Gloria Herbert, a gentle yet determined leader who made major contribution to the Te Rarawa settlement, has died at 79, just days out from the final reading of her tribe's Treaty of Waitangi settlement bill.
Mrs Herbert, of Te Rarawa, Te Aupouri and Ngati Whatua descent, dedicated her life to her whanau, hapu and iwi. .
She held numerous positions on the local Pawarenga and Hokianga committees and boards and served on the Catholic Commission of the Laity, the National Trusts and Co-operatives Movement, the Mana Motuhake Party, the Taitokerau Trust Board, the Parengarenga A Incorporation and B3 Trust, the Commonwealth Action Group, the Northland Conservation Board, Te Kotahitanga o Te Taitokerau and the Waitangi Tribunal.
But it was her service as a founding member of the Pawarenga Community Trust and a long-serving member and former chairwoman of Te Runanga o Te Rarawa that were her personal favourites. She was acknowledged as making a major contribution to Te Rarawa's Treaty settlement during her leadership of the runanga and today a delegation from the iwi travel to Wellington for the third and final reading of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill.
Mrs Herbert believed the highest form of service was one which asked nothing in return.
