lit a candle 2h agoA principal who built something real out of nothing, and then kept building. Northland College was lucky to have him.
Their story
James Leonard Peters MNZM was a New Zealand educator, local government leader and New Zealand First list MP whose life ran from a Whananaki dairy farm to Parliament and the University of Auckland. Born in Kawakawa in 1937 and raised on the coast north of Whangarei, he was the eldest…
James Leonard Peters MNZM was a New Zealand educator, local government leader and New Zealand First list MP whose life ran from a Whananaki dairy farm to Parliament and the University of Auckland. Born in Kawakawa in 1937 and raised on the coast north of Whangarei, he was the eldest of eleven children in a Ngati Wai, Ngati Hine and Nga Puhi family that also produced MPs Ian Peters and Winston Peters. He died on 15 September 2026. Parliament observed a moment of silence in his honour the same day, and New Zealand First remembered him as a life member and foundational figure of quiet wisdom and principled guidance.
Childhood on the farm meant early responsibility. From the age of nine he helped milk cows before school at Whananaki Primary, netting mullet and digging for pipis between rugby games that linked him to an uncle who had played for North Auckland and a father who had been a flanker for Whangarei. His parents sent him to Wesley College in Paerata because the bus journey to Whangarei was long. He took a BA in history and political studies at the University of Auckland and a Diploma of Teaching from Auckland Teachers Training College, then taught across Auckland schools including Blockhouse Bay Primary, Otara Intermediate, Point England Primary, Tamaki Intermediate, Parnell Primary and Mount Albert Grammar School, where he became head of history, geography and social studies and coached cricket and rugby.
In 1987 he became principal of Northland College in Kaikohe, taking on a school with a declining roll, financial pressure and an attached farm and forest. He expanded the dairy herd, linked the training farm to Taratahi and later Telford, and pushed vocational pathways so that by 2000 dozens of former students were gaining degrees and diplomas, about half of them Maori. Parallel to the school he served on the Northland Regional Council from 1989 to 2007 and as its chair from 1995 to 2001, helping shape Destination Northland and Port Northland and sitting on the National Council of Local Government New Zealand.
In 2002, while still juggling the principalship and regional politics, he entered Parliament as a New Zealand First list MP. Reporting at the time placed him ninth on the party list and recorded his priorities: raising teachers' standing, opposing cannabis legalisation that he believed harmed students' chances, opposing the Ngawha prison plan, expanding vocational courses, and pressing for faster Treaty of Waitangi settlements from a Kaikohe base. He left the House after the 2005 election when the party's vote fell. In February 2008 he declined a chance to return after Brian Donnelly's resignation, standing aside for Dail Jones. That same honours season he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local-body affairs, education and the community.
Late in 2006 the University of Auckland appointed him Pro Vice-Chancellor (Maori), a role he held for about twelve years. He described the office's purpose as developing the University's Maori profile with staff, students and communities, and linking research and technology to rural-to-urban change and Treaty settlement asset potential. Ngati Wai whanau travelled to Auckland for his 2018 farewell, receiving him back according to tikanga after the University presented a taonga. He remained connected to shared land at Whananaki and to Kaikohe.
Peters married Robin, later a University of Auckland doctoral researcher on early Maori women poets writing in English. Their children Tracey, Andrea and Andrew are all Auckland graduates. Beyond the titles, colleagues and iwi remembered a teacher-administrator who treated education, regional development and Maori advancement as one continuous public service. His death on 15 September 2026 closed a career that had braided classroom, council chamber, Parliament and university leadership without leaving Northland behind.
Biography adapted from RNZ (15 Sep 2026); New Zealand First tribute quoted by RNZ; NZ Herald (18 Jul 2002); University of Auckland News for Staff Vol 44 Issue 04 June 2014 interview; Ngati Wai farewell report (Dec 2018, via. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“I haven't had time to be nervous.”
On campaigning for New Zealand First while still principal and regional councillor, NZ Herald, July 2002.
“And I will be working extremely hard for a speedy resolution of Treaty of Waitangi settlements.”
2002 campaign remarks reported by the NZ Herald.
“We are responsible for developing the Maori profile at the University and working with University staff, students and their communities.”
On the purpose of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Maori) role, University of Auckland News, June 2014.
“Maori communities are at the crossroads with greater movement of people from rural to urban settings, but with the settlement of Treaty claims there are huge unrealized potentials in asset generation.”
On approaching the PVC Maori role, University of Auckland News, June 2014.
“Jim dedicated his life to public service, education, and regional development.”
New Zealand First tribute quoted by RNZ, 15 September 2026.
“He is a man that has dedicated his life to his work, and his career has been a long and distinguished one.”
Whananaki kuia Sue Rata at his 2018 University farewell, Ngati Wai report.
Photos
3Former NZ First MP Jim Peters, portrait used by RNZ in September 2026 coverage
by People Forever
Jim Peters MNZM, educator and former New Zealand First MP
by People Forever
Jim Peters remembered after his death on 15 September 2026
by People Forever
Yes. And he kept going back to Whananaki. That matters.