Witarina Harris (original) (raw)

Witarina Te Miriarangi Parewahaika Harris QSM (née Mitchell; 15 May 1906 – 10 June 2007) was a New Zealand Māori film actress, Māori language advocate, entertainer and public servant. She featured in the 1929 Universal Pictures silent film Under the Southern Cross as the heroine Princess Miro in her only film credit. Harris worked for politician Āpirana Ngata as a secretary and helped to establish Wellington's Ngāti Poneke Young Maori Club as a recreational and educational club for Māori people and the Māori Women's Welfare League. Late in her life, she promoted Māori cinema around the world and a documentary and film about her were broadcast. An oil painting on Harris was unveiled to the public in January 2009.