Anaru humbled by honour

Seeing his people settled back on their own land with financial security for the future has always been a No 1 target for Anaru Rangiheuea.
The 72-year-old Tuhourangi kaumatua has worked tirelessly within many Te Arawa and public organisations working to improve life for his people.
Today, Mr Rangiheuea is being honoured with the third highest Queen's Birthday honour - Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
It is an honour he unpretentiously accepts as he helps prepare his tribe to finalise the last stages of the historic Te Arawa Treaty of Waitangi settlement and Central North Island Iwi Collective agreement.
"I am so humbled by all this but it is only because of the many great people on the trusts who I have worked alongside. I really don't know what to say except I'm humbled. The fact is there are thousands of other people doing similar good work also," he said.
Raised at Te Teko and Murupara, as a young truck driver Mr Rangiheuea married June Skipworth in 1956 and the couple had 10 children - three have since died.
His wife died in 2000, soon after Mr Rangiheuea was acknowledged in the 1999 New Year's honours with the Order of New Zealand Merit for his services to the community.
She was the driver who supported him to get involved with school committees and then Maori trusts, Mr Rangiheuea said.
"We would talk for hours discussing important issues affecting our people and what we could do to help. I always worked with my hands helping out and it just went on from there," he said.
He went on to serve more than 30 years on the Te Arawa Maori Trust Board - two terms as chairman from 1991-94 and again from 2002 until the trust settled with the Government in regard to 13 of the region's lake beds.
He was also a member of the Rotorua District Council's Te Arawa Standing Committee member for many years until his retirement in 2005.
He has been on many marae committees, is a Justice of the Peace and honorary lakes inspector.
"I wanted to work for my hapu and iwi. To help make a difference economically, socially and financially for them," he said.
His hope is that the Te Arawa and Central North Island forestry deal will provide a secure future for his people, benefiting the Rotorua community.
"The opportunities will be immense for our people. There will be chances to develop work opportunities for our people through industries.
"There was once a drive for our people to move from the rural communities to cities for employment, now we want them to come back home to the ancestral lands. Settlement will help provide better education, health and employment opportunities in the future for our people," he said.
Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters said Mr Rangiheuea was most deserving of the honour as he worked not only for the better of Maori but the entire community.
"This is the most delightful news. Anaru is just a tremendous person. It's just an awesome achievement for the work he has done for the entire community of Rotorua. He led the charge to get the lakes back for tangata whenua. He's a legend," he said.