Turirangi Te Kani

Details | Pito Kōrero

Description | WhakamāramaTurirangi Te Kani was born in Maraenui on the East Coast, son of Koraurau Te Kani and Tangiwai Delamere.

He served in the C Company of the 28th Māori Battalion and was a prisoner of war for four years. After his return from the war, Te Kani established a dairy farm in Matapihi and married Hinerau Huia Ngatai. Te Kani, Bill Ohia and other Māori farmers established the Rangataua Young Farmers’ Club. In later years he turned his dairy farm into a kiwi fruit and avocado orchard and was a key figure in building orchards at Ngai Tukairangi, Rangiwaea Island, Ongare and Tahawai.

Te Kani was a well-known historian and tribal authority in the area and was a member of the Tauranga Historical Society for many years. He presided over the Society for a period of time and was vice president from He chaired the Tauranga Māori Executive and was one of the founding members of the Waitangi Tribunal. He was a member of the Waikato Maniapoto District Māori Council, was appointed to the Māori Land Advisory Board, and was on the Māori Affairs Board for 15 years. Te Kani wrote non-fiction articles for the Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society, and composed patere, tauparapara, waiata and a paddling chant for the local Ngaiterangi waka Te Awanui which was built in the 1980s. He was a keen rugby player and played for the Old Boys’ Club and Matapihi Club. In 1970 he was awarded the MBE and in the mid-1980s was invited to attend the opening of the Te Māori Exhibition in the United States. Te Kani was a passionate advocate for honouring the Treaty of Waitangi and was involved in Te Heke o Te Rangihouhiri in 1987. He was a member of the Tauranga Moana District Māori Council and assisted in the fund raising for Hungahungatoroa marae, Matapihi footbridge, and the Tauranga Moana Community Centre.

He was a kaumatua of Whareroa Marae, Hungahungatoroa Marae, Waikari Marae and of his marae at Whitianga, and was a Justice of the Peace.

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