August 22, 2022
Final farewell from iwi for Ta Toby Curtis
Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Rongomai will today say the final rites for Ta Toby Curtis, who died last week aged 82.
Over the weekend hundreds of mourners braved the weather to make their way to Tapuaekura Marae on the shore of Lake Rotoiti.
The nehu will start at noon.
Whakaata Maori chief executive Shane Taurima says Sir Toby made a huge contribution not just to education but to Maori broadcasting.
In the 1980s he chaired a Māori broadcasting advisory committee which led to the formation of Aotearoa Radio, iwi radio stations, and eventually Māori Television.
In 1997 became the first chair of the Maori broadcast funding agency Te Māngai Pāho.
Mr Tauruma says Whakaata Maori salutes the significant contribution Sir Toby has made to Māori language revitalisation and the legacy he helped create so that Māori voices and perspectives could be heard.