Apirana Tuahae Kaukapakapa Mahuika (1 May 1934 – 9 February 2015) was a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

tribal leader. He was chair of Te Rūnanga o

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand ...

from its establishment in 1987 until his death in 2015.

Biography

Mahuika was born at Whakawhitira, near Tikitiki, in 1934 to Te Hamana and Tangipo Hemoata Mahuika, and was the youngest of 14 children. Educated at

Te Aute College Te Aute College (Māori language, Māori: Te Kura o Te Aute) is a school in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It opened in 1854 with twelve pupils under Samuel Williams (missionary), Samuel Williams, an Anglicanism, Anglican missionary, and n ...

, he gained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He was ordained as an Anglican minister in 1962. He taught at a number of institutions, including St Stephen's School at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

The Correspondence School Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu or Te Kura (formerly The Correspondence School) is New Zealand's largest school with around 25,000 students enrolled each year, from early childhood to secondary level. It is headquartered in Portland Crescent in Thorndon ...

, Wellington Teachers' College and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the latter establishment in 2004. He was also a member of the council of the University of Waikato. In 1990, Mahuika was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 1990s, he was a board member of

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...

and was instrumental in appointing

Cliff Whiting Clifford Hamilton Whiting (6 May 1936 – 16 July 2017) was a New Zealand artist, teacher and advocate for Māori heritage. Career In 1955, Whiting began teacher training at Wellington Teachers' College where his artistic talents were quickly ...

to be joint CEO, or kaihautū, with

Cheryll Sotheran Dame Cheryll Beatrice Sotheran (11 October 1945 – 30 December 2017) was a New Zealand museum professional. She was the founding chief executive of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and was credited with the successful completion of ...

. Mahuika chaired the working party that led to the formation of the Ngāti Porou iwi authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou, and he was elected its inaugural chair. He held that post for over 27 years, until his death, and led the iwi through the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

settlement process with the Crown. Before his death, Mahuika was a contributing member as a

kaumātua A kaumātua is a respected tribal elder of either sex in a Māori community who has been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both ...

to the Matiki Mai Aotearoa Working Group developing Māori-led constitutional thinking for New Zealand. He died in Gisborne in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahuika, Apirana 1934 births 2015 deaths Ngāti Porou people People educated at Te Aute College University of Auckland alumni University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Waikato Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand Anglican priests Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu faculty 20th-century New Zealand Anglican priests 21st-century New Zealand Anglican priests New Zealand Māori religious leaders