Sir Archie John Te Atawhai Taiaroa (3 January 1937 – 21 September 2010) was a New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

leader who affiliated to the

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi,

Ngāti Apa Ngāti Apa is a Māori iwi (tribe) in Rangitikei District of New Zealand. Its rohe (traditional tribal lands) extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanganui River in the north-west ...

and Ngāti Maru

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. He chaired the Whanganui River Maori Trust Board and Te Ohu Kaimoana, the latter for five years. He lived for a long time at

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

, where he was a borough councillor and deputy mayor. Taiaroa was born at Tawatā ( Tawhata), on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

, about 40 kilometres by road south-west of Taumarunui. He had an older brother, Raymond Te Rumana (Lofty) Taiaroa. He attended Tawata School, St Patrick's Convent School in Taumarunui,

Hato Paora College Hato Paora College is a Catholic, Māori Boys' Boarding school located near Cheltenham, Manawatu, Cheltenham, Feilding, New Zealand. It was founded in 1947 under the leadership of Marist Priest, Isaac J Gupwell. It is the largest Boys' Maori Boa ...

near Feilding and the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. He married Martha Turner, of a leading Ngāti Tūwharetoa family, in 1965 and they had a son, Te Hokowhitu-a-Rākeipoho Taiaroa, known as Rākeipoho Taiaroa. He died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

on 21 September 2010. He was buried at Poumaanu ''urupā'' (cemetery) at Tawatā.

Awards and honours

In the

2003 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 2003 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 2003 for New Zealand. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour. United Kingdom Knight Bachelo ...

, Taiaroa was appointed a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to Māori. Following the reintroduction of titular honours by the New Zealand government, he accepted re-designation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2009 Special Honours. In November 2024 Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

re-opened with a new wing dedicated to Taiaroa named ''Te Pātaka o Tā Te Atawhai Archie John Taiaroa''. The naming of the new wing was to honour Taiaroa's legacy and commitment to collective action.

References

1937 births 2010 deaths Ngāti Tūwharetoa people Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi people Ngāti Apa people Ngāti Maru (Taranaki) Māori politicians Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Hato Paora College {{NewZealand-mayor-stub