Jean Gloria Edith Puketapu or Jean Puketapu-Waiwai (26 July 1931 – 31 July 2012) was a

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 ...

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 ...

native speaker and co-founder of the first kōhanga reo. Puketapu was one of thirteen children of Haami and Te Ngaroahiahi Waiwai, shearers in the

Ureweras Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is ...

near

Lake Waikaremoana Lake Waikaremoana is located in Te Urewera in the North Island of New Zealand, 60 kilometres northwest of Wairoa and 80 kilometres west-southwest of Gisborne. It covers an area of . From the Maori Waikaremoana translates as 'sea of rippling wat ...

. She was beaten at Kokako Native School at Tuai for speaking Māori language and at home for speaking English, but obtained a scholarship to Hukarere College in Napier. At the age of 18, she moved to

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

with her sister and her husband, who was the son of Rua Tapunui Kenana, the Maori prophet, faith healer and land rights activist. She and her sisters became active in the Te Aroha Hutt Valley Association, particularly in the double long poi. Her mother, Te Ngaroahiahi, was one of the Tuhoe kuia who worked on tokutoku panels for Arohanui ki te Tangata, whose construction was spearheaded by Ihaia (Paddy) Puketapu. Jean married Ihakara Puketapu, Paddy's son, in 1956 and they moved to

Wainuiomata Wainuiomata () is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. Origin of name The word 'Wainui-o-mata' is a Māori name made up of the words Wai = water, Nui = big, O = of, and Mata – which could refer ...

. While Ikakara was studying at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, Puketapu spent time in a project teaching women to read and write in a 'Negro ghetto'. When he returned from a posting to the

New Zealand High Commission in London The High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom is New Zealand's foremost diplomatic representative in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and in charge of New Zealand's diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom ...

, Jean started work at Wainuiomata College teaching Maori, and helped to found the first kōhanga reo in 1981. In 1989 a

Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

allowed her to travel to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, studying curriculum methods and systems used in teaching the Spanish and Pueblo Indian languages. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Puketapu was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service. In 1993, she was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. In 1995 she became a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and in 2004 she received her

Diploma in Early Childhood Education A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

. Two of her brothers, John and Bill, served in the 28th Māori Battalion during World War II.

Obits

stuff.co.nz Obit

Maori party Obit

Labour Party Obit

http://merrilynhope.com/ Obit

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puketapu, Jean 2012 deaths Māori language revivalists Ngāi Tūhoe people 1931 births People from the Gisborne District Companions of the Queen's Service Order People educated at Hukarere Girls' College Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993