Dame Ngāneko Kaihau Minhinnick of Ngāti Te Ata descent grew up in Waiuku and from an early age was chosen by her people as a future leader, attending Māori Land Court hearings from the age of 11. She led a landmark Waitangi Tribunal claim in 1985 over pollution of the Manukau Harbour, and the tribunal's report — together with her subsequent submissions to the government — laid the groundwork for what became the Resource Management Act 1991. A guardian of taonga Māori, she took her people's cause to the world stage at United Nations forums on indigenous rights. She was made a Dame in 2013 for her services to Māori and conservation.