DR RANGINUI WALKER

Kua hinga he tōtara nui i Te Waonui ā Tane.

Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Auckland War Memorial Museum is today along with the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand, coming to terms with the loss of esteemed statesman Dr Ranginui Walker.

“Ranginui Walker will be remembered by an entire generation and the Museum is honoured to have had his wisdom and insight as a valued advisor,” said Museum Director Roy Clare

“Most recently he had been working closely with us on the Treaty of Waitangi exhibit due to open in March,” Mr Clare continues. “Dr Walker challenged our thinking on this project and generously shared with us his deep understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications not just for Māori but for all New Zealanders.”

Project Manager Tanya Wilkinson and Exhibition Developer Janneen Love recently worked with Dr Walker on the Museum’s upcoming Treaty of Waitangi Exhibit.

“We were privileged to spend a morning with him when we started the Treaty project, which will be a lasting memory of my time here,” said Project Manager Tanya Wilkinson. “He took the opportunity to share his thoughts and opinions with us on the subject, and help set the direction for what we were doing with this project. We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”

“He talked about the need for Māori to tell our own stories, he was uncompromising about that,” Janneen Love (Exhibition Developer) said of Dr Walker. “He said that it was difficult to compress this significant history, but that we were doing a good job of it. His departing words now ring clearly, ‘kia kaha, it’s good’,” she said.

His mana and integrity will be deeply missed.

Our hearts are with his whanau, his iwi and all those whose lives he shaped.

Moe mai ra e te rangatira. Hoki atu ra ki ō matua tipuna.

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