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I taua hui ka haere te kōrero mōna, he tangata tāroaroa, he koroheke, he rangatira pai, he tangata tūtika, ā, he mā ōna pāhau. I te tau 1903 i mahi ia i te taha o Timi Kara (James Carroll) ki te whakatatū i ngā nawe o te Māori i Kaikohe.
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Ihaia was at the apex of his public life in the years after 1900. He went to Wellington to help put the Maori Councils Act 1900 into operation by drawing up by-laws and guidelines. He was chairman of the Tamatea Maori Council, established under the act, in 1901 and 1902. Also in 1901 he represented Ngati Kahungunu at the reception for the duke and duchess of Cornwall and of York. On this occasion he was described as a 'tall, fine old chief…erect, [and] white bearded'. He worked with James Carroll in 1903 to settle Maori grievances at Kaikohe. In 1905 he sat on a royal commission which investigated Maori complaints that lands given for school trusts in Porirua, Otaki, Waikato, Wairarapa and Motueka were not being used for this purpose. From 1907 to 1914 he was an assessor in the Native Land Court, and he served on the Te Aute Trust Board from 1908 to 1915. An authority on things Maori, he was noted for his composing of music and haka, his oratory and writing. He was also known to make accurate predictions.
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