Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi DNZM MBE (born 21 March 1929) is a New Zealand advocate of Māori language education and the Kōhanga Reo movement.
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Biography
Born in Hicks Bay on 21 March 1929,[1][2][3] Tāwhiwhirangi or auntie E 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 to 1948.[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 1992 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of her role as general manager of 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]
She was a finalist for the 2014 New Zealander of the Year Awards.[8]
References
External links
- "Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust". 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- "Toitū Kaupapa Māori Mātauranga – Māori Education Trust". Retrieved 10 October 2010.