Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (18 October 1921 – 1 January 1993), known to his family as Matu Īhaka, was a New Zealand clerk, interpreter, Anglican priest, broadcaster and

Māori Language Commission The Māori Language Commission ( mi, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori) is an autonomous Crown entity in New Zealand set up under the Māori Language Act 1987 with the following functions: # To initiate, develop, co-ordinate, review, advise upon, an ...

er. Of

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 ...

descent, he identified with the

Te Aupōuri Te Aupōuri is the second northernmost Māori iwi (tribal group), located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Te Hiku o te Ika. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Te Reo ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

. He was born in

Te Kao Te Kao is a village on the Aupouri Peninsula of Northland, New Zealand. Te Aupōuri are mana whenua (tribe with traditional authority over a territory) over Te Kao and the surrounding district, and it is the principal settlement of the iwi (tribe ...

, Northland, New Zealand, on 18 October 1921. Īhaka was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to the Anglican Māori Church. In the

1989 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1989 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 ...

, he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

, for services to the Māori people. In 1990, he 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 ...

. He was buried at Purewa Cemetery in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank.

References

1921 births 1993 deaths Interpreters 20th-century New Zealand Anglican priests Māori language revivalists Te Aupōuri people New Zealand Māori religious leaders People from the Northland Region New Zealand public servants New Zealand Māori public servants New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century translators New Zealand justices of the peace Burials at Purewa Cemetery {{Māori-stub