[1]

He married Ruita Te Aika in 1891, but the couple divorced in 1896. Uru subsequently married Gladys Constance Mary Rogers in 1915.[1] Their son, also named Henare Whakatau Uru, served as a pilot officer during World War II and was killed while on operations over Europe with 299 Sqn in 1944.[2] Their daughter, Tui Uru, was the first Māori presenter on New Zealand television.[3]

Uru was known as a sportsman in his teens and 20s, playing rugby union for the Kaiapoi Football Club, and being involved in athletics, wrestling and tennis. He was also a noted cyclist.[1][4]

A member of the North Canterbury Mounted Rifle Volunteers, Uru attended the opening of the Australian federal parliament in 1901.[1] He also managed the Rapaki Music Company and has been credited with introducing the tune Now is the Hour to New Zealand.[1]

Uru won the Southern Maori electorate in the 1922 Southern Maori by-election following the death of his brother Hopere Uru in November 1921.[1] He retained his seat at the 1922 and 1925 general elections, but was defeated in 1928 when he finished third behind Tuiti Makitanara and Eruera Tirikatene.[5][6]

Uru's main parliamentary contribution was the progression of Ngāi Tahu issues, leading to the formation of the Ngaitahu Trust Board in 1929.[1] He was also a member of the Board of Maori Ethnological Research.[4] He died in Wellington in 1929 and was buried at Tuahiwi, near Kaiapoi.[1]