Puti Tipene Watene

Puti Tipene (Steve) Watene (18 August 1910 – 14 June 1967), of Ngāti Maru and Te Arawa, was a New Zealand rugby league footballer and politician.[1] He was the first Māori to captain the New Zealand league side and he is the only person to both represent the New Zealand national rugby league team and become a Member of Parliament.[2] He is the great-grandfather of New Zealand Rugby League player Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

Puti Tipene Watene
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Eastern Maori
In office 1963–1967
Preceded by	Tiaki Omana
Succeeded by	Paraone Reweti
Personal details
Born	18 August 1910 Kirikiri, Thames, New Zealand
Died	14 June 1967 (aged 56) Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Phyllis Watene
Children	12
Rugby league career
Playing information
Weight	90 kg (14 st 2 lb)
Position	Fullback, Wing, Stand-off, Loose forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1929–35 City Rovers 77 11 118 0 269 1936–43 Manukau 1944 Newton Rangers Total 77 11 118 0 269 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1929–32 Auckland 2 1 7 0 17 1930–37 New Zealand 14 (6) 4 11 (10) 0 34 (20) 1934–35 Auckland Māori 6 8 4 0 32 1935 Auckland B 1 1 0 0 3 1935 Auckland A 1 0 0 0 0 1937 New Zealand Māori 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Early years

A strong member of the Mormon faith, Watene was born in Thames in 1910. He attended Thames High School, Opotiki District High School and then the Māori Agriculture College in the Hawkes Bay before he moved to Auckland where he worked as a labourer and a clerk.[2]

Rugby league

In Auckland Watene joined the City rugby league club in the Auckland Rugby League competition in 1929 and represented and captained Auckland. He debuted for Auckland in a 22-19 win over Northland at Carlaw Park.[3] In the 1933 Auckland Rugby League season Watene top scored in the senor grade competitions with 77 points from 1 try, 26 conversions and 11 penalties. In 1936 Watene joined the newly re-formed Manukau side. He was the club's captain and played a major role in attracting many other Māori players to the club. As a result, Manukau quickly became a force in the Auckland competition, winning both the Fox Memorial and Roope Rooster in their debut year.[2] He also played lock for the New Zealand Māori rugby league team, who secured a famous 16-5 victory over Australia in 1937 at Carlaw Park in front of 11,000 spectators.

Watene was first selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team while only 19 in 1930 and played for them until 1937. Watene was part of the first ever Auckland Māori rugby league team which played 4 matches in 1934 of which he played in all of them. He played 2 further matches in 1935. He also captained the New Zealand national rugby league team in 1936 and 1937, becoming the first Māori to do so.[2]

After retiring he remained involved in rugby league, coaching and selecting representative sides and working as an administrator. In 2008 he was named a New Zealand Rugby League Legend of League.[4]

Local politics

Watene was politically active and during the 1951 waterfront dispute he toured the districts on behalf of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union, urging Māori not to work as strike breakers.[2]

In 1953 he was elected to the Mount Wellington Borough Council. He served until 1956, after which Mt Wellington named a street, Watene Road, after him.[2]

He moved to Petone in 1956, working as a hostel manager and industrial welfare officer, and between 1962 and 1965 he served on the Petone Borough Council.

Watene also served on the New Zealand Māori Council.

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1963–1966	34th	Eastern Maori		Labour
1966–1967	35th	Eastern Maori		Labour

A member of the New Zealand Labour Party, Watene had served on the national executive for six years before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Eastern Maori in November 1963, following the retirement of Ratana MP Tiaki Omana.[5] As a Mormon, Watene's election broke the Ratana stranglehold on the Māori seats.[2]

He was re-elected in 1966, but on 14 June 1967[5] suffered a heart attack and died in Parliament Buildings during a Maori Affairs Committee meeting.

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. Coffey and Wood The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League ISBN 1-86971-090-8
3. "Northern Union Cup/Auckland Team's Lucky Win/Northland's Good Display". The New Zealand Herald. LXVI (20337). 19 August 1929. p. 12. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
4. Steve Watene, nzrl.co.nz, Accessed 16 August 2009
5. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 244. OCLC 154283103.

• Henare, Manuka. "Watene, Puti Tipene". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
• Tribute to the late P. T. (Steve) Watene The Maori Magazine, September 1967
• Unveiling at Petone The Maori Magazine, September 1968