Bruce Richard Stewart (5 August 1936 – 28 June 2017) was a New Zealand fiction writer and dramatist of

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

descent. Stewart's work often expresses the anger, the confused loyalties, and the spiritual aspirations of late-twentieth-century

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 ...

. He set up a

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

called Tapu Te Ranga in the 1970s in

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore i ...

in Wellington, and lived there until his death.

Biography

Stewart was born in

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 ...

. His

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

biological father had no involvement with him, and his Māori mother Molly Daphne Hirini has said that her

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

tribe frowned on mixed-race children. Stewart got his name from his stepfather Donald Lewis Stewart, who married Molly Hirini in 1938. Molly died in 1954. Stewart grew up in Masterton and was educated at

Wairarapa College Wairarapa College is a state coeducational secondary school located in Masterton, New Zealand. The college first opened in 1938, following the merger of Wairarapa High School with the Masterton Technical School. Serving Years 9 to 13, the colleg ...

. Stewart lived mainly in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, where he founded Tapu Te Ranga Marae at Island Bay in the 1970s. This was a centre for debate and education in Māori culture and protocol and for the redevelopment of native bush until destroyed by fire in 2019. Stewart was president of Ngā Puna Waihanga (Maori Writers and Artists Society) in 1982.

Published and televised

''Broken Arse'' was published in ''Into the World of Light'' (1982) and Stewart later rewrote it as a playscript, which was performed in Wellington in 1990 as part of the New Zealand Festival at the Depot Theatre as part of the Theatre Marae season by Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu. It was published by

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History V ...

in 1991.

Books

* ''Tama, and Other Stories'' Auckland : Penguin, 1989. * ''Broken Arse'' Wellington : Victoria University Press, 1991.

Performance

Reviews of performance at Depot Theatre Evening Post p. 24; 26 Feb 1990. Budd, Susan. Dominion p. 11; 6 Mar 1990. Cooke, Patricia. Dominion Sunday Times p. 18; 11 Mar 1990. Welch, Denis. Listener 128(2634):108; 10 Sep 1990.

Death

Stewart died at Tapu Te Ranga on 28 June 2017.

Bibliography

Reviews of the book ''Tama, and Other Stories'' Auckland : Penguin, 1989. * Eggleton, David. Evening Post p. 31; 27 May 1989. * Mackrell, Brian. New Zealand Wildlife 11(88):32; Spring 1989. * King, Michael. Metro 9(96):184–186; June 1989. * Taylor, Apirana. Dominion Sunday Times p. 17; 4 June 1989. * Duggan, Sally. NZ Herald 2:6; 19 Aug 1989. Faith, Rangi. Listener 124(2572):71; 24 June 1989. * McEldowney, W.J.. Otago Daily Times p. 24; 5 July 1989. Reviews of the book: ''Broken Arse'' Wellington : Victoria University Press, 1991. * Dale, Judith. New Zealand Books 1(4):8; March 1992. * Cooke, Patricia. Dominion Sunday Times p. 20; 29 Sep 1991. Other: * "''Broken Arse'' on at Depot". ''Evening Post''. p. 24; 26 Feb 1990. * "Ko wai ahau?" ''Mana : the Maori news magazine for all New Zealanders''. 1:94–95; Jan/Feb 1993. * Interview with Stewart, Neville Glasgow, Directions (1995). * McLauchlan, Gordon. 'A new beginning for Maori writing?' Auckland Metro 10:21; April 1982. * Galloway, Penny. 'Waitangi writings.' Listener 120(2502):8; 6 Feb 1988. Includes comment on Stewart. * McNaughton, Iona. 'Tales of an angry young Maori.' Dominion p. 10; 27 May 1989. * O'Hare, N. 'Faith and work.' Listener 125(2594) Sup.p. 85-87; 20 Nov 1989. Interview. * Lucas, J. 'Stewart's marae threatened.' Evening Post p. 1,3; 25 May 1991. * Wevers, Lydia. 'Short fiction by Maori writers.' Commonwealth : Essays and Studies 16(2):26–33; Spring, ::1994. Includes comment on Bruce Stewart. * Donaldson, Lana Simmons. 'Willing to conform only to nature.' Kia Hiwa Ra : National Maori Newspaper 58:8, 24; Nov 1997. Profile. * Heim, Otto. Writing Along Broken Lines: Violence and Ethnicity in Contemporary Maori Fiction. Auckland: ::Auckland University Press, 1998. * Collins, Heeni. 'Heroes on the hill.' Evening Post p. 13 25 Sep 1999. Discusses statue erected by Stewart ::on Tawatawa Ridge,

, of

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...

and

Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855) was a Ngāti Toa chief and a nephew of Te Rauparaha. He played a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life Te Rangihaeata, a member of the Māori iwi Ngāti Toa, was ...

References

External links

Bruce Stewart
at Read NZ Te Pou Muramura {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Bruce 1936 births 2017 deaths Ngāti Raukawa people Te Arawa people Writers from Hamilton, New Zealand People educated at Wairarapa College New Zealand writers