Sir Archie John Te Atawhai Taiaroa (3 January 1937 – 21 September 2010) 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 ...

leader who affiliated to the

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua (Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Isla ...

, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi,

Ngāti Apa Ngāti Apa is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Rangitikei District of New Zealand. Its rohe (traditional tribal lands) extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanganui River in the north-west, ...

and Ngāti Maru

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. He chaired the Whanganui River Maori Trust Board and Te Ohu Kaimoana, the latter for five years. He lived for a long time at

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

, where he was a borough councillor and deputy mayor. Taiaroa was born at Tawatā (

Tawhata Pipiriki is a settlement in New Zealand, on the east bank of the Whanganui River, due west of the town of Raetihi and upriver from Whanganui; it was originally on the opposite bank. It is the home of Ngāti Kura, a hapū of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi ...

), on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

, about 40 kilometres by road south-west of Taumarunui. He had an older brother, Raymond Te Rumana (Lofty) Taiaroa. He attended Tawata School, St Patrick's Convent School in Taumarunui,

Hato Paora College Hato Paora College is a Catholic, Māori Boys' Boarding school located near Cheltenham, Feilding, New Zealand. It was founded in 1947 under the leadership of Marist Priest, Isaac J Gupwell. It is the largest Boys' Maori Boarding Secondary School ...

near Feilding and the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. He married Martha Turner, of a leading Ngāti Tūwharetoa family, in 1965 and they had a son, Te Hokowhitu-a-Rākeipoho Taiaroa, known as Rākeipoho Taiaroa. In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, Taiaroa was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to Māori. Following the reintroduction of titular honours by the New Zealand government, he accepted re-designation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2009 Special Honours. He died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

on 21 September 2010. He was buried at Poumaanu ''urupā'' (cemetery) at Tawatā.

References

1937 births 2010 deaths Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi people Ngāti Apa people Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Māori politicians Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Hato Paora College {{NewZealand-mayor-stub