By 1929 Te Puea Herangi was already a prominent national figure, having played an important role in reviving the Kingitanga movement.
Te Puea - who was grand-daughter of the second Maori King, Tawhiao - helped set up the Turangawaewae marae at Ngaruawahia giving the Tainui people a central focus.
But she is chosen as our New Zealander of the Year in 1929 for her important role in turning Apirana Ngata's ambitious land development schemes into reality.
"Te Puea supported the Maori land development scheme which the Government fostered during the depression years," said the Herald. "She mobilised whole communities for breaking in the land."
She believed in Ngata's vision of land development and dairy farming as the basis of strong communities, writes historian Anne Parsonson in the DNZB.
