Background
He was of aristocratic Ngāti Rongomaiwahine descent and was also a grandson of John Davies Ormond, first Superintendent of Hawke"s Bay.
He was of aristocratic Ngāti Rongomaiwahine descent and was also a grandson of John Davies Ormond, first Superintendent of Hawke"s Bay.
A keen rugby player, Tiaki Omana played Ranfurly Shield matches for his province, Hawke"s Bay, and once for the All Blacks in 1923 against a team from New South Wales. Even after joining the New Zealand Maori (Pioneer) Battalion and fighting in France during World War I, he was still able to play on the wing for the Pioneer Battalion team A koata of the "second cut", Omana first contested the Tairawhiti electorate of Eastern Maori in 1928, finally winning the electorate in 1943.
As a Rātana/Labour member, he raised the issue of land claims, housing and health for Māori, and discrimination in social security.
Omana was a sheepfarmer on the isolated Mahia Peninsula before becoming a.