Trailblazers: Hinewehi Mohi

Hinewehi Mohi was the first person to perform the national anthem in te reo at an international test match.

Hinewehi Mohi Singer 1964

Te reo Māori pioneer and the first person to perform the national anthem in te reo at an All Blacks test

Hinewehi Mohi made New Zealand history when she sang the national anthem at an international All Blacks game entirely in te reo Māori.

Mohi was asked to perform at the 1999 game in Twickenham and it is because of her iconic performance that the New Zealand national anthem is now sung in English and Māori.

The singer-songwriter has made a similar mark on the New Zealand music industry in which she has worked for more than 20 years, singing entirely in te reo Māori.

Her first album, Oceania, was released in 1999 and featured her hit, Kotahitanga. It was the first Māori language album to be distributed internationally.

Her second album (Oceania II) was a collaborative effort with a British composer named Jaz Coleman and her third (Raukatauri -Te Puhi o te Tangi) took on a more classical vibe as she collaborated with a 35-piece chamber orchestra.

Proceeds from the sale of the album were donated to the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, which Mohi founded in 2004 in honour of her daughter Hineraukatauri, who was born in 1996 with cerebral palsy. The centre was the first of its kind in New Zealand.

Mohi has also played an important role in raising awareness of breast cancer in New Zealand, after she was diagnosed in 2011 and underwent a double mastectomy.

Mohi also has an accomplished screen career. She set up her own production company Raukatauri Productions in 2004, through which she launched the long-running waiata series Mōteatea. She's also helped produce shows like Marae DIY, which won her a Qantas Television Award in 2007 for best reality show.

The following year, Mohi was inducted as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori.

In 2013, she was a semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year and in 2016, she was named the Te Reo Māori Champion by Women in Film and Television.