Emily Rangitiaria Schuster (née Hicks, 12 January 1927 – 5 September 1997) was a New Zealand master

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

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.

Early life and family

Born in 1927 in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

, Schuster was the niece of Rangitiaria Dennan, better known as Guide Rangi. She married Bob Schuster in 1950, and the couple had six children. Her twin daughters Dawn Smith and Edna Pahewa became weaving tutors and experts. She lived all her life in Rotorua.

Contribution to weaving

Schuster was the convenor of the Aotearoa Moananui a Kiwa Weavers Committee since its inception in 1983, and was the weaving representative on Te Waka Toi's Māori Art Committee. Schuster founded the weaving school at the

New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute The New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) is an indigenous traditional art school located in Rotorua, New Zealand. It operates the national schools of three major Māori art forms. NZMACI opened in 1963 as a successor school ...

in Rotorua, in 1969. Her daughter, Edna Pahewa, is the school's current head. In 1988, Schuster and

Diggeress Te Kanawa Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa (9 March 1920 – 30 July 2009) was a New Zealand Māori people, Māori tohunga raranga (master weaver) of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kinohaku descent. At the time of her death she was regarded as New Zealand's ...

were awarded a travel grant to visit

taonga ''Taonga'' or ''taoka'' (in South Island Māori) is a Māori-language word that refers to a treasured possession in Māori culture. It lacks a direct translation into English, making its use in the Treaty of Waitangi significant. The current ...

kept in museums in the United Kingdom and United States. Schuster represented Aotearoa at a conservation conference in Brazil. Schuster continued to travel and teach until her death in 1993. Daena Walker writes that Schuster has been "acknowledged internationally as one of the most gifted weavers of her generation. Her contribution to the art of Māori weaving and her knowledge of kaitiakitanga, particularly the cultivation and conservation of harakeke (flax) and its origins, has ensured the survival of this craft today."

Honours and awards

In the

1983 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

, Schuster was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The King's Service Medal (created as the Queen's Service Medal in 1975 and renamed in 2024) is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or app ...

for community service. In 1993, she was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. She was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to Māori arts and crafts, in the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

External links

Radio New Zealand National InterviewA Tribute
1927 births 1997 deaths Te Arawa people New Zealand Māori weavers New Zealand weavers Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand women textile artists Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 People from Rotorua {{Māori-bio-stub