Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Tributes flow for gentle scholar

By Laurel Stowell
Whanganui Chronicle·
29 Feb, 2016 07:36 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

WELL-RESPECTED: Dr Ranginui Walker arrives at Putiki Marae with Judge Carrie Wainwright.PHOTO/ FILE

WELL-RESPECTED: Dr Ranginui Walker arrives at Putiki Marae with Judge Carrie Wainwright.PHOTO/ FILE

New Zealand suffered a great loss with the passing of Dr Ranginui Walker yesterday morning, Whanganui kaumatua John Maihi says.

Dr Walker died just short of his 84th birthday.

Mr Maihi is related to him through Te Whanau a Apanui in the Opotiki area of the Bay of Plenty. He was waiting to hear where the tangi will take place and will probably take a carload from here.

He said Dr Walker was an important and well-respected figure. "He is a very intelligent man, and a very articulate man in both English and Maori. Over the last two years he has played a major part in the work of the Waitangi Tribunal."

Dr Walker was an expert in tikanga (custom), and an authority on Maori history.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mr Maihi has known him for a long time but hasn't seen him since he came with the Waitangi Tribunal to present its findings in the Whanganui Land Report, He Whiritaunoka, last October. He had heard he wasn't well.

"He was a great man who has left a legacy for us to follow through on, and surely in the present and future those things that we needed will be in place."

Another of the Chronicle's commenters on Maori issues, Potonga Neilson, bought some of Dr Walker's books and found them very informative.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He was well respected by everyone. That came out at Putiki quite recently," he said.

Ranginui Walker came from a farming family near Opotiki and was educated at St Peter's Maori College in Auckland. He was a primary school teacher for 10 years, then got a degree and became an anthropology lecturer at Auckland University. He was a professor there before retiring in 1998. In the 1970s he was a member of activist group Nga Tama Toa, and was a keen debater with strong and well-researched opinions.

He has written six books, and contributed to many other publications. A historian, scholar and researcher with a gentle manner, he was able to communicate the views of Maori to the New Zealand mainstream.

Media commentator Russell Brown has tweeted he feels shattered by the death, saying Dr Walker formed his view of Te Ao Maori (the Maori world).

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Rangitīkei fencer regains Golden Pliers title

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Sport

Athletics: Early training years bring lessons in preparation

02 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

02 Jul 06:00 PM

'In many ways the Duncan family has imprinted itself on Whanganui.'

Rangitīkei fencer regains Golden Pliers title

Rangitīkei fencer regains Golden Pliers title

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Athletics: Early training years bring lessons in preparation

Athletics: Early training years bring lessons in preparation

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Nominations open for local government elections

Nominations open for local government elections

02 Jul 01:22 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP