Veteran iwi radio broadcaster Rauru Broughton is being remembered as a revered repository of tikanga and a champion of te reo Māori by mourners at Pākaraka Marae, near Whanganui.
Today, the first wave of mourners arrived at the marae to pay their respects to Broughton who died on Wednesday. Groupings included representatives from iwi around the Taranaki region and neighbouring areas, as well as local kura kaupapa Māori.
Maruera Maraki, speaker for Māori catholic group Araukuku, credited Broughton for sharing some of his knowledge on whaikōrero with his grandfather, who in turn, passed it down to the younger generation like himself to learn.
“Kua rongo ki ngā kaupapa maha, tātou tērā ngā taiohi o taua wā, kua hikina tērā manuka nā rātou i takoto (You can hear it at a lot of the kaupapa, those of us young ones of that time, we have now taken up the challenge [that was laid back then]),” he said in an interview with Awa FM.
Whanganui iwi leader Gerard Albert told Taiuru News he likened Broughton to the ancestor Māui and his encounter with Hinenuitepō, the goddess of death.
“Ahakoa e hiahia nona kia purutia te aka ki te ao marama, kore taea. Taua tapu, te tapu o mate, kaore e taea te karo (Even though he clung to life, ultimately death cannot be evaded),” he said.
Earlier this year, his service to te reo Māori was recognised at Te Matoe o Te Reo symposium held in New Plymouth where he was honoured for his commitment to ensuring te reo Māori was thriving among iwi.
In 2025, he was part of the commentary team for Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga and was a composer of the mass haka pōwhiri performed by hosts Te Kāhui Maunga.
A pioneer and well-known voice on iwi radio, over the course of his broadcasting career he worked for Wellington’s Te Ūpoko o Te Ika, Whanganui-based Awa FM, and New Plymouth’s Te Korimako o Taranaki.
Broughton was also a former Mātauranga Māori lecturer at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki.
He was the youngest son of renowed tohunga Ruka Broughton (snr) and venerated kaikaranga Mereiwa Whakaruru.
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