Dame Iritana Te Rangi Tāwhiwhirangi, founder and prominent leader of the kōhanga reo movement of Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Ngāpuhi, passed on yesterday.
A fierce advocate for whānau, wahine, and tamariki, she could scold and then turn on the charm, and before you knew it, you were laughing and doing as you were told. She was a senior Māori community worker, Assistant Secretary, and one of those who sought to find solutions for our people. Tāwhiwhirangi, was a founder of the Kohanga Reo, the language pre-schools, developed to rekindle the Māori language. I’m sure she was the one who said, “Get our babies speaking Māori, and their parents will follow.” Rather than wait for the government to fund, she and Jean Puketapu went ahead and set up the first Kohanga Reo in Wainuiomata. They pulled in those who could speak Māori, the kuia and koroua, while the parents provided the lifting and manaakitanga. Within a few years, the Kohanga Reo movement grew to over 800 branches. A revolution from the people by the people that has developed into an entire education system based on te Reo Māori from infancy to tertiary. She, of course, was much more, a mother and grandmother, not only to her own whānau but to so many. A mentor and supporter for Māori in all fields. Her honours included life membership in the Māori Women’s Welfare League, a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001, and being promoted to Dame Companion in 2009 for her contributions to Māori education. In 1992, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her role as general manager of the Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust.
Initially a teacher, she became a welfare officer in Ruatōria, where she developed play centres on the East Coast. In a 2012 interview on Waka Huia, Dame Iritana expressed her pride in kōhanga graduates, noting their achievements and fluency in Māori. She emphasised the natural ability of children to learn languages and her optimism for the future of the tamariki mokopuna. E kui, you were so proud of our tamariki mokopuna. Look now, at the Kohanga Reo generation they are the leaders,the shakers and movers of Aotearoa. Nō reira, kua oti i a koe āu mahi nui, kua tae te wā kia whakatā ai koe i tō moenga roa. Moe mai rā e te māreikura, okioki atu ki ōu mātua, ki ōu tīpuna.
