A kaitiaki for Ngati Porou

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

The first King’s Birthday Honours for seven decades have seen well deserved recognition for true East Coaster Selwyn Parata, a kaitiaki for his people who is now a knight.

Sir Selwyn has played major, long-serving roles for his iwi Ngati Porou and in the arts.

He is currently chair of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou having been involved since its inception following a hui at Ruatoria in 1985. He worked closely with runanganui founder Apirana Mahuika before taking over the chairmanship after his death in 2015. His wife Amohaere Houkamau also played a major part in the development of the runanganui as chief executive.

Sir Selwyn was a member of Te Haeata who successfully negotiated Treaty of Waitangi claims on behalf of Ngati Porou.

His other big role has been as the chairman since 2008 of Te Matatini, the kapa haka festival that is a major annual event for Māori and has grown steadily in stature in recent years.

One of Sir Selwyn’s other great loves has been rugby and he is a staunch supporter of Ngati Porou East Coast and his “beloved club Hikurangi”.

The Parata family have been prominent on the Coast for a long time — his father Ron and two of his sisters Nori and Apryll were school principals and another sister is former Cabinet member Hekia Parata.

Sir Selwyn said he was humbled and elated by the recognition and praised his elders who he said shared the values of selflessness, duty and care with him.

The other major announcement in the King’s Birthday and Coronation Honours was that former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is made a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

The honour is the second highest after the Order for New Zealand, limited to only 20 living persons.

Some will see irony in the award as Ardern is a republican who expects to see New Zealand become a republic in her lifetime.

In a written statement to the New Zealand Herald she admitted to being in two minds about the award, but added she had encouraged many Kiwis to accept an honour over the years and for her this was a way to say thank you to her family, colleagues and the many people who supported her to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of her life.

The first holiday of King Charles III seems strange to those us who have called this “Queen’s Birthday” for our lifetimes and unfortunately looks like being followed by some more unwelcome bad weather.

Never mind, it is only five weeks until we get another three-day holiday next month as Matariki falls on a Friday, July 14.