Riwai Te Ahu (c1821–1866) was a notable New Zealand teacher and missionary. Of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngāti Hinerangi and Ngāti Awa iwi (tribe). He was born in Waitara, Taranaki, New Zealand. He was the son of Tuhoe of Waiongana and Waipuia of Waitara. In 1840 he was baptised by the Rev. Octavius Hadfield at the Waikanae Mission of the Church Missionary Society (CMS).[1][2]
Riwai Te Ahu | |
|---|---|
| Born | c1820 |
| Died | 1 October 1866 Ōtaki, New Zealand |
| Other names | Levi |
| Occupation(s) | Anglican Minister and Missionary |
| Spouse(s) | Heni Rohia (married 1843) Mata Te Matamata (married 1851) |
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From about 1840 to 1854 he was a catechist and teacher at the CMS mission at Waikanae.[3] He worked with Hadfield to establish schools among the Māori people living in Queen Charlotte Sound, including at Okukari Bay.[3]
Early in 1855 Bishop George Selwyn took him to Auckland in order that he might study for the ministry at St. John’s College under the direction of Archdeacon Kissling.[3] Te Ahu was ordained a deacon on 23 September 1855 at St Paul's Church, Auckland by Bishop George Selwyn.[3][4] He was the second Māori clergyman appointed a deacon, following his friend Rota Waitoa who was ordained a deacon in 1853.[5]
In September 1855 he accompanied Bishop Selwyn and John Patteson on a pastoral visit to the South Island and the Chatham Islands. He was ordained a priest in 1858 and became a member of the CMS.[6] On 11 July 1859 he was appointed as the assistant to the Rev. Hadfield at Ōtaki.[3] In October 1859 he was a member of the first synod of the Diocese of Wellington.[2] He managed schools in Queen Charlotte Sound and Tory Channel and was associated with the Anglican centre at Okukari Bay in Marlborough.[7] He died at Ōtaki on 6 October 1866.[3]
References
edit- ^ Starke, June. "Octavius Hadfield". Te Ara. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific" (PDF). 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Hadfield, Octavius (1902). Maoris of by-gone days: Rev. Riwai Te Ahu. London : J.H. Shears, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. pp. 15–18.
- ^ "The Late Rev. Riwai Te Ahu". Wellington Independent, Volume XXI, Issue 2428. 16 October 1866. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ Dempsey, G. J. "Rota Waitoa". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ The Centenaru Volume of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East 1799-1899 (PDF). London : Church Missionary Society, digital publication: Cornell University. 1902.
- ^ René́ Bester (editor) (2010). Harvest of Grace: Essays in Celebration of 150 Years of Mission in the Anglican Diocese of Nelson. Anglican Centre Nelson. ISBN 9780473177775.
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External sources
edit- Hadfield, Octavius (1902). Maoris of by-gone days: Rev. Riwai Te Ahu. London : J.H. Shears, digital publication: Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. pp. 15–18.
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