The 75 year old Queen of the Maori population, making up approximately 15 per cent of the indigenous population of New Zealand, Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu, died on Tuesday, August 15th, at her residence in Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, in the presence of her husband Whatumoana Paki and her seven children. Officials declared one week of mourning for their beloved monarch.

According to the records, Queen Te Ata, as she was nicknamed, was the longest serving royal of the Kingitanga (King) movement, which officially opposed the colonization of the Maori-controlled land by the European, especially British, settlers. In addition to that she was the seventh Maori sovereign, ruling the Maori population for 40 years, being a direct descendant of the royal family that began governing the Maori in 1858, in response to the British colonization of New Zealand. Back then, the Maori chose to elect a sovereign of their own, thus not submitting to the British monarchs.

Te Ata became a queen in May of 1966, when her father, King Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tawhiao died. Although she was not very accustomed to being the center stage of the political life of the Maoris, she was forced to assume a role that included doing business with some of the most important and some of the most influential people in the world.

In addition, despite the fact that royal heads only hold ceremonial attributes, the Maoris grow a profound respect for their kings and queens, thus bearing more responsibility on the latter's shoulders in serving their people right. However, that did not prove to be an issue for Queen Te Ata, who raised the cultural profile of her people, by becoming the cultural Ambassador for the Maori, as well as other indigenous, populations.

Te Ata had not named any successors to the throne, yet the local media rumors that her heir would be chosen from among the members of the King movement, of which Te Ata stated in May 2001 that it had become "part of every moment, thought, dream and action. It is as much a part of me as the very air that I breathe. I have no doubt that in another 35 years, although many of us will be gone, the cloak of Kingitanga will still offer what it has".