Te Uruhina McGarvey-Tiakiwai (27 September 1927 – 5 June 2015) was a New Zealand

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 ...

leader. A kuia of

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 ...

and Te Arawa, she was also of English and Scottish descent. A skilled kaikaranga, McGarvey advocated for education and the retention of Māori language and customs, and played an active role in tribal issues. During the 1940s she became an active member of the

Te Wharekura o Ruatoki Te Wharekura o Ruatoki is a rural school in the Māori settlement of Ruatoki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty region, New Zealand, serving children in years 1 through 13. It was established as Ruatoki Native School in 1896 after a visit by Richard Sed ...

school. She mentored and tutored Māori cultural groups from around New Zealand and she was a judge at kapa haka competitions in New Zealand and Australia. Born in 1927, McGarvey was a niece of soldier and community leader Henry Te Reiwhati Vercoe, and a first cousin of

Whakahuihui Vercoe Whakahuihui "Hui" Vercoe (4 June 1928 – 13 September 2007) was an Anglican bishop in New Zealand. He was the Archbishop of New Zealand from 2004 to 2006, the first person from the Māori church to hold that office. He was also Bishop of Aote ...

, who was the

Archbishop of New Zealand Primate of New Zealand is a title held by a bishop who leads the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Since 2006, the Senior Bishop of each '' tikanga'' (Māori, Pākehā, Pasefika) serves automatically as one of three co-equal ...

from 2004 to 2006. The Māori educator

Turuhira Hare Turuhira Hare (born ) is a Māori academic of performing arts, composition and education. She is of Tūhoe, Te Arawa and English and Scottish descent and is a daughter of the late renowned Tūhoe kaumātua, Te Uruhina McGarvey. She is a lead ...

is her daughter. In 2009 McGarvey was a recipient of the Sir Kingi Ihaka award at the Creative New Zealand

Te Waka Toi Awards The Te Waka Toi awards are the premier awards in the field of ''ngā toi Māori'' (Māori arts). They have been awarded by Creative New Zealand and predecessors since 1986. The awards recognise ''tohunga'' (skilled people), artists and community ...

in recognition for her "lifetime contribution to the development and retention of Māori arts and culture." McGarvey died on 5 June 2015, in Ruatoki. Her body was taken to Waikirikiri marae, where she lay in state for four days. Mourners at her tangi included former MP

Tuku Morgan Tukoroirangi "Tuku" Morgan (born 7 October 1957) is a New Zealand Māori politician and former broadcaster. Early life and family Born in Auckland on 7 October 1957, Morgan affiliates to the Tainui iwi confederation. He was educated at St Steph ...

and the Māori king,

Tūheitia Paki Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII (born Tūheitia Paki; 21 April 1955), crowned as Kīngi Tūheitia, is the Māori King. He is the eldest son of the previous Māori monarch, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, and was announced as her successo ...

. Former Māori news presenter and actor Waihoroi Shortland attended the tangi and said that McGarvey was "the voice that guided Tūhoe in hard times." Te Uruhina is survived by her 8 children, over 90 of her great-grandchildren, and over 100 of her direct descendants.

References

1927 births 2015 deaths Ngāi Tūhoe people Te Arawa people New Zealand Māori schoolteachers New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand Māori writers Māori-language writers {{Māori-bio-stub