Background
He was born in Kaikohe, and was named after his great-uncle Hone Heke.
He was born in Kaikohe, and was named after his great-uncle Hone Heke.
Ngapua was born in 1869 at Kaikohe. He was adjudged bankrupt and vacated the seat on 29 October 1900. However, he was re-elected to the seat in a by-election on 9 January 1901 (as Joseph Ward was in 1897).
He died in Wellington of tuberculosis at only 40 while an Member of Parliament in 1909.
He was influential in the development of the Young Maori Party, and helped defuse the conflict of the Dog Tax War of 1897. He introduced a Native Rights Bill, some of which was incorporated into legislation passed in 1900.