Award also a tribute to wife

Lawrence Gullery
A HAVELOCK North man who helped select the new Maori king has dedicated his New Year Honour to the memory of his late wife, his family and hapu at Te Hauke Marae, south of Hastings.
Owen Jerry Hapuku, known as Jerry to friends and family, has been involved with Maori in the Hawke's Bay region for over 30 years. He was awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit.
He is a respected representative of Ngati Kahungunu, is knowledgeable on iwi history and Treaty of Waitangi claims and is widely sought after for his advice by local councils and the community.
Today, though, Mr Hapuku said his honour was a reflection of the work his wife, Taremanuwhiri, had done in the community.
"For me, this is something in honour of my late wife, because she was the mainstay of my whanau.
"She did a lot of work with young people and the community over a long time.
"If she was here she would be quite happy with the honour," he said.
Mr Hapuku would share the honour with whanau today, but on Saturday, January 5, he and his family would in turn honour his wife at her unveiling at Te Hauke Marae.
"Hopefully I will have all of my children and grandchildren there and we can all share the honour.
"This honour is really for my marae, for my hapu and for my people, especially for my hapu at Te Hauke because without the support of my hapu, it wouldn't be as significant," he said.
Mr Hapuku said a highlight of his work this year had been when he was asked to be part of a group to select the new Maori king.
His ancestor, Te Hapuku, was one of the chiefs asked to assemble to select the first Maori king when the Kingitanga movement started in the mid-1800s.
When Dame Te Atairangikaahu died and a new Maori sovereign had to be selected, the descendants of those chiefs were called upon to help appoint the new King Tuheitia.
"I had the option to be part of it and we set up a council to talk about whether we were going to have a king or a queen.
"After we made the selection we were given the honour of carrying the body of the queen off the marae," he said.
Closer to home, Mr Hapuku said he had enjoyed his work with schools, and as kaumatua for Havelock North High School.
He has also represented many other schools on the Parent Teacher Association and was a member of boards of trustees, including that of Paki Paki Bilingual School.
He is also a member of of Te Aute Ropu Pakeke Group, helping Maori protocol to continue at Te Aute College.