Tu Wyllie

Tu Wyllie

Full name	Tutekawa Wyllie
Date of birth	24 October 1954
Place of birth	Manutuke, New Zealand
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Weight	69 kg (152 lb)
School	Gisborne Boys' High School
University	Victoria University of Wellington
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	First five-eighth
New Zealand No.	823
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1978–83	Wellington
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1980 1979–82	New Zealand New Zealand Māori	0	(0)
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Te Tai Tonga In office 1996–1999 Preceded by New constituency Succeeded by Mahara Okeroa Majority 285 Personal details Political party New Zealand First

Tutekawa "Tu" Wyllie (born 24 October 1954) is a former New Zealand politician and rugby union player. A first five-eighth, Wyllie represented Wellington at a provincial level, and played one match for the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1980. He was the New Zealand First Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga from 1996 to 1999.

Early life

Born in Manutuke,^[1] Wyllie affiliates to the Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Ngāti Ruapani and Rongowhakaata iwi.^[2] He was educated at Gisborne Boys' High School where is played rugby for the 1st XV.^[1] He then went to Victoria University of Wellington, where he studied law.^[3] He worked as a bus driver, court clerk, teacher trainee and as a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Education, Iwi Transition Agency and the Department of Health.^[4][5]

Rugby career

While at Victoria, Wyllie played rugby league for New Zealand Universities between 1975 and 1977. He then played representative rugby union for Wellington from 1978 to 1983 and New Zealand Māori from 1979 to 1982.^[1] In the off-seasons he played overseas, in Ireland, the United States, Germany and France.^[5] His sole appearance for the All Blacks came in 1980, when he played against the touring Fijian side, scoring a try.^[1] The game was not recognized as a full international.

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1996–1999	45th	Te Tai Tonga	36	NZ First

Wyllie was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 1999, representing New Zealand First.

He was elected to Parliament in the 1996 elections as MP for Te Tai Tonga, defeating the 29-year parliamentary veteran Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan with a majority of 285 votes.^[6] New Zealand First captured all five Māori seats in the 1996 election (including Te Tai Tonga). When New Zealand First splintered, he was one of the MPs who remained with the party core. In the 1999 elections, Wyllie did not stand on the New Zealand First list, but did seek re-election as MP for Te Tai Tonga. However, he was defeated by Mahara Okeroa of the Labour Party by 4522 votes.^[7]

During his term in Parliament, Wyllie played for the parliamentary rugby team.^[8]

References

1. Marist-St Pats RFC. "Tu Wyllie". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
2. Keene, Howard (8 September 1998). "Groomed for public life". The Press. p. 5.
3. "Rugby cup". Gisborne Photo News. 22 May 1974. p. 17. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
4. "Parliament". Truth. 18 October 1996. p. 10.
5. Speden, Graeme (25 November 1996). "Tu does what is asked of him". The Dominion. p. 2.
6. O'Hanlon, Sinead (29 October 1996). "Tribal leaders under attack". The Press. p. 1.
7. "Te Tai Tonga electorate profile". Parliamentary Library Te Pātaka Rangahau a Te Whare Pāremata. October 2005. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
8. "Revenge chance". Southland Times. 22 July 1998. p. 15.