Mr Habib, who affiliates to Ngati Tuwharetoa, received a Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka award in recognition of a lifetime of service to Maori arts. He was described as "one of the first writers to bring a genuinely Maori perspective to New Zealand stage and screen".
Born at Oruanui in 1933, Mr Habib since the early 1950s has published stories, poems and articles. In 1967 he formed his own theatre company, Te Ika A Maui Players, which toured Death Of The Land for three years.
He has written an unpublished novel, and has written and produced plays for stage, television and radio, as well as documentaries.
Rowley has won the Maori Affairs Writers Award, the Feltex Award for Best TV Script for his film The Protestors and has been a recipient of the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship.
His writings have been anthologised in numerous collections, and over the last eight years he has been finishing and self-publishing what he considers to be his most important works.
His latest work, two long narrative poems, The Avenging Angel and Cuba Street Serenade, was released in April this year.
