Sir Peter Buck - also known as Te Rangi Hiroa in later life - was of Ngati Mutunga and Irish Protestant descent.
He had a career of extraordinary variety and achievement.
Educated at Te Aute College, he became a doctor and then - as part of a rising generation of Maori leaders including Apirana Ngata and Maui Pomare - went into politics.
Like Ngata and Pomare, Buck worked to improve Maori social conditions.
After service in World War I he developed an interest in anthropology. In 1923 he made his mark by delivering a paper "The Coming of the Maori" at the Pacific Science Congress in Melbourne. The paper, which was expanded into a book, was for many years regarded as a standard introduction for students of Maori and anthropology at university.
