Ma¯ori education champion dies
Aman who died after being swept down a river in the central North Island was an education stalwart and champion of Ma¯ori language.
Toni Waho, principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Ma¯ori o Mana Tamariki in Palmerston North for more than a decade, died on Wednesday night when he was swept into a stream about 10 kilometres east of Ohakune.
Police have not confirmed his name, but tributes online identify Waho as the deceased.
Waho, of Nga¯ti Rangi, Te Ati Hau-nui-a¯-pa¯pa¯rangi, Nga¯ti Apa and Nga¯ti Kahungunu, was a lifelong advocate for te reo and Ma¯ori education.
He did postgraduate study in Ma¯ori language policy and planning and went on to hold positions in the ko¯hanga reo and kura kaupapama¯ori movements.
He was appointed to the
Teachers’ Council in 2006 and was a former trust member of Te Ko¯hanga Reo National Trust.
He was unlawfully removed from the trust in 2014, which led to a long court battle that ended with the trust having to pay him $549,000 in legal costs.
He was teaching online Ma¯ori classes shortly before his death.
Ma¯ori Party president Che Wilson paid tribute to Waho on
Facebook, posting that he was a champion of te reo Ma¯ori and an educationalist at all levels, leaving a great legacy.
He had been ‘‘tragically taken in the waters of his ancestral river’’.
A ra¯hui had been put on the Tokia¯huru Stream, he said.
Dr Cathy Dewes, a lifetime friend and Ma¯ori language education companion of Waho’s, told Te Ao she was deeply mournful about her friend’s passing.
‘‘My soul cries, tears fall... and continue to fall.’’
Waho had been out walking on Wednesday evening when he was swept down the Tokia¯huru Stream. Police were called to Oruakukuru Rd, near the intersection with Whangaehu Valley Rd, to help look for him at 9pm. His body was recovered at 10.40pm.