Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Hone Kaa (9 April 1941 – 29 March 2012) was an Auckland-based Anglican church leader, child welfare advocate and social-justice campaigner. He was a

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 ...

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 ...

and

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

descent. Born to Rev. Tipi (whenua) and Hohipine Kaa (née Whaanga) at

Rangitukia Rangitukia is a small settlement 10 kilometres south of East Cape in the northeast of New Zealand's North Island. It is near the mouth of the Waiapu River. The settlement is an important place in Ngāti Porou and the founding place for Christian mi ...

on the

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

, where Tipi was Vicar of Waiapu, Kaa grew up in Rangitukia and

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- ...

where he attended St. Stephen's School. One sister, Keri Kaa, rose to become chair of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

New Zealand Culture Commission and won a 2011

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award to publish te reo Māori audio books; a second sister was the writer and poet Arapera Hineira Kaa Blank. His brother was a well-respected New Zealand actor

Wi Kuki Kaa Wi Kuki Kaa (16 December 1938 – 19 February 2006) was a New Zealand actor in film, theatre and television. He was from the Māori iwi of Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu. Family Kaa was born in Rangitukia on New Zealand's East Cape. His fa ...

. Hone trained as a priest at St John's Theological College in Auckland from 1963 to 1965, then got a BA in Maori studies and a MA (Hons) in Education at the University of Auckland. Kaa then left for a DMin at Episcopal Divinity School, then in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. After working in parishes in Taupo and Porangahau, Kaa returned to Auckland to the

Auckland Anglican Maori Mission Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

, where he was minister from 1977 to 1983, and to St John's College. He rose to become Archdeacon of

Tāmaki Makaurau Tāmaki Makaurau is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was first formed for the . The electorate covers the Auckland area and was first held by Labour ...

. Kaa was involved with the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

and the

Christian Conference of Asia The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos ...

and a figurehead in the New Zealand support for the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He was White Ribbon Ambassador for the anti-domestic violence

White Ribbon Campaign The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) is a global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women and girls. It was formed by a group of pro-feminist men in London, Ontario in November 1991 as a response to the École Polytechni ...

. He was considered to be a "gay community friend". Kaa served on a number of official boards including the Māori Reference Group for

Whānau Ora Whānau Ora (Māori for "family health") is a major contemporary indigenous health initiative in New Zealand, driven by Māori cultural values. Its core goal is to empower communities and extended families () to support families within the comm ...

. He presented programmes on both Māori radio and Māori television. Kaa died in Auckland after a short battle with lung cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaa, Hone New Zealand Māori religious leaders Ngāti Porou people Ngāti Kahungunu people 1941 births 2012 deaths New Zealand Anglican priests People from Rangitukia Harvard Divinity School alumni University of Auckland alumni New Zealand Māori academics People educated at St John's College, Auckland