Riwai Te Ahu (c1821–1866) was a notable New Zealand teacher and missionary. Of

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 ...

descent, he identified with the

Ngāti Hinerangi Ngāti Hinerangi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. See also *List of Māori iwi This is a list of iwi (New Zealand Māori tribes). List of iwi This list includes groups recognised as iwi (tribes) in certain contexts. Many are also hapū (sub-tr ...

and

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in town ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

(tribe). He was born in Waitara,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. He was the son of Tuhoe of Waiongana and Waipuia of Waitara. In 1840 he was baptised by the Rev.

Octavius Hadfield Octavius Hadfield (6 October 1814 – 11 December 1904) was Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop of Wellington from 1870 to 1893 and Primate of New Zealand from 1890 to 1893. He was a member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) for thirty years. He ...

at the

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ō ...

Mission of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS). From about 1840 to 1854 he was a

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

and teacher at the CMS mission at Waikanae. He worked with Hadfield to establish schools among the Māori people living in Queen Charlotte Sound, including at Okukari Bay. Early in 1855 Bishop George Selwyn took him to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in order that he might study for the ministry at St. John’s College under the direction of Archdeacon Kissling. Te Ahu was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

on 23 September 1855 at

St Paul's Church, Auckland St Paul's Church is a historic church in the CBD of Auckland, New Zealand, located on Symonds Street near the University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology. It is the longest established church in the city and has one of the lar ...

by Bishop George Selwyn. He was the second Māori clergyman appointed a deacon, following his friend

Rota Waitoa Rota Waitoa (? – 22 July 1866) was a New Zealand Anglican clergyman, of Māori descent. Waitoa identified with the Ngati Raukawa iwi. He was born in Waitoa, Waikato, New Zealand. Waitoa's ordination as deacon at St Paul's, Auckland ...

who was ordained a deacon in 1853. In September 1855 he accompanied Bishop Selwyn and John Patteson on a pastoral visit to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

and the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) ( Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about t ...

. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1858 and became a member of the CMS. On 11 July 1859 he was appointed as the assistant to the Rev. Hadfield at Ōtaki. In October 1859 he was a member of the first

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

of the

Diocese of Wellington The Diocese of Wellington is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the area between the bottom of the North Island of New Zealand up to the area of Mount Ru ...

. He managed schools in Queen Charlotte Sound and

Tory Channel Tory Channel / Kura Te Au is one of the drowned valleys that form the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. Inter-island ferries normally use it as the principal channel between Cook Strait and the Marlborough Sounds. Tory Channel / Kura Te Au lies ...

and was associated with the Anglican centre at Okukari Bay in Marlborough. He died at Ōtaki on 6 October 1866.

References

External sources

* 1820 births 1866 deaths 19th-century New Zealand Anglican priests Ngāti Awa people New Zealand Māori religious leaders {{Māori-bio-stub