Sir Hector Busby (1 August 1932 – 11 May 2019), also known as Heke-nuku-mai-nga-iwi Puhipi and Hec Busby, 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 ...

navigator and traditional

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

builder. He was recognised as a leading figure in the revival of traditional

Polynesian navigation Polynesian navigation or Polynesian wayfinding was used for thousands of years to enable long voyages across thousands of kilometers of the Pelagic zone, open Pacific Ocean. Polynesians made contact with nearly every island within the vast Poly ...

and ocean voyaging using

wayfinding Wayfinding (or way-finding) encompasses all of the ways in which people (and animals) orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. Wayfinding software is a self-service computer program that helps users to find a location, ...

techniques. He built 26 traditional waka, including the double-hulled '' Te Aurere'' which has sailed over 30,000 nautical miles in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. In December 2012, ''Te Aurere'' and ''Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti'' (another waka built by Busby) reached

Rapa Nui Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearly ...

after a 5000-nautical-mile, four-month voyage from New Zealand. The two waka then made the return journey to New Zealand, landing at Aurere Beach in

Doubtless Bay Doubtless Bay is a bay on the east coast of the Northland Region, north-east of Kaitaia, in New Zealand. It extends from Knuckle Point on Karikari Peninsula in the north to Berghan Point at Hihi in the south. There are rocky headlands, backed by ...

in May 2013.

Honours

Busby received the New Zealand Commemoration Medal in 1990. In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours, he 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 ...

, for services to the Māori people. In the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Busby was named an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to Māori. He was promoted to Knight Companion, for services to Māori, in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Personal life

Busby was of mixed

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

and Māori heritage. He was from the Māori tribes of

Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Rūnanga and marae Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae: *Korou Kore Marae, '' Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ng� ...

and

Ngāti Kahu Ngāti Kahu is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kahu take their name from their founding ancestress, Kahutianui, and link their ancestry back to the wak ...

. Busby died on 11 May 2019.

References

External links

* Sir Hekenukumai Busby discussed in ''Sir Hekenukumai Busby, 1932–2019'', Morning Report on

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

br>13 May 2019
* Sir Hekenukumai Busby interviewed and his work discussed in ''Ocean Voyaging'', Te Ahi Kaa on

br>10 February 2019
*''Sir Hek Busby: 'He was the bridge builder of Oceania','' interview with Toby Mills about his film on Busby
Sunday Morning on RNZ 14 November 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busby, Hector 1932 births 2019 deaths Polynesian navigators New Zealand Māori carvers New Zealand engineers Ngāti Kahu people Te Rarawa people New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit

Honours

Personal life

See also

References

External links