Henare Kaihau

Henare Kaihau (1854/1860? – 20 May 1920) was a New Zealand Māori politician, serving as Member of the House of Representatives for the Western Maori electorate.

Henare Kaihau (second row, middle). Front row from left: Richard Seddon, Premier; Mahuta Tāwhiao, Maori King. Second row from left: Tupu Taingakawa Te Waharoa, Maori Kingmaker; Henare Kaihau; James Carroll, MP. Taken at Huntly, New Zealand in 1898

His birth year is uncertain. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography gives a range from 1854 to 1860,[1] whereas Wilson gives 1855.[2]

He unsuccessfully contested the Western Maori electorate in the 1884 election. Of eight candidates, he came fifth with 9.7% of the vote.[3] In the 1886 by-election, he came third out of five candidates.[4][5] In the 1896 election, he defeated Ropata Te Ao,[6] and he held the Western Maori electorate to 1911 when he was defeated by Māui Pōmare.[2]

Wilson notes him as a Reform Party supporter.[2] Kaihau does, however, appear on a poster of the Liberal Party in 1910.[7] The New Zealand Herald, in its 1905 election reporting, also lists him as a government supporter, i.e. a Liberal.[8] Those newspapers that listed political affiliation for Maori candidates for the 1908 election, The Star (Christchurch) and The Tuapeka Times, also show him as a supporter of the Ward Ministry.[9][10]