TREVOR HOROWAEWAE MAXWELL CNZM

Trevor Horowaewae Maxwell (CNZM) is one of the finest Te Arawa, renowned for his leadership and 42 years of dedicated mahi to the maintenance and advancement of kapa haka and Māori culture. He descends from Ngāti Rangiwewehi, born on and raised in the village of Awahou, surrounded by his whānau and marae. Married to his late wife Atareta Maxwell (nee Morrison), together they raised their son Inia and daughter Kahurangi.

Trevor’s upbringing was embedded in kapa haka from a young age. Learning waiata and haka every week with his siblings, sitting among his elders to learn and retain the skills and knowledge to proudly express their Māori culture through haka and waiata. At an early age, Trevor learned the effort and commitment that amounts to being in kapa haka, he worked his way up of his whānau kapa haka, starting as the Rangiwewehi midgets, to the Rangiwewehi juniors through to Rangiwewehi seniors and now currently standing with Ngā Rangiwewehi Pakeke kapa haka. Noticing that kapa haka open doors to opportunities, Trevor was fortunate to be part of the New Zealand Theatre Trust group on a 3-and-a-half-month tour around the world in 1970, visiting Russia, Europe, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine and many more places, promoting and performing kapa haka. Returned and equipped with the necessary skills, Trevor, and his late wife Atareta Maxwell were inspired to take forward a new way on the kapa haka stage, introducing creativity and choreography. Together they led and tutored kapa haka group Ngāti Rangiwewehi for 35 years, leading their group to two national kapa haka titles in 1983 and 1996. He also won the prestigious title of best male leader in 1973. The world of kapa haka was and continues to be Trevor’s wonderland, it is his lifelong passion and a way of life that Trevor loves to share with the world.

Before Trevor started his career in the Rotorua council sector, Trevor was hosting his own radio show every Sunday. It all changed in 1977 when the late Sir Peter Tapsell approached Trevor an hour before the election’s deadline, dumped the nomination form in front of him and told Trevor to sign. Trevor was quite hesitant to sign the form because he had no knowledge of the council operations, but the late Sir Peter Tapsell did not take no for an answer. The unexpected nomination’s outcome led Trevor to be successfully elected in the council in 1977 and steered him to become the longest serving elected member in New Zealand, having served 48 years of service to local government, and still climbing.

In the mist of sitting on the council, Trevor’s advocacy and contribution for Māori extends outside of the meeting rooms. Trevor has been appointed Chair and Deputy Chair of Te Arawa Kapa Haka Charitable Trust since 1990. He was the Kaupapa Māori Director of Tourism New Zealand for 8 years from 2008. Trevor also has been a New Zealand Community Trust Board member since 2012 and has served as the Cultural Ambassador for Rotorua since 2013. He was a member of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Board, Chair of Opera in the Pā and a board member of Waiāriki Institute of Technology for 10 years. In 2018, Trevor was the Co-Chair of Te Arawa/Ngāti Whakaue committee who helped organise the visit for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle, to Te Papaiouru Marae. Trevor is also a life member of Te Matatini.