Tupou Here Tamata Manapori is a Cook Island New Zealand teacher and Cook Islands Māori language advocate. In 1999, Manapori was appointed a Member 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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

for services to local-body and community affairs. In 2009, she was awarded a

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for services to the Pacific Islands community. In 2021 the

Ministry for Pacific Peoples The Ministry for Pacific Peoples (; abbreviated MPP), formerly the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the New Zealand Government on policies and issues affecting Pasifika co ...

awarded her a Cook Islands Language Champion award.

Early life and education

Manapori was born in

Manihiki 250px, Map of Manihiki Atoll Manihiki is an atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands known informally as the "Island of Pearls". It is located in the Northern Cook Island chain, approximately north of the capital island of Rarotonga, ...

in the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

, where she lived with her grandparents. She qualified as a home economics teacher, and moved to New Zealand in 1968. As of 2009, she had lived in

Māngere Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...

with her husband and three children for 25 years.

Career

Manapori worked as a high school teacher, teaching technology, and later languages, at

Kōwhai Intermediate School Kōwhai Intermediate School is a state co-educational intermediate school located in the suburb of Kingsland in Auckland, New Zealand. The school opened in October 1922, and was the first intermediate school in New Zealand. History During the ...

and Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate in

Ōtara Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...

. Manapori advocated the Cook Islands Māori language to be recognised through an NCEA qualification, and Hillary College became the first school to offer NCEA-level Te Reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani. After retiring from high school teaching, Manapori currently teaches at

Manukau Institute of Technology Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) () is a Category One Institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Category One is the highest possible educational rating as evaluated by the New Zealand Qualifications Authorit ...

. Manapori served on the Ōtara Community Board for sixteen years. In 1983 she stood for the local council, and was elected to

Manukau City Council Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is also referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does not ...

in the

ward. She was the first Pacific Islands councillor elected in Manukau, and served on council until 1992. Manapori was a founding member and Chair of the council's Pacific Islands Advisory Committee, which was formed in 1991 to give advice to the council on issues affecting the Pacific community.

Honours and awards

In the

1999 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1999 for various Commonwealth realms were announced on 30 December 1998, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1999. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, d ...

, Manapori was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local-body and community affairs. In the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. t ...

, she was awarded a Queen's Service Medal for services to the Pacific Islands community. In 2015 she was awarded a Pacific Community Leadership Award at the inaugural SunPix Pacific Peoples’ Awards. During Cook Islands Language Week in 2021 Manapori was awarded by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples as one of five Cook Islands Language Champions.

References

External links

SunPix Awards 2015 - Tupou Manapori
7 Dec 2015, via YouTube *
Mama Tupou Manapori, Senior Cook Islands Reo Maori Lecturer at Te Pukenga MIT and longtime Cook Islands Reo Maori advocate
', interview from 8 August 2023, via Waatea News
Interview 2 August 2021
Pacific News Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Manapori, Tupou New Zealand educators Academic staff of Manukau Institute of Technology People from Manihiki Cook Island emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal Cook Islanders Year of birth missing (living people) Living people