Te Ngakauiti 'Kate Shaw' (, 9 September 1896 – 27 September 1999) was a New Zealand writer who wrote poems, stories for children and non-fiction articles. She was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service in 1997.
Early life
Born Te Ngakauiti Kate Shaw in Rotorua, New Zealand one of nine children to Fox Maule Carnachan and Sarah Te Ngakauiti Carnachan. Fox was born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England and arrived to
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
with his parents in 1864. His family later moved to Cambridge to then Rotorua.
Shaw grew up on the banks of the Utuhina river which is located on the outskirts of Rotorua. All of the nine children from Fox and Sarah were given Māori names but were christened with English names. Shaw was named after her great-grandmother Te Ngakauiti who lived on
Mokoia Island __NOTOC__
Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera c ...
. Te Ngakauiti was taken away further north after the 1823 raid by
Hongi Hika
Hongi Hika ( – 6 March 1828) was a New Zealand Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the iwi of Ngāpuhi. He was a pivotal figure in the early years of regular European contact and settlement in New Zealand. As one of the first Māori l ...
.
Writing career
Shaw began writing during her school days. She would write to the
New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
voicing her opposition to the idea of women wearing corsets. In 1910 Shaw entered an A&P show writing competition for an original story and essay on a set topic. She was awarded two second placings. Shaw worked as an office girl a general store on Rotorua's Fenton Street.
In the early 1930s, Shaw wrote a weekly column for Girl Guides and a column for the Rotorua tramping club in Rotorua's Daily Post. In the 1940s, Shaw was a regular contributor to the women's pages of ''New Zealand Dairy Exporter'' and also wrote poetry under the pen name 'Counter'. Shaw also used the pen names Kotiro, Aunt Kay, Hinera and Bobbin.
Shaw wrote a series for radio called Wahine and Māori Legends which were broadcast on the National Programme in New Zealand. Shaw also wrote programmes for a local Rotorua radio station on Maori Legends. In 1951 she wrote three programmes on Maori lore for 2ZA.
Shaw wrote poems, plays, stories for children and non-fiction articles.
A notable book she wrote was "Hongi's track" which was released in 1997 when she was 102.
Awards
In August 1992, Shaw received a Rotorua community award for "outstanding service to the district and it's community". Shaw was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service in 1997.
Personal life
Shaw married to Squire Eureka Shaw in 1936. She was also a sportswoman who was involved in hockey, gymnastics, rowing, tramping and golf. She was a Patron and Life member of the Rotorua Golf Club and an honorary member of the Rotorua and District Women's Veteran Golf Society.
Shaw died in 1999.
Shaw was remembered as the "mother of Rotorua" and a plaque which is located on the foreshore of Lake Rotorua commemorates her life.
See also
*
New Zealand literature
New Zealand literature is literature, both oral and written, produced by the people of New Zealand. It often deals with New Zealand themes, people or places, is written predominantly in New Zealand English, and features Māori culture and the u ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Kate
1896 births
1999 deaths
20th-century New Zealand women writers
People from Rotorua
Women centenarians
New Zealand centenarians