Legacy Profiles

Māori Purposes Fund Board, Chair New Zealand Polynesian Festival, National Committee Member

Sir Duncan had an illustrious political career as a National Party Member of Parliament under the Muldoon and Holyoake Governments. He served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1981 to 1984 and was Minister of Māori Affairs from 1969 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1978. He was a staunch advocate for the advancement of Māori aspirations in arts, culture and language.

He had a great affinity for Māori. Being of Scottish descent, he felt he had a lot in common with Māori. During his time as Minister of Māori Affairs he also held office as Chair of the Māori Purposes Fund Board. In 1970 this board approved a grant of $5,000 to host the inaugural New Zealand Polynesian Festival in 1972.

Sir Duncan was the Minister of Māori Affairs during the first festival in 1972. At that time, there was a resurgence and revival of Māori language traditions, especially among rangatahi.

The trophy awarded to the overall winner of the national kapa haka competition was donated by Sir Duncan. It is the Ngāpō Pīmia Wehi Duncan MacIntyre trophy. The taonga was donated to promote the pursuit of excellence by rangatahi in Te Reo Māori and its traditions.

Te Matatini Life Member, Te Matatini National Committee Member, Te Rarawa Māori Club, Takirau Kamo Polynesian Club

Affectionately known as 'Hec', Hekenukumai was a Māori navigator recognised as a leading figure in the revival of ocean voyaging. For many decades he served as a delegate for the Taitokerau district on the Te Matatini National Committee, having tutored and led a number of performing teams from that district. Of particular note was his leadership of the Aotearoa Māori Festival of Arts 1988.

He designed the Waimirirangi logo that adorned the festival stage and demonstrated his leadership at the Aotearoa Māori Festival of Arts 1990 at Waitangi, an occasion which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangl. In 2002, he was made a life member of Te Matatini. In 2018, he was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Māori.

Te Matatini Life Member, Te Matatini National Committee Member, Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club, Māwai Hakona

Jock, a Pākehā man with a wairua Māori played a significant role in supporting the growth of kapa haka, having been a founding member of the committee that led the establishment of what is now known as Te Matatini. Jock had a life-long interest in Māori culture and excelled as an expert linguist, tribal historian, master carver and composer of waiata under the pseudonym 'Te Oka'.

As the Secretary for Māori Affairs from 1963 to 1975, he established the Kingi Tahiwi Memorial Cup Kapa Haka Competitions for the Wellington region. Jock was a founding member of Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club and was a founding tutor of Māwai Hakona in Upper Hutt. He composed many original compositions alongside Hera Dovey Katene-Horvath. In 1973 Māwai Hakona won the New Zealand Polynesian Festival under his leadership.

Over and above these accolades, he played a lead role in the revision of the Standard Māori Dictionary, supported the establishment of marae, in Upper Hutt and Wellington City, and taught carving. His adornments grace many Wellington city buildings.

Te Matatini National Committee, Te Waka Huia, Te Matatini Life Members, Tāmaki Makaurau Senior Kapa Haka Life Members

Ngāpō and Pimia, affectionately known as Bub and Nen, achieved what no other partnership has accomplished in a lifetime of kapa haka Their collective contribution represents over a century of combined experience in Māori song and dance, leading teams, composing, mentoring and teaching. They are still recognised as New Zealand's foremost leaders in this ever-expanding artform.

With their children, they won seven national kapa haka championships, in 1972 and 1979 as the leaders of the Waihirere Māori Club and in 1986, 1992, 1994, 2009 and 2013 with Auckland's Te Waka Huia.

They took their brand of haka to the world, performing everywhere from Broadway to Korea and from Fiji to the Taj Mahal. Their legacy lives on through the many leaders and performers they nurtured and inspired over their lifetimes.

Te Matatini Life Member, Te Matatini National Committee Member, Kia Ngawari

Joe, a devout Mormon, grew up in Rotorua and later moved to Nelson, the land of Ngāti Kōata, where his wife Pirihira is from. In 1963, he travelled with his wife to the opening of the Polynesian Culture Center in Hawai'i. In 1974 he and his wife established the Nelson-based kapa haka Kia Ngāwari. In 1990, the group won the choral section at the Aotearoa Māori Festival of Arts.

Joe was heavily involved with the Nelson community including with the Nelson Male Voice Choir, as kaumātua for the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, at Whakatū Marae and at Nelson City Council from 2003 to 2009.

In 2002, Joe was made an honorary life member of Te Matatini in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of kapa haka at home and abroad

Te Matatini Life Member

Atareta was born into the world of entertainment. Her mother Kahu was an accomplished singer and contributed to Atareta's much acclaimed performance prowess as a singer and kaihaka. Atareta performed for tourists at an early age with Guide Kiddo and in her mum's concert group. However, her taste for competition began with the St Faith's Church Youth Club, and she went on to lead Ngāti Rangiwewehi in partnership with husband Trevor Maxwell.

She took part in national and international concert tours under the tutelage of influencers including father figure and famous baritone Inia Te Wiata. Atareta was an expert in poi, choreography stagecraft and composing (as a collaborator), and a skilled tutor in these arts.

She and husband Trevor led Ngāti Rangiwewehi to great heights in 1983 and 1996, and Atareta won the top kaitātaki wahine honours at Ngāruawāhia in 1992 and again at Rotorua in 1996.

Kaiwhiriwhiri, Te Matatini Life Members, Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club, Pukeahu

Tom and Vicky Ward's involvement in kapa haka in Te Whanganui-a-Tara began in the late 1950s with the Wellington Anglican Māori Club. In the 1960s, they were members of the New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust Group.

In the 1970s, as members of the Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club, they performed at the inaugural festival in 1972. In 1987 they established Pukeahu, a whānau group based at the previous national museum site, in Buckle St, in Wellington, an area now formerly recognised as Pukeahu. In 1992, they led a contingent of performers to the Seville Expo.

Tom and Vicky built life-long friendships with the likes of George and Tangiwai Ria, Bub and Nen Wehi, Trevor and Atareta Maxwell, Pou and Hema Temara, Puti Mackey and Bill and Donas Nathan. Their main kapa haka influences included Wiremu (Bill) Kerekere, Tā Kīngi Ihaka, Inia Te Wiata, Tommy Taurima and Fred Katene, to name a few.

Their inspiration for their composition of waiata generally came from nature, 'Poi Huia' and 'Poi Käkapo' being among the more noted of their poi. Vicky always focused on consistency between body movement and poi dexterity, weaving complexity into the performance.

For Tom, his 'hearty' Ngāti Porou haka upbringing and his ear for notes were key ingredients. The pair worked in sync. Their achievements include Wellington civil awards for services to Māori and performing arts and a Lifetime Contribution to Māori Music award at the 2010 Waiata Māori Music Awards. They are lifetime members of the Wellington Māori Cultural Society and of Te Matatini.