Hirini (Sid) Melbourne (21 July 1949 – 6 January 2003) 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 ...

composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author who was notable for his contribution to the development of Māori music and the revival of Māori culture. He played traditional instruments ( ngā taonga pūoro) and his waiata (songs) have preserved traditions and used Māori proverbs. He received 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 ...

in recognition of his services to Māori music. He was from

Ngāi Tūhoe Ngāi Tūhoe (), often known simply as Tūhoe, is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. ''Tūhoe'' is a Māori-language word meaning "steep" or "high noon". Tūhoe people also bear the sobriquet ...

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 ...

Māori tribes.

Early life

Melbourne was born in Te Uruwera of

and

descent.

Career

Melbourne became a school teacher after attending

Teachers College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in Auckland but he did not enjoy teaching and left to become an editor of Māori texts at School Publications in the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. From 1978 he was on the staff of the

University of Waikato , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , cit ...

becoming an Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Māori and Pacific Development. Melbourne had started composing waiata (songs) early in his career. In the last two decades of his life his musical interests extended to a fascination with traditional Maori instruments (ngā taonga pūoro). In 1985 he subsequently met ethnomusicologist and performer

Richard Nunns Richard Anthony Nunns (7 December 1945 – 7 June 2021) was a Māori traditional instrumentalist of Pākehā heritage. He was particularly known for playing taonga pūoro and his collaboration with fellow Māori instrumentalist Hirini Melbourn ...

. The two regularly performed together on

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

, and in schools, galleries and concerts. They also collected traditional knowledge about the instruments and how they were played. Nunns and Melbourne released several recordings: ''Toiapiapi'' (1991), ''Te Kuraroa'' (1998), ''Te Ku te Whe'' (1994), and ''Te Hekenga-ā-rangi'' (2003), all widely regarded as influential in the ongoing ngā taonga pūoro revival.

Rattle Records Rattle Records, established in 1991, is a contemporary art-music label based in Auckland, New Zealand. It releases compositions generally by New Zealand composers in contemporary art genres. It has been described as "the de facto home of New Zeala ...

released ''Te Ku Te Whe,'' which included both original and traditional compositions and ''Te Hekenga-ā-rangi,'' where Melbourne and Nunns teamed with Aroha Yates-Smith. ''Te Hekenga-ā-rangi'' was recorded just weeks before Melbourne's death. Melbourne regularly used his compositions to invoke the advice of elders to preserve and advance

tikanga Māori Tikanga is a Māori concept incorporating practices and values from mātauranga Māori, Māori knowledge. Tikanga is translated into the English language with a wide range of meanings — culture, custom, ethic, etiquette, fashion, formali ...

. Melbourne's song E Kui e Koro incorporates the whakatauki (Māori proverb) "Mate kāinga tahi, Ora Kāinga rua" (when one home fails, have another to go to). Many Melbourne songs have been performed by other New Zealand musicians including

Hinewehi Mohi Dame Hinewehi Mohi (born 1964) is a New Zealand musician and producer, best known for her double-platinum album ''Oceania'' (1999) and its lead single " Kotahitanga (Union)", performing the New Zealand National Anthem in Māori during the 1999 ...

, Moana Maniapoto, the

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They often ...

and

Mere Boynton Mere Tokorahi Boynton is a New Zealand singer, producer, actor and dancer. She is best known for her role as Mavis in the film ''Once Were Warriors''. Early life and education Boynton identifies with Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Ngāti Oneone and N ...

Activism

Melbourne was a member of the Nga Tamatoa protest group and many of his waiata were written as vehicles for ideals he was passionate about, most notably "Ngā Iwi E", composed for the New Zealand contingent heading to the 1984

Festival of Pacific Arts The Festival of Pacific Arts, Pacific Arts Festival, or FESTPAC is a traveling festival hosted every four years, in the same year as the Summer Olympics, by a different country in Oceania ( map). It was conceived by the Pacific Community (former ...

(cancelled after political unrest in New Caledonia). The song calls for unity among peoples of the Pacific. "Ngā Iwi E" has been a prominently used protest song for the

Māori protest movement The Māori protest movement is a broad indigenous-rights movement in New Zealand (). While there were a range of conflicts between Māori and European immigrants prior to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the signing provided a l ...

Honours and awards

In 2002 Melbourne was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the

. He was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

in the

2003 New Year Honours The 2003 New Year's Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British monarch's honours system, where 1 January is marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of ot ...

, for services to Māori language, music and culture, just before his death a week later. 15 years after the original album, Rattle released ''Te Whaiao: Te Ku Te Whe Remixed'', which won the Tui Award for the best Māori album at the

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

in 2007, featuring what Nunns described as a "pretty stellar line-up" of contemporary New Zealand artists, including

Salmonella Dub Salmonella Dub is a dub/ drum n bass/reggae/ roots band from New Zealand. The band was formed in 1992 by Andrew Penman, Dave Deakins, and Mark Tyler. The band has toured extensively throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, including the UK ...

, Pitch Black and SJD. In 2009 Melbourne and Nunns were inducted into the

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant tha ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 2009 , , Hirini Melbourne, ,

, , , , , -

References

External links

SOUNZ website promoting NZ composersListen to audio samples of Hirini Melbourne's music on SOUNZ websiteHirini Melbourne at DiscogsHirini Melbourne at Rattle Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne, Hirini 1949 births 2003 deaths APRA Award winners New Zealand Māori musicians 20th-century New Zealand poets New Zealand male poets Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Academic staff of the University of Waikato New Zealand Māori academics Māori-language singers Ngāi Tūhoe people Ngāti Kahungunu people 20th-century New Zealand male singers 20th-century New Zealand male writers