Te Huinga was born in the 1850s at Makauri in Poverty Bay the daughter of Riperata Kahutia and Mikaera Turangi.
[1] She married James Carroll, who was known as Timi Kara, on 4 July 1881 becoming a Catholic at his request.
[2] When her husband was elected to Parliament in 1887 Te Huinga remained in Gisborne living in a house the couple built in Kahutia Street.
[3] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 New Year Honours for her work for orphanages and fundraising during the war.
[1] Te Huinga died in 1930 and was buried with her husband in the Makaraka cemetery in Gisborne.