Prime Minister Chris Hipkins spoke at the tangi of Ngāpuhi matriarch and lifelong activist Titewhai Harawira.
Video / Pool Footage
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has delivered a heart-felt message from Jacinda Ardern to Māori matriarch Titewhai Harawira, who died yesterday aged 90.
Hipkins took a break from his business meetings in Auckland to pay his respects to Harawira, who is lying in state at Hoani Waititi Marae, west Auckland.
Hipkins, who was only sworn in as the 41st Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party, had planned a day of formal business meetings in his first day in charge of the country.
But because of the special affection held for Harawira by Labour and previous National governments, Hipkins made time to go to the west Auckland marae, along with the new Deputy Prime Minister and local MP Carmel Sepuloni, Labour Party Deputy Kelvin Davis and a number of front bench MPs.
Hipkins said he never had the opportunity to get to know Titewhai personally, but every MP in Parliament knew of her.
Aunty Titewhai Harawira at her 90th birthday celebrations in October. Photo / Te Whānau o Waipareira
“I am here as Prime Minister to remember her (Titewhai) on behalf of the people of New Zealand,” Hipkins said.
“Titewhai was a strong woman, with a strong heart, with integrity and passion and strove for the betterment of Māori and we would not be here without her.
“While I didn’t know Titewhai well, I will share a story with someone who knew her well, former prime minister Jacinda Ardern.”
The ex-Prime minister apologised for her absence but “my aroha is with all of you.
“I first met Titewhai at Te Tii Marae, as a young member of the opposition, but our relationship only took place on my first visit as Prime Minister.
“I was standing to be bought on as the Prime Minister, and I felt lace in my hand. At that moment I felt comforted. I knew Titewhai had my hand and I knew it would be alright.
“Each year we shared a bond. Each year as I arrived, I hoped that what I had done in the past 12 months would be good enough because I knew that even she did not think so, I would soon be told.”
Ardern wrote that while all other non-Māori speakers were given translators, she got her reo direct from the Ngāpuhi kuia - in true Titewhai style.
“I could not say if it was exactly word for word but more her view of the speaker and not whether the words were correct or not,” Ardern wrote.
“But I would not have changed this for the world.
“I will miss holding her hand. I will miss being beside her, and I will miss our chats. I will never forget her.
Moe moe rā e te rangatira. Moe moe rā.
Ardern - who officially stepped down as Prime Minister yesterday - did not want to take the limelight away from the swearing-in of Hipkins and the country’s new Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni, and chose not to make a statement on Titewhai’s passing until today.
“It is also the class of Jacinda that she did not want Titewhai’s passing to also overshadow the ceremony of Chris and Carmel, so she has written a letter,” Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson said.
“Titewhai absolutely loved Jacinda, and no matter what her son Hone or other others would say, Titewhai would always say ‘Jacinda is right’,” Jackson said.
“She had so much aroha for Jacinda, and I think Jacinda for her,” he said.
“I know if Jacinda was still Prime Minister, she would be at Hoani Waititi Marae today.”
Harawira will lie in state at Hoani Waititi Marae Thursday and Friday and then be taken north to her final resting place.
Titewhai Te Hoia Hinewhare was born in 1932 in the Northland farming locality of Whakapara and was raised by her maternal grandparents. After training as a nurse, she married John Harawira in 1952, settling in Avondale, Auckland. They had eight children and adopted another three.
The couple were active in local schools and were founding members of the pioneering Hoani Waititi urban marae in West Auckland. Titewhai Harawira was also active in the Māori Women’s Welfare League, especially its campaign to improve Maori housing. John Harawira died in 1977, and she brought up their extended family on her own.
She became a member of the protest group Ngā Tamatoa in the early 1970s and campaigned hard, often against bitter criticism, for the Māori language. She was one of the leaders of the 1975 land hikoi that marched from the Far North to Parliament.
