Ahorangi, Tā Hirini Moko Mead

Tā Hirini was born in 1927 and descends from Ngāti Awa, Tūhoe, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Tūhourangi. His early days were spent in Te Teko with his mother, he was raised by his village that resided along the Rangitāiki river and heavily influenced by his elders. Tā Hirini attended Te Teko Native School. Back then families cultivated their own food, fished and dived for seafood. Shops were too expensive for most, so they relied on self-sufficiency and community.

At the age of 9, Tā Hirini moved to Murupara with his uncle who needed help on his farm. It was his responsibility to milk the cows every morning before heading off to Rangitahi Native School. At the time, education was the main priority for children, as those with a good education gained college scholarships, which were vital to the future of Māori children.

Tā Hirini received a scholarship to attend St Stephens College in Auckland. However, during 1939 – 1945 the school was requisitioned as a hospital for the soldiers of WWII. Senior pupils were sent to Te Aute and Wesley Colleges to resume the rest of their schooling, Tā Hirini was amongst the students who moved to Te Aute College.

After receiving his school certificates, Tā Hirini returned to Auckland to study at Teachers College. His first placement as a teacher was in Ruatōrea at Manutahi Māori District School. During his placement Tā Hirini had the privilege of meeting Tā Apirana Ngata, who introduced him to Tā Peter Buck. It was also here that Tā Hirini met and married his wife June Walker, they were to both walk hand in hand with education being a major priority in their lives. After Tā Hirini completed his term at Ruatōrea he and Lady June moved to the Bay of Plenty to undertake his new placement at Ruatoki Native School.

Tā Hirini was the Māori arts teacher and covered several schools in neighboring areas of the region. Under the Native Schools Act 1867 Te Reo Māori was not to be spoken in schools, however, that did not stop Tā Hirini from teaching the children traditional language, methods, and concepts in Te Reo Māori. Tā Hirini eventually became the headmaster at several schools in the region, including Te Urewera, Whakatāne and Tauranga.

After completing his term at Ruatoki Tā Hirini and Lady June decided to travel the country, continuing to teach and nurture students along the way. They eventually moved to Auckland and completed their Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts Degrees at the University of Auckland by 1965.

To further their education and knowledge base, Tā Hirini and Lady June moved abroad in pursuit of their Doctorate Degrees. They both attended Southern Illinois University, Tā Hirini was highly interested in the arts, especially whakairo or traditional carving, one of his passions that he was to later publish books on.
After completing their PhD degrees in Art in 1968, they returned to Auckland for a short while before heading abroad to Canada. They spent several years teaching at Universities around Canada in the 1970s. After years residing there, Tā Hirini was alerted to a job opening at Victoria University of Wellington. He did not hesitate to take up the vacant position and become the first Professor of Māori at Victoria University of Wellington in 1977.

Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

After retiring from Victoria University, Tā Hirini and his whānau returned to Whakatāne to assist with tribal affairs. A major endeavor of his was to improve the education opportunities for his people and gathered leaders from across Ngāti Awa to discuss the educational state of the iwi. It was agreed by tribal leaders of Ngāti Awa that conventional tertiary institutes failed to provide the learning needs of Māori. However, in 1987, the tribal leaders decided that, under the guidance of Tā Hirini, a Whare Wānanga would be established.

Seen as a response to the trauma of raupatu (land confiscation), they intended to rebuild Māori cultural knowledge base, reconnect māori to their past through education and by doing so, paved the pathway toward a more certain future. On the 10th of February 1992 a dawn ritual was carried out to formally open Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. However, it wasn’t until 1997 that the Government confirmed that the school had met the requirements of a Wānanga and so Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi became the third Wānanga in the country to be recognised under the Education Act 1989. An institute dedicated primarily to the teaching pedagogies and practice of education through a mātauranga Māori lens.