April 01, 2016
Historian to continue Maori struggle
A ground-breaking history of Maori struggle could soon get a makeover.
Massey University historian Rawiri Taonui was asked by the late Dr Ranginui Walker to bring his Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou up to date, but the Christchurch earthquakes disrupted his schedule.
Now he’s settled with his family in Auckland, he’s in a better position to resume the task, and Dr Walker’s death this month was a reminder of the book’s importance to the way New Zealanders now understand their history.
He says it will be a tribute to a great academic.
"One of our best 3 or 4 academics of all time, alongside Sir Peter Buck Te Rangi Hiroa, Linda Smith and Mason Durie, he's left quite a huge legacy with his passing. I was a student of his for many years and when I first began lecturing at university I worked for him. A really great man and it's something I've got to honour and live up to so my focus is turning in that direction these days," says Rawiri Taonui.
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