Ngāti Rānana is a Māori cultural group based in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It is open to the Māori community in the city, and hosts events attended by many non-Māori. The club aims to provide "an environment to teach, learn and participate in Māori culture and to promote New Zealand through Māori culture".[1] Its performing arts group regularly performs throughout the UK and the rest of Europe.
History
In 1959 the group was founded by a small group of London-based New Zealanders as the London Māori Club.[2] In 1971 it was renamed the Ngāti Rānana London Māori Club. Ngāti denotes a tribe (or iwi) and Rānana is a Māori-language translation (similar pronunciation) of the name London.[3]
Founding member Esther Jessop was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service in the 1994 New Year Honours.[4] She was named New Zealander of the Year in Britain in 2009,[2] and in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Māori and to New Zealand–British relations.[5]
Since 2005 the New Zealand Studies Association has issued the "Rahera Windsor Award for New Zealand Studies", in honour of another of Ngāti Rānana's founding members, Rahera Windsor.[6]