Ihaia Te Ahu (–1895) was a notable New Zealand teacher and missionary. Of
Māori descent, he identified with the Te Uri Taniwha
hapū of the
Ngāpuhi iwi. He was born in
Ōkaihau,
Northland, New Zealand.
In about 1832 he attended the
Kerikeri
Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...
Mission Station of
Church Missionary Society (CMS). In 1832 he went with the Rev. Thomas Chapman to live at the
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
Mission of the CMS.
From about 1835 he acted as the assistant teacher with the Rev. Chapman at Rotorua and from 1845 he was taking Sunday services when Chapman was absent.
He married Rangirauaka of the Ngati Riripo hapū of
Te Arawa iwi on 9 May 1841;
The same day Rangirauaka was baptised Katarina (Catherine) Hapimana (Chapman) by the Rev.
Alfred Nesbit Brown
Alfred Nesbit Brown (23 October 1803 – 7 September 1884) was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and one of a number of missionaries who travelled to New Zealand in the early 19th century to bring Christianity to the Māori pe ...
at
Tauranga, and Ihaia was baptised Ihaia (Isaiah).
In September 1846, Ihaia, his wife and two children moved to
Maketu, near Tauranga and in 1851 Chapman also moved to live at Maketu.
In 1857 he began theological training under the Rev. Brown at the
Tauranga Mission. In 1858 he attended St. Stephen's School,
Auckland. On 3 November 1861 he was ordained as a
deacon by
Bishop William Williams.
The same year he was appointed by the CMS to lead the Maketu Mission, following Chapman moving to Auckland.
He worked in the Tauranga and Maketu pastorate diocese until 1881, when he moved to live in Rotorua. He was instrumental in the building of St. Faith's Church, Rotorua, which was consecrated by Bishop
Edward Stuart
Edward Craig Stuart (1827 – 15 March 1911) was the second Anglican Bishop of Waiapu, whose episcopate spanned a 16-year period during the second half of the 19th century.
He was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander Stuart and Mary McKnigh ...
on 15 March 1885.
From 1882 to 1889 he was the
vicar of the
Ohinemutu pastorate. From about to 1892 he worked at St. Stephen College, Auckland.
In 1892 he retired to live at
Kaikohe, where he died on 7 July 1895.
References
1820 births
1895 deaths
Ngāpuhi people
New Zealand Māori schoolteachers
New Zealand Māori religious leaders
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