Renowned Māori scholar and kaumātua Sir Patrick (Patu) Hohepa, has died.
Whānau spokesperson Julian Wilcox announced his death in a Facebook post and said he “passed away peacefully at his home in Waimā, Hokianga”.
He was 87.
A former University of Auckland professor of Māori Language, he was the first to advocate for a marae at the tertiary institution.
He served as the Māori Language Commissioner for Te Taura Whiri from 1997 to 2007, and was a member of Te Waka Toi, the Māori Board of Creative New Zealand in the early 2000s.
In 2014, he led the New Zealand delegation accompanying an exhibition of 50 Gottfried Lindauer paintings depicting Māori to Europe.
He was knighted in 2022 for services to Māori culture and education.
Throughout his career he continued to teach te reo Māori and advocate for Māori cultural recognition and development.
His tangi will be held at Otātara Marae, Waimā.
Labour MP Peeni Henare paid tribute to the well-respected kaumātua.
“Heartbreaking news for our people of Ngāpuhi who have lost a storehouse of knowledge and leader of Ngāpuhi,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“Described during Te Paparahi o te Raki Waitangi Tribunal hearings as a roaring lion, Sir Patu Hohepa took our people on a journey of recapturing our history and mātauranga.”
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