Īhāia Puketapu

Īhāia Pōrutu Puketapu OBE (7 February 1887 – 1 July 1971)[1] was a New Zealand tribal leader, butcher, roading contractor and labourer.

As a young man, he was trained by the prophet Te Whiti at Parihaka, before returning to the Wellington region.

[4] He stood as a Labour candidate for the Lower Hutt City Council, unsuccessfully, at the 1947 local-body elections.

[6] One of his sons Te Rira (Teri) Puketapu was a Lower Hutt City Councillor from 1974 to 1989.

[8] In the 1960 Queen's Birthday Honours, Puketapu was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for social welfare services to Māori youth.