He Tangata Rongonui 2025

Henare Mahanga

Henare Mahanga was born on November 24, 1952, in Kawakawa, New Zealand, with his place of birth recorded as Waiōmio.

Mahanga was of Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kororā, Ngāpuhi and Ngātiwai descent. His birth parents were Heeni Kamira Mahanga and Hira Rehu Hura, while he was raised by his whāngai parents, Pikau and Waina Mahanga.

Henare attended Waiōmio Primary School and later graduated from the New Zealand Māori Carving School in Rotorua, where he trained under Napi Waaka.

Many of his classmates in the early 1960’s would share stories of his school days where he was always getting them into trouble by their principal Mr. Shanks and their teachers, Miss Shedlock, Mr. Rawiri and Mr. Wynyard.

Because of his “sparkling bullet proof personality” he was shipped off to NZ Māori Carving School with the likes of Temuera Morrison, where he later graduated with top marks under the Tohunga Napi Waaka. He was also taken down under the korowai of the Methodist Church.

Many of our Ngāti Hine Leaders like Sir James Clendon Henare saw the potential this young man had and followed his journey with a stern hand.

His career was deeply rooted in Māori arts, culture, and education. He served as a Māori Studies teacher at Manukau Polytechnic and was a Māori language, carving, and cultural teacher at Hillary College. He helped guide so many of our young leaders of today, that shared kōrero about how he would reprimand them with his stern look and the fluency of his Reo.

“Gordan Hadfield, well known as a Tohunga of Tā-Moko carries his photo with him in his studios around the world, as a man who placed him back on the track” Student from Hilary College.

A dedicated cultural advocate, Mahanga founded Te Kupenga Kapa Haka Māori Club and was actively involved in multiple groups in Ōtara, Auckland. He served as the cultural tutor for Ngāti Hine, Te Kupenga Senior, Intermediate, and Junior Māori Club groups, including performances during Telethon 1985.

In 1988, he became the chairperson of Te Whare Tiaki Trust, playing a key role in fundraising efforts for Te Hononga Ki Tāmaki Kōhanga Reo. In 1987, he contributed to the New Zealand television program "Te Kupenga," which explored Māori perspectives on power and values.

Mahanga played a significant role in organizing and training cultural groups for high-profile events. On February 24, 1986, he trained students from Henderson and Rutherford High Schools to be part of the official welcoming group for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at Ellerslie Racecourse. Later that year, on June 27, 1986, he served on the organizing committee and as compere for the Great Solomon Islands Relief Concert at Whaiora Marae.

His artistic contributions included writing non-fiction articles and composing "Hoki Mai Ki Te Kāinga," which was featured in the film "Arriving Tuesday" (1986).

Mahanga was also an executive member of the Kotahitanga Movement (1984) in Taumarunui and a member of the Māori Queen's Coronation Committee. In 1983, he founded the Auckland Regional Youth Competitions, further supporting Māori cultural expression and youth development.

Mahanga passed away in 1991 at the age of 39, leaving behind a legacy of Māori cultural advocacy, education, and artistic contributions. Forever remembered for his Ngāti Hinetanga within the urban setting of South Auckland.

He Tangata Rongonui 2023: Iwi Puihi (Percy) Tipene

Iwi Puihi (Percy) Tipene was an expert, kaitiaki and tohunga not only for his people of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi he was also a treasured leader recognised throughout the motu for his contribution to te ao Māori and indigenous movements.

He created, led and was chairperson of Te Waka Kai Ora (TWKO), the national Māori Organics Authority of Aotearoa that grew out of differing views over biodynamic practices and tikanga. He was pivotal in the genesis of the Hua Parakore (pure products), an indigenous hallmark of excellence for mahinga kai. He once expressed that he thought that Māori are the 'sleeping giants of the organic industry' and ‘once were gardeners’. He attended several international indigenous events as a key speaker including the Indigenous Terra Madre (mother earth) meeting in Sweden.

He worked for the Ministry of Agricultural and Fisheries (MAF), before Fisheries separated and was trained as a farm cadet and worked as a sharemilker, a quarantine officer and a livestock advisor while working his farm in Taheke and as kaitiaki for his whānau whenua tuku iho, Otukaiao, in Motatau. He had a bachelor’s degree in zoology and was chair of The New Zealand Kunekune Association, the first to export kunekune to the United States of America and produced a book about kunekune pigs.

As well as promoting indigenous food sovereignty, Iwi Puihi was an advocate for rongoa Māori in the health system and served over a decade as a trustee for the Ngati Hine Health Trust and was chairperson for Te Hau Ora o Kaikohe. He was instrumental in the development of the first NZQA qualification Kai Oranga, a programme that teaches whānau to grow their own kai, to rebuild and re-insert knowledge relating to traditional and contemporary food, sustainable practices, food production, management and kaitiakitanga back into whānau, hapū and iwi settings.

He coined the principles and practices of ‘Ko te kai he rongoā, ko te rongoā he kai’. He supported the Waitangi Tribunal Native Flora and Fauna Wai 262 claim and several other claims concerning Māori as sovereign rangatira and kaitiaki of the whenua. He was chairperson for Te Rapunga – Miria marae in Waiomio for over a decade.

He was a treasured pāpā, tupuna and unkara who took his mokopuna to many hui that he attended around the motu. He was a mentor and provided guidance at many marae, and at many kaupapa to the younger generations and uri around kaupapa Māori, tikanga and mātauranga Māori.