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Graham Latimer
BiographySir Graham Stanley Latimer KBE was born in 1926 on the Aupouri Peninsula in the far north of Northland. His hapū is Ngāti Kahu. The Latimer family had a dairy farm at Pamapuria, near Kaitaia. He enlisted with the New Zealand Army in 1943 and in 1946 and 1947 served with J Force in their occupation role in Japan after World War II.
In 1948 he married Emily Moore from Opotiki, of Ngāti te Rangi. For a time, he worked for New Zealand Railways and then from 1961 to 1979, Graham and Emily ran a dairy farm on the Kaipara Harbour at Tinopai. From 1979 to 1995 they farmed at Taipuha, also on the Kaipara Harbour. Graham mortgaged this farm to fund legal challenges for Māori rights during the 1980s.
In 1963 Sir Graham was elected to the Tai Tokerau District Māori Council and from 1972 he chaired the New Zealand Māori Council. He held this position for the next forty years. Graham worked diligently to gain the confidence of successive governments and built up a reputation as a man with considered and practical views and recommendations.
In 1977 he was appointed one of the first three members of the Waitangi Tribunal. He was the chair of the Crown Forest Rental Trust from 1990 to 2011 and a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission between 1993 and 1998. For many years, Sir Graham was the Māori Vice-president of the National Party and a member of the Anglican General Synod.
In 1980, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the Māori people.
During the 1980s, Sir Graham and Lady Emily mortgaged their farm to help mount a successful legal challenge by the New Zealand Māori Council to halt the effects of the State-owned Enterprises (SOE) legislation, which would have removed protection of assets transferred to SOEs. The Court of Appeal’s decision empowered the Waitangi Tribunal to recover assets, including land, to redress treaty breaches.
Lady Emily Latimer was also an active advocate for Māori. She worked for the Te Taitokerau Māori Trust Board, was secretary of the New Zealand Māori Council and had a long involvement with Māori Wardens. Lady Emily and Sir Graham had five children.
In 1995, the couple returned to the family farm at Pamapuria. Lady Emily died in September 2015. Sir Graham died nearly a year later, in June 2016.
Sir Graham Latimer was a prominent and influential Māori leader. As an effective advocate for Māori, Sir Graham lifted the status of the Treaty of Waitangi, making it an integral cornerstone of New Zealand law.
Date of Birth7 February 1926Place of BirthAupouri,Northland Date of Death7 June 2016Place of DeathPamapuria, NorthlandOccupationFarmerMāori LeaderSoldier
In 1948 he married Emily Moore from Opotiki, of Ngāti te Rangi. For a time, he worked for New Zealand Railways and then from 1961 to 1979, Graham and Emily ran a dairy farm on the Kaipara Harbour at Tinopai. From 1979 to 1995 they farmed at Taipuha, also on the Kaipara Harbour. Graham mortgaged this farm to fund legal challenges for Māori rights during the 1980s.
In 1963 Sir Graham was elected to the Tai Tokerau District Māori Council and from 1972 he chaired the New Zealand Māori Council. He held this position for the next forty years. Graham worked diligently to gain the confidence of successive governments and built up a reputation as a man with considered and practical views and recommendations.
In 1977 he was appointed one of the first three members of the Waitangi Tribunal. He was the chair of the Crown Forest Rental Trust from 1990 to 2011 and a member of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission between 1993 and 1998. For many years, Sir Graham was the Māori Vice-president of the National Party and a member of the Anglican General Synod.
In 1980, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to the Māori people.
During the 1980s, Sir Graham and Lady Emily mortgaged their farm to help mount a successful legal challenge by the New Zealand Māori Council to halt the effects of the State-owned Enterprises (SOE) legislation, which would have removed protection of assets transferred to SOEs. The Court of Appeal’s decision empowered the Waitangi Tribunal to recover assets, including land, to redress treaty breaches.
Lady Emily Latimer was also an active advocate for Māori. She worked for the Te Taitokerau Māori Trust Board, was secretary of the New Zealand Māori Council and had a long involvement with Māori Wardens. Lady Emily and Sir Graham had five children.
In 1995, the couple returned to the family farm at Pamapuria. Lady Emily died in September 2015. Sir Graham died nearly a year later, in June 2016.
Sir Graham Latimer was a prominent and influential Māori leader. As an effective advocate for Māori, Sir Graham lifted the status of the Treaty of Waitangi, making it an integral cornerstone of New Zealand law.
Date of Birth7 February 1926Place of BirthAupouri,Northland Date of Death7 June 2016Place of DeathPamapuria, NorthlandOccupationFarmerMāori LeaderSoldierScrapbook
Photo
Publication
Photo from Whangarei Recollect, Florence Keene Photograph Collection.
Original source may be The Northern Advocate photo archives.
Whānau
MotherLillian Edith LatimerFatherTe Rima Graham LatimerChildrenRayna TuhimataAmy Lee RukePartnerEmily Patricia MooreDate Married1948
FatherTe Rima Graham LatimerChildrenRayna TuhimataAmy Lee RukePartnerEmily Patricia MooreDate Married1948Further Information
Graham Latimer. Northland Room Digital Collections, accessed 29/03/2026, https://wdc.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/5376
