Lady Amohaere Houkamau and her husband Sir Selwyn Parata.
A life of service to Māori has earned Ngāti Porou leader Selwyn Tanetoa Parata a knighthood.
Sir Selwyn (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tahu) was named a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Māori.
The newest Māori knight to join the realm said he was humbled when first notified about the honour, “especially when I reflected on all those people who instilled in me the value of service and duty and their own selfless efforts. A lot of these pou have passed but some are still with us today.
“I was elated because the honour, while awarded to me, is an acknowledgement of all the progress and success that Ngati Porou and Te Ao Māori have achieved, on multiple kaupapa, over many years,” he said.
Sir Selwyn has been a trustee of Te Runanga o Ngāti Porou since 1987 and its successor Te Runanganui o Ngāti Porou since 2012, serving as deputy chairman and then chairman.
He has been in the active service of Ngāti Porou for almost five decades.
“Ngāti Porou pakeke saw in me an aptitude to learn, and a willingness to put into practice what I was learning, be that on the marae, in wananga at home or on the kapa haka stage,” he said.
“My pakeke told me, whakarongo, listen, titiro, watch and whakatinana, put into action — that is how you learn.
“I am grateful for the many pakeke including my Ngarimu and Kaua tipuna, Aunty Ngoi Pewhairangi, Uncle Api Mahuika, Uncle Boycie (Morehu) Te Maro and my mother, who mentored and disciplined me.
“I was lucky to be brought up in Ruatoria by nannies and papas who spoke their minds. They were sometimes my harshest critics and always my strongest supporters.
“They all had a strong sense of duty to whānau, hapū, iwi, and the wider community. They were very staunch about their relationships with each other, clear on how they should help one another and forthright in holding each other accountable.”
The mentoring and encouragement he received from pakeke like his aunty Teo Gerrard and uncle Sam (Hamuera) Reedy, led to his stalwart commitment to his marae and appointment as chairman of the Hiruharama and Whareponga Pa, in the early 1980s — positions he still holds today.
Sir Selwyn supported the commemoration of the 28 Māori Battalion and the establishment of the C Company Memorial Museum in Gisborne.
“I grew up in households that reflected daily on the exploits and sacrifices of the C Company of the 28 Māori battalion. My father was in D Company. These discussions were constant reminders, of the ‘price of citizenship’ that Ngati Porou and others paid for God, King and country.”
Sir Selwyn is chairman of Te Matatini board, responsible for the biennial National Kapa Haka Competition, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s premier cultural events and international indigenous cultural events.
Under his leadership the profile and financial position of Te Matatini has significantly grown along with audience numbers, rising to more than 1.8 million TVNZ viewers, for Te Matatini Herenga Waka, Herenga Tangata 2023 and kapa participation across the country.
Investment and engagement strategies have seen the growth of Māori performing arts across education, public and private sectors and international culture and trade exchanges.
He said getting more investment in Te Matatini was about relationships.
“It’s all about relationships with people, not only the people deeply embedded in kapa haka and tikanga but also relationships with the government of the day, Ministers of the crown, the private sector, community organisations and educational institutions. You need to take the time to build trust and confidence, to take people on the journey with you.
“The recent Budget announcement hasn’t happened over night, it’s been an ongoing battle.
“The $34 million Government investment in Te Matatini over the next two years will provide resources to help strengthen the 12 regions in Aotearoa and one region in Australia, the backbone of Te Matatini.
“The additional investment will also be shared with marae and schools across the country, building and supporting them to grow and nurture kapa haka as a medium for cultural, social, and economic wellbeing. Kapahaka is not just about performing, it’s about retaining and celebrating identity and culture, about being fit and well, being good role models, and reinforcing life-long values that fortify us as people.
“The rejuvenation of traditional performing arts, culture and language adds value to the wellbeing of the country, Aotearoa New Zealand not just iwi and Māori.”
Reflecting on the past 47 years, Sir Selwyn, said a few stand-outs for him, are his participation in the Te Māori exhibition which travelled the United States in 1984 showcasing Māori taonga, in New York, St Louis, Chicago and San Francisco. Te Maori took Te Ao Maori, taonga and tikanga to the world and Te Hokinga mai, the return, was just as uplifting and memorable.
Another was working with the likes of Aunty Kate Walker, Uncle Tom Te Maro, Aunty Merekaraka Ngarimu, Marie Collier and Waho Tibble in organising the annual Ta Apirana Ngata Memorial Lectures, and with his Uncle Tamati Reedy and Amohaere Houkamau in establishing the annual Ngati Porou event calendar, including the dawn ceremony on Hikurangi, Pa Wars, Hui Taurima, the Lectures and the Ngati Porou Pakeke celebration.
“I was fortunate to have been the ‘boy’ on the runanga with my uncles, Api Mahuika, Koro Dewes, Phil Aspinall, Tate Pewhairangi, Noel Raihania and of course my koka, Iritana Tawhiwhirangi and Maria Whitehead. Uncle Api led Te Haeata, the Ngati Porou Treaty of Waitangi claims negotiation team, which I was a member of, culminating in the Ngati Porou Claims Settlement Act 2012.
“Uncle Api also led the Takutaimoana negotiations between Ngati Porou and the Crown, and I along with the Runanganui board completed this, with the enactment of the Nga Rohe Moana o Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Act 2019.
“Contributing to the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of whānau throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and cyclones Hale and Gabrielle are a constant reminder to me of the ‘Duty of Care’, that all elected leaders and representatives, of the people and communities of Ngati Porou, Tairawhiti and Aotearoa are required to uphold.
“I am proud of the stance Ngati Porou took during Covid-19 and the past two cyclones, in taking care of our whānau and communities, in ensuring people were safe, in going above and beyond the call of duty to do what needed to be done.
“I am pleased to say that this aroha was extended to all people who live amongst us, during these challenging times.”
He is the chairman of Rau Tipu Rau Ora Tairawhiti leadership group, established to lead Covid-19, future pandemic and disaster response and recovery.
He says his life journey has been about instilling the “nati into the nati” which is about connecting Ngati Porou uri with their Ngati Poroutanga, their reo, tikanga, marae, whakapapa, waiata, whenua and whānau.
But along with all this mahi, whānau is important. He tries to make it to his mokopuna sporting events and is often the whānau representative at whānau, hapū, marae and iwi events and functions.
Sir Selwyn said, “The Hahi Mihingare, Anglican Church and daily karakia have been an important part of my life, influenced by my grandmother, Margaret Parata, ne Cowie, a Scotswoman from Inverness, and Archbishop Brown Turei, their faith and humility left an indelible impression on me.”
He and his wife, Amohaere Houkamau, are proud parents of four adult children, Awhina, Ngarimu, Rapaea and Te Muiora, and doting grandparents of Mokena, Tumatahaia, Huriata and Tanetoa.
Sir Selwyn has been there as a brother, uncle, nephew and mokopuna to support his immediate and extended whānau in their own career, cultural, sporting and business pursuits.
Although this is for services to iwi and Māori, all the mahi he has done is in service to Ngati Porou, Tairawhiti and Aotearoa culture and heritage.
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