6 May 2015

He maimai aroha – Henrietta Maxwell

E te kuia, haere ki tō iwi, haere ki tō whānau, haere ki ō tātou tīpuna. Haere ki te kāinga tūturu mō te tangata. Auē! Te Pōuri! Te Tangi e! Haere, Haere, Haere!

The Māori Party laments the loss of kuia Henrietta Maxwell; an inspirational pioneer in the revitalisation of te reo rangatira; a founding champion of the kōhanga reo movement and a beloved mother and nanny to many mokopuna throughout Aotearoa.

“Whaea Henrietta was entrepreneurial in many spheres,” said Māori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.

“She was a fearless advocate of Te Ataarangi, a method of teaching te reo Māori with the use of cuisenaire rods. Thousands of New Zealanders, over the last three decades have grown to love those rods as a simple tool for learning language structures.

“She had a passion for helping the language to thrive and looked at every avenue possible. Her many books, including ‘He pitopito kōrero/waiata mō te maramataka whakapapa o te kōhanga reo te tau rua mano’ and the children’s publication, ‘Te hī me te hā o te kōhanga’ are treasured examples of her skillful use of language to plant a seed in the hearts of our children and our whānau” said Mr Flavell.

“Kōkā Henri is particularly associated with the advancements that took place at Wainuiomata marae, which in 1982 was home to the inaugural opening of the first kōhanga reo” said Marama Fox, Maori Party Co-leader.

“We all loved her for her energy and determination to fulfill the aspirations of our tīpuna in preserving the beauty of te reo.

“Our love and our sympathies are expressed for Ngati Porou; the whānau pani and the Te Ataarangi and kōhanga reo movements who will no doubt be thinking today how they can uphold her enormous legacy. As I think of this beautiful kuia I pay tribute to her exceptional talent in the words of a waiata she loved, ‘Tipu e Ngā Uri’:

Tipu e ngā uri i roto i tēnei ao, he ao hurihuri kia tūpato rā
Kei te hotu te manawa he roimata i maringi, mou te mokopuna kua puawai koe.

ends

© Scoop Media