Iritana Tāwhiwhirangi

Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi DNZM MBE (born 21 March 1929) is a New Zealand advocate of Māori language education and the Kohanga Reo movement.

Biography

Born in Hicks Bay on 21 March 1929,[1][2][3]

Tāwhiwhirangi is of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Canadian and English descent. She was educated at Hukarere Girls’ School from 1943 to 1946, and then Wellington Teachers' College from 1947-48.[1]

She is a life member of the Māori Women's Welfare League and Toitū Kaupapa Māori Mātauranga - Māori Education Trust. She is on the Board of Trustees of the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.[4]

Honours and awards

Tāwhiwhirangi was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[1] and in the New Year Honours 1992, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her role as general manager of the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.[5] In 1993, she received the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[1]

In the 2001 New Year Honours Tawhiwhirangi was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori education,[6] and in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours she was promoted to Dame Companion, also for services to Māori education.[7][8]

She was a finalist for the 2014 New Zealander of the Year Awards.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. ISSN 1172-9813.
  2. ↑ "Kōkiri and Kōkiritia". Tpk.govt.nz. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  3. ↑ "New Maori dame helped thousands learn te reo". Stuff.co.nz. 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  4. ↑ "Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust". Kohanga.ac.nz. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
  5. ↑ "No. 52768". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1991. p. 29.
  6. ↑ "New Year honours list 2001". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Queen's Birthday Honours 2009", dia.govt.nz; accessed 21 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Queen's Birthday Honours List 2009, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; retrieved 8 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Laird, Lindy (28 February 2014). "Kaitaia health champion wins again". The Northern Advocate. Retrieved 28 February 2014.


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