NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Kahu

A living taonga: Sir Tipene O'Regan - New Zealander of the Year carved a path for future generations

By Shane Te Pou
Canvas·
1 Apr, 2022 05:00 PM9 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Tā Tipene O'Regan at Awarua Marae, 2017. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Collection, Ngāi Tahu Archive

Tā Tipene O'Regan at Awarua Marae, 2017. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Collection, Ngāi Tahu Archive

Tā Tipene O'Regan (Ngāi Tahu) was this week awarded New Zealander of the Year, Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa, for his mahi, leadership and legacy as a force for his people in Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) negotiations. Shane Te Pou (Ngāti Raka, Ngāi Tūhoe) spoke with the rangatira.

Haea te awa
Wahia te awa
Puta i tua
Puta i waho i te pakiaha o te rākau
O maere nuku, o maere raki
O maere i te māra whenua
I ruka Tāne, i raro Tāne
Pakupaku Tāne, rakaihi Tāne
Nohohaka nō te āriki
Hoatū e Tāne ki uta
Ki kā tiritiri
O Te Waipounamu e!

Ko te whetū pīataata o Uruao ki te raki tō rite e tā
Mōu i haehae i te awa mō tō tātou waka
Mōu i wāwahi i te huanui whakamua mō te iwi
Kia puta i tua o te pae tata
Kia puta i waho o te pae tawhiti
Kia tae atu ki te pae o akitū
Ki kā pakiaka e iwa o Te Kerēme
Ahakoa ko tae te waka ki uta
Ko eke koe ki te pae o kā kōrako nui
Ko koe tou tērā kei te raki
E here ana i kā mahi a te iwi
Hei oraka mō te katoa
Ko Tā Tipene ki te ao
Ko Uruao ki ruka!

Ngāi Tahu are the southernmost inhabitants of Polynesian civilisation, one built by brave and courageous navigators. Never content to stay within the safe boundaries of their known world, they set off traversing the unknown to discover new lands and forge a new destiny for their people. Following in the footsteps of his navigator ancestors, Tā Tipene has led the way in forging a new destiny for Ngāi Tahu, guided by seven generations of our people to address the injustices of the past and to build a better future. This journey was never smooth, like his ancestor Rākaihautū, Tā Tipene had to navigate stormy seas, had to keep the crew committed to the cause, had to secure the vessel to weather the oceans and tides, and carve a path forward for the people to reach a new destiny previously thought unachievable. He has made an indelible mark on Ngāi Tahu today and for our future generations to come. His legacy is one of leading a new destiny for Ngāi Tahu and the nation, teaching us to reclaim our ability to dream and to remember who we are in order to create a new and better future.

Tā Tipene O'Regan at Awarua Marae, 2013. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Tā Tipene O'Regan at Awarua Marae, 2013. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When I asked Sir Tipene O'Regan what triggered his consciousness on matters of racial justice, he shared a jarring anecdote that captured the climate pervading the 1950s Wellington of his childhood.

His father, Rolland O'Regan, was in the sights of New Zealand's security services due to his support for striking waterfront workers in 1951. Nine years later, he would spearhead the "No Maoris, No Tour" movement, placing the renowned surgeon, son of a judge, and devout Irish Catholic, on the far radical fringe of New Zealand politics at the time. The prolonged wharf dispute ripped New Zealand apart in a way that remained unparalleled until exactly three decades later, by which time the anti-tour movement Rolland O'Regan willed into existence had evolved into a mass protest movement.

Keep up to date with the day's biggest stories

Sign up to our daily curated newsletter for the day's top stories straight to your inbox.
Please email me competitions, offers and other updates. You can stop these at any time.
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Returning from school one day as the 1951 strike raged on, young Tipene encountered the menacing sight of police officers ransacking his family home in Roseneath, a salubrious Wellington suburb overlooking Oriental Bay.

"These Eliot Ness types gathered in raincoats and felt hats, with Fords and Mercurys parked around our house. I realised they were the police," Sir Tipene recalls.

His Ngāi Tahu mother, Rena, stood at the front door, lamenting "aūe … aūe" at the intrusion, hands in wiri formation, reclaiming her dignity, defending her home, protecting her boy.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"And I remember a man came out whom I recognised from church and he said to his colleagues, 'Don't worry about her going on, she's just a white n*****'. She grabbed my hand, told me not to do anything rash. 'Stay still. Behave yourself.'

"I remember my mother would walk into the church and see that man. She wouldn't say anything, just gave him a look as if to say she forgave him. She was a woman of considerable grace [but] I don't think she really forgave him. She always taught me, 'Forgive thine enemies, my son, but write down their names.'"

Discover more

Kahu

Ngāi Tahu to run marine farms after Treaty settlement

05 Oct 12:58 AM

It was a truly bicultural upbringing, and Sir Tipene credits the early influence of his maternal grandmother for lighting his path into te ao Māori and towards a life dedicated to seeking justice for Ngāi Tahu.

"She was the keeper of that body of grievance within our broader whānau."

Sir Tipene O'Regan listens to speeches during Te Tiriti o Waitangi commemorations at the Onuku Marae, at Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Sir Tipene O'Regan listens to speeches during Te Tiriti o Waitangi commemorations at the Onuku Marae, at Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Meanwhile, Sir Tipene's later reputation as an advocate and negotiator, the breadth of his intellectual interests, his passion for justice, were forged in that same Roseneath home.

"I always had books around me and a lot of conversations," Sir Tipene, 83, told me in an interview for Canvas after being honoured with the award, New Zealander of the Year, this week.  "My childhood friends who stayed for a meal at our home were sometimes astonished by the way I was permitted at the table to talk to my father. My mother would say, 'I wish you wouldn't be so bolshie' but this was met with silence at the head of the table. 'The boy is debating with me' - and that would excuse just about anything. My father's intellect had a huge shape on me. He was very interested in my personal development."

Sir Tipene O'Regan accepts the Waitangi Tribunal settlement offer of $170 million from then-minister for treaty negotiations Sir Douglas Graham in Wellington, in 1997. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Sir Tipene O'Regan accepts the Waitangi Tribunal settlement offer of $170 million from then-minister for treaty negotiations Sir Douglas Graham in Wellington, in 1997. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The debating skills and intellectual rigour honed at the dining room table serve Sir Tipene well. His dealings with former National Party Minister of Treaty Negotiations, Chris Finlayson, extends back 30 years, culminating in direct negotiations over the Fisheries Commission Treaty settlement for Ngāi Tahu.

"We always found him to be an honest, robust, good-faith actor," said Finlayson, who later enlisted Sir Tipene to help sell the Tuhoe settlement. "Could not have asked for a better friend and mentor."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Admiration for Sir Tipene enjoys rare bipartisan consensus, with former Prime Minister Helen Clark describing him to me as "a highly credible and rational leader", and current Minister for Māori Development, Willie Jackson, a lifelong advocate for urban Māori and frequent critic of Iwi leadership, offering this generous historical assessment:

"He would be right at the forefront of iwi leaders," Jackson said. "I would rate him, Bob Mahuta, Whata Winiata, Hepi Te Heuheu and Api Mahuika as the leading iwi leaders of the last generation."

Tā Tipene O'Regan at Ōnuku Marae for Ngāi Tahu Waitangi Day Commemorations, 2019. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Tā Tipene O'Regan at Ōnuku Marae for Ngāi Tahu Waitangi Day Commemorations, 2019. Photo / Courtesy of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Jackson shares with many other younger Māori activists a fairly jaded view of Treaty settlements, which he describes as "peanuts".

"However, our people learned from Ngāi Tahu that you can still create opportunity from peanuts, and you can still make dreams happen. That is one of the legacies of O'Regan.

"Twenty-six years [after the Ngāi Tahu settlement] their $170 million has turned into billions. Tipene was right after all."

It's hard to disagree with Jackson's argument about the inadequacy of Treaty settlements in light of the grievances they seek to address, but no account of the Ngāi Tahu deal can afford to ignore the prevailing political climate from which it emerged.

As then-Prime Minister Jim Bolger sat across the table from Sir Tipene in the 90s, the fate of Treaty settlements was far from assured. Public opinion veered between sceptical and hostile towards the entire endeavour, and some inside the governing National Party believed any deal would doom their electoral fortunes. That Bolger and others stood firm, signing off on the Ngāi Tahu settlement and pursuing a raft of others in its wake, stands in retrospect as an act of impressive political courage. By taking settlements off the red hot stove of day-to-day political combat, by rejecting the allure of demagoguery, political leaders from both sides helped save us from decades of racial strife, perhaps the single best explanation for why New Zealand has so far avoided falling into the destructive populism poisoning democracies elsewhere.

Would this have been possible without the vision, leadership and first-class temperament of Sir Tipene? At the very least, surely it would have been a great deal more perilous without him.

Ta Tipene O'Regan, long-time chair of Ngāi Tahu Trust Board and chief negotiator, and his daughter Hana, who works for Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu as general manager of oranga (health).
Ta Tipene O'Regan, long-time chair of Ngāi Tahu Trust Board and chief negotiator, and his daughter Hana, who works for Te Runanga o Ngāi Tahu as general manager of oranga (health).

This is not to say race relations are optimal at this or any other time of our shared journey as a nation, let alone to suggest our aspirations as Māori are even close to fully realised. Sir Tipene, having steered the waka from the vanguard, knows that the next phase of his people's journey will fall to others. But the next generation of Ngāi Tahu's leaders are under no illusion about the indispensability of this towering rangatira.

Broadcaster and te reo activist Stacey Morrison (Ngāi Tahu) put it this way: "He is such a pou [the mighty pillar that rises up from the heart of the wharenui] - a true stalwart of knowledge and experience for our iwi. He links us to our old people, he is one of the core negotiators and navigators who fought for our iwi for the benefit of all of our tamariki and mokopuna, and those still to be born, much more than it was ever for themselves."

When I ask what Sir Tipene hopes his legacy will be to his mokopuna, these are the words with which we conclude our kōrero.

"I'd like to think that my mokopuna were educated with a broad and liberal view of life. And they are dealing with the issues of their day fuelled and fired by an understanding of where they've come from, where we've come from. Some of them will be full sailboats. I hope some of them will. Whatever they do, I just hope they feel fulfilled by the fact that they know who they are and where they're from. That they know who their people is. And they know that 'Aoraki Matatū' - Aoraki continues to endure - and as long as that endures, we endure."

In the submissions for Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year, a nominator summed up the mana of Tā Tipene: "While Ngāi Tahu as an iwi and New Zealand as a nation are bigger than any one person, few people think or act in big ways. These people, living taonga, are irreplaceable. Tā Tipene O'Regan is one such person."

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Kahu

Kahu

Iwi driver licencing scheme sees 178 people licensed

27 May 03:00 AM
Politics

Wellington kura celebrating ‘bittersweet’ $35m long-awaited upgrade

27 May 01:02 AM
New Zealand

From prison to gospel rap: Napier influencer Gzilla turns pain into purpose

26 May 06:00 PM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Kahu

Iwi driver licencing scheme sees 178 people licensed

Iwi driver licencing scheme sees 178 people licensed

27 May 03:00 AM

“It was a bit scary, but being on the marae was amazing," one driver said.

Wellington kura celebrating ‘bittersweet’ $35m long-awaited upgrade

Wellington kura celebrating ‘bittersweet’ $35m long-awaited upgrade

27 May 01:02 AM
From prison to gospel rap: Napier influencer Gzilla turns pain into purpose

From prison to gospel rap: Napier influencer Gzilla turns pain into purpose

26 May 06:00 PM
Prominent figure denies family violence charges

Prominent figure denies family violence charges

26 May 05:21 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search