Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi (born 21 March 1929) is a New Zealand advocate of

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

education and the Kōhanga Reo movement.

Biography

Born in

Hicks Bay Wharekahika or Hicks Bay (officially Wharekahika / Hicks Bay) is a bay and coastal area in the Gisborne District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 150 km east of Opotiki and 186 km north of Gisborne city, along Stat ...

on 21 March 1929, Tāwhiwhirangi or auntie E is of Ngāti Porou,

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 ...

, Ngāpuhi, Canadian and English descent. She was educated at Hukarere Girls' School from 1943 to 1946, and then

Wellington Teachers' College Wellington College of Education (formerly Wellington Teachers' Training College) was established in 1888 with the purpose of educating teachers in New Zealand. It became the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, formed from th ...

from 1947 to 1948. She is a life member of the

Māori Women's Welfare League The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori women and children. It held its first conference in Wellington in September 1951. The League's official aims ...

and Toitū Kaupapa Māori Mātauranga – Māori Education Trust. She is on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.

Honours and awards

Tāwhiwhirangi 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 ...

, and in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of her role as general manager of Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust. In 1993, she received the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...

, Tawhiwhirangi was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori education, and in the

2009 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

she was promoted to Dame Companion, also for services to Māori education. She was a finalist for the 2014 New Zealander of the Year Awards.

References

External links

* * 1929 births Living people New Zealand educators New Zealand women educators New Zealand Māori schoolteachers Ngāti Porou people Ngāti Kahungunu people Ngāpuhi people Māori language revivalists New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 People from Hicks Bay People educated at Hukarere Girls' College People of the Māori Women's Welfare League Early childhood education in New Zealand {{Māori-bio-stub