About Sir Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa
Whitikitia te muka taura kia kore e whati
He rau aroha mō Archie Taiaora, Chair, Whanganui River Māori Trust Board 1988 – 2010
Kia uiuia mai nā wai koe, māu e kī atu, maranga mai te nui ko te rahi e kanapanapa mai ana i te po. Koia nei, e rere te awa tupua.
Sir Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa was thoughtful with his words, generous with his time, and supportive to many. With the knowledge and support of his whānau, Archie confidently applied himself with their affirmation to the responsibilities, the purpose, and aspirations he represented for his iwi Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi. His lifetime contributions were significant. He is fondly remembered throughout Aotearoa, with gratitude and respect, particularly for his wise counsel, his inspirational leadership, and his mana-enhancing diplomacy.
Ko te kai ā te rangatira he korero, ko te tohu ō te rangatira he manaaki, ko te mahi ā te rangatira hei whakatira i te iwi.
Archie’s influence extended beyond Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi to national and international concerns and interests of indigenous peoples. This included the Privy Council, United Nations, the International Whaling Commission, and many countries whose indigenous peoples’ livelihood and well-being were compromised.
Sir Archie, for cultural reasons, was an internationally recognized figure for his pro-whaling beliefs, which were based on the need to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. This was a side of his personality that very few people outside of Māoridom knew about. He was a founding member of the Canadian-based World Council of Whalers. (Ngahiwi Tomoana, Chairman, Te Ohu Kaimoana, 2010)
Archie was born and raised at Tawatā on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River. He attended Tawatā Primary School, St Patrick’s Convent School in Taumarunui, Hato Paora College in Feilding, and the University of Canterbury with a fellowship at the University of Florida in Tallahassee, America. He was an acknowledged iwi spokesman for a diverse array of issues affecting the Whanganui River, the Whanganui National Park, and their indivisible life force with the peoples of Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi.
Archie’s name, Te Atawhai, was given by his grandmother. His name speaks to the spirit of kindness and compassion. He was raised immersed in the teachings of his elders within the gaze of the Whanganui River. He accumulated life skills with a curiosity and worldly outlook, bound with the vision and commitment of his people, embedding a deeply personal sense of belonging, service, and responsibility.
During his early life, Te Atawhai’s attributes were nourished and nurtured under the tutelage of his elders, who stoked his fire of commitment and service to his people, to their place, and their sense of belonging. As his experiences broadened and his outlook extended, he guided Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi through a range of difficult and challenging times.
By name and by reputation, Te Atawhai was respected throughout Māoridom and Aotearoa – New Zealand for his way of being; hūmarie, ngāwari, manaaki. He was appreciated for his integrity, curiosity, and creativity. These attributes shone through his personable approach with everyone who met and worked with him.
He didn’t care much for personal accolades. His life’s work focused without compromise with tireless attention to common purpose, collective action, and community impact. His life was filled with commitment and service to the legacy of his tūpuna, the wellbeing of place and people, to nourishing and nurturing the spirit and intent of our nationhood. As a leader, Archie was stately with good-hearted humour and jest. He would often lighten the mood and remind us to work together and find our way ahead.
Te Atawhai, with the unconditional support of his wife, Martha, worked alongside a diverse group of board members who sustained the trust and confidence of their rūnanga ā hapū – tūpuna rohe. They saw the passing of their peers and the handover to the next generation. Indeed they included memorable characters such as Hikaia Amohia, Jim Bailey, Linda Henry, Joan Akapita, Rangipo Mete Kingi, Julie Ranginui, Rangitihi Tahuparae, Matiu Mareikura, Michael Potaka, and John Maihi. Their ‘Tikanga o Whānganui’ world was robustly supported by pahake, particularly kuia, who were well-known for their provocative reminders and insightful guidance.
There was no shortage of commentary and inquiry from pahake, tauheke, kuia, whānau, and hapū. Mindful of their differences, they carried the tokotoko of collective leadership with a no-nonsense approach to protect and affirm the indivisible relationships of whānau, hapū, and Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi with Te Awa Tupua – from the mountain to the sea.
Archie was often asked for his opinion and support. He shared conversations with local and regional councils and community-driven organisations. He was a long-term councillor and then deputy mayor for six years on the Taumarunui District Council. He was a statutory member and then elected councillor on the Horizon Regional Council.
He was a man who walked comfortably in both Māori and Pākeha worlds and he was respected in both.
(Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO 25th September 2010)
He encouraged iwi and their organisations to nurture closer working relationships with local and regional councils and communities. He dedicated his time to visualise and give effect to forward-looking decisions and actions in the present for the benefit of future generations of mokopuna.
Our responsibilities are beyond our lifetimes and those of our children.
(Credited to Archie Taiaroa, Te Ohu Kaimoana AGM 2010)
Archie worked for the Department of Māori Affairs and the Iwi Transition Agency before his appointment to the Waitangi Fisheries Commission. He was appointed to the board of Te Ohu Kaimoana Fisheries Trust and then appointed as the chair. He championed amicable resolutions for multiple iwi and their overlapping interests, which led to his recognition and standing as a peacemaker.
Te Atawhai spearheaded iwi claims to freshwater fisheries, and he was very much involved, alongside others, with the establishment of an annual million-dollar fund to support Māori students with tertiary study and employment within the fishing industry.
It is impossible to overstate Sir Archie’s importance to all Māori.
(Pita Sharples, Māori Party Co-leader, 2010)
Sir Atawhai was a leader in the classic mould. He was someone of the ilk of Bob Mahuta and Matiu Rata.
(Shane Jones, Labour MP, 2010)
Tā Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa was the chair of the Whanganui Māori River Trust Board for most of its history until his passing on the 21st of September 2010. He followed Hikaia Amohia, who led the drive to establish the Trust Board. Although Te Atawhai’s leadership is principally associated with Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, he is also known for his whakapapa and activities with Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, and Te Arawa. His chairmanship was not straightforward. There were politics and personality differences, which challenged even the most ardent. Nevertheless, Archie’s integrity and personable manner were undeniable strengths in the face of adversity.
His leadership style was one based on humour and there was often a big message with a sting in the tail.
(RNZ News, 2010)
Anyone who knew Sir Archie would understand that his leadership inspired thousands of Māori. His influence was unrivalled.
(Ngahiwi Tomoana, Te Ohu Kaimoana Chair, 2010)
He was acutely aware of the mood swings and shifting dynamics when disagreements arose amongst the people. Even so, he always searched for a pathway forward, navigating with his voice of unity, common purpose, and collective action.
Sir Archie was both a peacemaker within Māoridom and he built bridges between New Zealand treaty partners. His wise counsel will be sorely missed in years ahead.
(Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO 25th September 2010)
Whenever Archie was present at meetings, we were confident that the outcome would be positive and that the aim of the meeting would be reciprocated.
(Tukoroirangi Morgan, Waikato)
Sir Archie was committed to kaupapa Māori initiatives and activities at local, regional, and national levels. These interests served to refresh his life force with added zeal to his leadership for the Whanganui River claims process and numerous engagements with the Crown. He guided the iwi response to the Waitangi Tribunal hearing held at Putiki, which included a significant number of submissions and speakers. Archie chose to converge his contributions with a simple and direct statement, “this is our awa; this is our ancestor.”
When the Waitangi Tribunal reported its findings, this quasi-judicial entity concluded that:
Rarely, has a Māori river claim been so persistently maintained as that of the Whanganui people. Uniquely in the annals of Māori settlement, the country’s longest navigable river is home to just one iwi, the Ātihau-a-Pāparangi. It has been described as the aortic artery, the central bloodline of that one heart.
The Ātihau-a-Pāparangi claim to the authority of the river has continued unabated from when it was first put into question. The tribal concern is evidenced by numerous petitions to Parliament from 1887. In addition, legal proceedings were commenced as early as 1938, in the Māori Land Court, on an application for the investigation of the title to the riverbed.
From there the action passed to the Māori Appellate Court in 1944, the Māori Land Court again in 1945, the Supreme Court in 1949, to a further petition and the appointment of a Royal Commission in 1950, to a reference to the Court of Appeal in 1953, to a reference to the Māori Appellate Court in 1958, and to a decision of the Court of Appeal in 1962.
This may represent one of the longest sets of legal proceedings in Māori claims history, yet in all those proceedings, it is claimed, the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi had no direct bearing. Nor did the matter rest there for the court hearings were followed by further petitions and investigations, and in more recent times, Ātihau-a-Pāparangi were again involved in the Catchment Board inquiry on minimum river flows in 1988 and in the Planning Tribunal and High Court hearings on the same matter in 1989, 1990, and 1992.
Christopher Finlayson, then the National Member of Parliament and Crown Minister for Treaty Settlements, led the Crown’s engagements for the Whanganui River Treaty Negotiations. After Te Atawhai’s passing, the Whanganui River Māori Trust Board increased its attention and efforts upon the negotiations and the settlement process.
Immediately after Archie’s passing, those who were taken into wānanga to learn and fulfil future roles came to the fore. With this watershed moment, elderly repositories of past experience and progress during the previous 30 years were more appreciated by some and not by others. Despite these tensions, with a steady hand on the tiller, the Trust Board completed the settlement journey with a clear line of sight on the outcome that Te Atawhai and the many who had served before him, expected to be achieved.
Ko au te taupa kihai i puawai āku moemoea
(John Rangitihi Tahuparae)
Finlayson saw, in the relationship between the river and the people of Whanganui, the very real benefits of the partnership laid out in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As he sat beside his colleagues, he politely asked the Whanganui River Māori Trust Board if the legal status proposed for the Awa Tupua could be first considered and advanced with Ngāi Tuhoe. After raising this with the Board Chair and a few of the members in attendance, the response was couched with direct consideration for what Te Atawhai would have done. And now the rest is history.
Before his passing, Te Atawhai expressed his concerns about the seemingly lack of attention and respect toward pahake and kaumatua. He was well aware that an older generation had fought and supported their whānau and hapū through difficult times of inequity and exclusion. While many of them did not have the opportunities he had enjoyed, they nonetheless look to their mokopuna being able to do so.
He held audience with different people, at different times, focusing their attention on the well-being and prosperity of whānau, hapū, and iwi institutions, shared responsibilities, inter-generational relationships, our belonging to each other, and our reverence for place. Te Atawhai, with every sense of his name, passed on these expectations to be carried together with patience, kindness, and compassion for each other. His maxim was simple – get on with it!
E te mātua, koutou hoki e wheturangitia i te po, maranga mai. Maranga mai, kia kitea āku taringa kia rongo āku karu ki te pai me te ora e hau mai nei nō tawhiti nui, nō tawhiti roa, nō tawhiti pamamao. Ko te tai runga te awa ko te awa te tai raro, e kukume nei tāku ate.