Bulls woman and Ngāti Parewahawaha kuia Miroroa Te Kune Blackmore has had a long and active life in the Māori world.
She's now in her late eighties, and says she's greatly enjoyed it. She feels honoured to be given a Queen's Service Medal for her services to Māori.
Mrs Blackmore has taught traditional weaving for about 10 years. She helped dye and weave the tukutuku panels at Bulls' Parewahawaha Marae, was involved with kapa haka there, learned te reo Māori at night classes in Marton and was president of the Raukawa Māori Women's Welfare League District Council for two years in the 1970s.
She was originally from Bulls, but she and husband Raymond brought up four children mostly in Tangimoana. In 1968 she was pleased to move back to the family land near Bulls, where she could more easily pursue her interests.
She and her husband had a series of businesses in Bulls. There were takeaway food bars, a garden centre, a secondhand shop and a book shop.