He maimai aroha kia Tā Harawira Gardiner

HE KAREAO – HE AITUĀ

Tā Harawira Tiri Gardiner (1944 – 2022)

Lt Col (Retd)

D.MD (Honoris Causa – Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Honoris Causa – University of Waikato)

Ngāti Awa, Te Whakatōhea, Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao

E aku kahu, e aku mātāpono

Mai ngā pakiwaitara o tō wānanga a Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi

Ko te reo kōrero o Tā Wira, ko te oro o te pūhōta.  Kua rongo te motu i te ōro o tōnā reo 

Kua mahue  hāngū tātau, 

E taku whare wānanga o Awanuiārangi 

Kua hōrapa ngā mātauranga o te motu

Kua riro koe i te ringa kakama o aitua

Te whakaiti o te whare whakaaro nui

Te matapopore o te oranga wairua

E Matapopore ōnā ia te noho kōtahitanga a tātau.

Inei te matarehurehu, ki te whānau o Tā Wira, te tuku tauākī, i mate a ia, ki te kāinga o tana whānau i Tūranga-nui-a-kiwa, Te Tairāwhiti.  I te tōmuritanga o te pōrā.  Ko tā te whānau ngākau whakaute tauāki, kare tōnā tangihanga e whakaae tia ki runga i te marae. E whakamōhio aumihi ana ki te tūmatanui hauora pūnaha.  Mō a rātau āwhina tautoko ia Tā Wira me tana whānau, inā tau maha kua pahure ake nei.Mō tētahi wā noātu, kia hoki mai te haumaru ora o Aotearoa.  Mā te whānau anō e whakatū he rā, whakahuihui mātohu.

Chairman of Te Mana Whakahaere o Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, Justice Layne Harvey, and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Wiremu Doherty, acknowledge with deep regret and sadness the passing of long serving council member Tā Harawira Gardiner last night in Gisborne with his whānau after a short illness.  For over half a century, Tā Wira served in many senior leadership roles across the New Zealand Army and the public service retiring as a Lt. Colonel before going on to lead government agencies and Ministries as chief executive or director including Civil Defence, the Waitangi Tribunal, the Iwi Transition Agency, Te Puni Kōkiri and more recently as acting Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki.  His governance roles included the boards of Te Papa Tongarewa, Te Ohu Kaimoana, Te Māngai Paho, Māori Television, the Tertiary Education Commission, and Te Wānanga o Aotearoa where invariably he served as chairperson, deputy or as a commissioner.

As his career demonstrates, Tā Wira’s most crucial role has been as a leader, a guide and a way finder for the people – he kaiarahi mō te iwi.  He was a committed servant of Ngāti Awa, maintaining a lifetime involvement in tribal affairs.  From the outset, he was involved in the settlement negotiation processes, contributed to management as Acting Chief Executive of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa as well as serving as chairperson of the iwi asset holding company, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Ltd. 

Tā Wira was also a published author, writing popular texts on the Crown policy on Treaty settlements Return to Sender – What really happened at the Fiscal Envelope Hui; a book on the 28th Māori Battalion Te Mura o Te Ahi – The Story of the Māori Battalion, two on the history and tradition of kapa haka - Haka – A Living Tradition, and a biography of the late former Minister of Māori Affairs, Parekura Horomia and the Vietnam War.  Before his passing he was also working on two projects including an autobiography.

Unsurprisingly, he received many awards including a knighthood in 2008. Then in 2012, in recognition of his incomparable public service career, both as a soldier and as a top civil servant, his deeply personal interest in nation building research, both as an historian and as a published author, and given his seminal role in the establishment, oversight and management of Awanuiārangi dating back to 1994, Tā Wira, and the late Onehou Phillis, were the first recipients of honorary doctorates in Māori development, from this Wānanga.   In 2021, he received an honorary doctorate from Waikato University and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Public Service Commission in 2021.  At that ceremony, the Hon Kelvin Davis announced The Centre for the Child, a research centre dedicated to improving the lives and wellbeing of tamariki in recognition of Tā Wira Gardiner’s contributions to society. 

Tā Wira served with the governance board of Awanuiārangi continuously since 1994, apart from a three year period when he was chairman of the Tertiary Education Commission.  He holds the unique distinction of opening Awanuiārangi on 10 February 1992, when he was Chief Executive of Te Puni Kōkiri.   Then, during a time of uncertainty and change, Tā Wira also served as acting Chief Executive of the Wānanga.  His enormous contribution to the mission of Awanuiārangi over 28 years was second only to his mentor, Tā Hirini, and undoubtedly strengthened the foundations of the Wānanga to ensure its continuing relevance and responsiveness to our many communities of interest.

Tā Wira is survived by his widow Hekia, his children Jeremy, Ainsley, James, Rakaitemania and, Mihimaraea, and his mokopuna Toroa, May, Arai, Freddie, Mary, Paeumu, Amohaere, and Kingston. In her statement, Hekia Parata described Tā Wira as a man who was ‘dedicated to the nation of Aotearoa-New Zealand and faithful to the Māori people’. The whānau have confirmed that, due to the ongoing risks of covid-19, there will be no tangihanga at the marae, while acknowledging the public health system for their service and support to Tā Wira and his whānau over the past year. When Aotearoa is restored to ordinary life, whānau will gather to mark Wira’s passing, acknowledge his contribution, and celebrate a good life well lived. In memoriam, a koha can be made to St John, who whose services the whānau called upon with great appreciation - https://www.stjohn.org.nz/support-us/donate/feb-appeal-2022/

Hei ngā kākā tarahae, ngā pikinga kōtuku, ngā pōhoi kura, whakaareare i te kupu, kua whati, kua hinga atu, koia nei, ka tāiriiri nei i te rua mahara o whakaaro nui mo koutou, ka kapakapa nei te manawa, e hua ake ai te kupu whakamau mo koutou. E te kōkō muka Harawira, te kōkō tuitui here kupu, tātai kōrero, o Mātaatua, o Te Arawa anei rā te whakaaro o tō iwi ki a koe. Ka tika te kōrero ko koe te ringa raupā para i te huarahi, e wātea ai te ara hai whāinga mo tātau.