Habib's desire to write hit 'like a tornado'

Rowley Habib.

Taupo's man of letters, Rowley Habib, has died, leaving behind a significant literary legacy.

Of Ngati Tuwharetoa and Lebanese descent, Habib, who was also known as Rore Hapipi, has been described as "one of the pioneers of modern literary expression by Maori", with books, plays, screenplays, and poems to his credit. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies. Most recently his poem The Raw Men: For the Maori Battalion appeared in the Penguin Book of New Zealand War Writing, published last year. At the time of his death he had just finished collating his latest collection of writing, The Widening Horizon.

Habib won many awards during his long career. He was awarded the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, which gives writers a year in Menton, France. He also won the Maori Affairs Writers Award and the Feltex Award for Best TV Script for his film The Protesters.

In 2013 Habib received a Nga Tohu a Ta Kingi Ihaka award at the Te Waka Toi Awards 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", with his play The Death of the Land hailed as a landmark in the development of Maori theatre.

Habib was born in 1933 and grew up in Oruanui, near Taupo. His father owned a general store.

When he was 16, he went to Te Aute College and discovered his great love of writing.

"I always wrote about things and people I knew personally. I found I couldn't write about imaginary things, they had no interest for me. But with the things and people I knew, all I had to do was to be honest, and they would have life and meaning."

When he was 20 and training to be a teacher Habib suddenly decided that he wanted to be a writer. "It hit me like a tornado. I couldn't think of anything else."

During a five-year spell in Dunedin Habib began writing specifically about Maori stories and issues. His work began appearing in Te Ao Hou, where editor Bruce Mason told him he had an ear for dialogue and suggested he try writing plays. In 1976 he formed his own theatre company, Te Ika A Maui Players. The group toured The Death Of The Land, which dealt with the subject of injustices over Maori land, for three years. It was later adapted for film and television. In 1979, Habib became the first Maori to write specifically for television, with the drama The Gathering. He later drew on his own experiences as a protesters at Bastion Point and Raglan Golf Course for his award-winning television play The Protesters. The Widening Horizon, is due to be printed shortly.

- Rowley Habib died on April 3. He is survived by his partner Birgitte, children Tangimoana, Waimarama, Reremoana and mokopuna Liam and Ruben.