Musician sings for recognition of Maori
Hiria Moffat, 80, prepares for her first performance in 30 years at 10.30am on Friday in a Christchurch garage.
Hiria Moffat is a bit nervous about picking up the microphone.
She has good reason. The 80-year-old seasoned performer has not set foot on stage since giving up a career where she performed on Las Vegas stages in the 1960s and 70s.
A lot has changed since she shimmied with the stars, rubbing shoulders with Elvis Presley and touring the United States with musician Harry James in 1972.
Thirty years ago, Moffat returned to the Timaru district, where she grew up.
And now Moffat, who belongs to Ngai Tahu, hopes to help raise funds and awareness to create a Maori Hall of Fame.
She says Maori entertainers have limited recognition and she hopes to help promote the achievements of Maori on a national and international stage.
‘‘It would be wonderful to have a place in New Zealand and be able to preserve it for the future,’’ Moffat says. ’’I’m looking forward to being a part of it.’’
When she was four, her parents stood Moffat on a table to sing Silent Night. Performing and singing has captivated her ever since.
After starring in Christchurch theatres in her early adulthood, she toured Australia with other Maori musicians and a Kapa Haka group to promote tourism in the early 1960s.
When Moffat was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the late 1980s, she needed to change her career path after needing surgery to replace a hip joint, both knees and both elbows. Moffat also had both ankles and her spine fused between 1989 and 2011.
However, this was not going to hold her back from joining the The Last Stand 2016 Tour in November, which will bring together international Maori showbands for one last extravaganza. The proceeds from the North Island tour will go towards funding a Maori Hall of Fame, which entertainers have been trying to establish since the 1990s, she says.
To fundraise for the trip, she will host a jazz concert ‘Hiria Sings at 80’, featuring Christchurch jazz guitarist John Dierckx, at the Aigantighe Art Gallery in Timaru tonight at 5pm.