Maharaia Winiata

Although born in Ruatoki, Dr Maharaia Winiata grew up and lived in Tauranga for much of his life. Importantly, Winiata was a direct descendant of Rangatira Tamatea, captain of the Takitimu waka on his father’s side. Winiata was also a descendant of Rangatira Rangitihi, a prominent descendant of Tamatekapua, captain of the Te Arawa waka on his mother’s side.  

In 1935, Dr Winiata began studying towards a B.A. at the University of Auckland and later graduated with a M.A. in 1945 and a Diploma of Education in 1946. Simultaneously, in 1937, he studied at the Methodist Trinity Theological College, which was established with the intention of educating Māori students to work as teachers and ministers within their own communities.  

Between 1942 and 1943, he also trained at the Auckland Teachers College. In 1952, Winiata was awarded a scholarship in Humanities which allowed him to travel and study at the University of London. Here he authored his thesis “The Changing Role of the Leader in Māori Society” and became the one of the first Māori to obtain a PhD.

He utilised his education to help the Māori community. Winiata worked for the Auckland Adult Education Department as its first Māori tutor and an organiser for classes from North Auckland to Christchurch. He primarily taught in Auckland, Waikato-Maniapoto and Bay of Plenty. The classes being taught varied, including teaching reading, writing, and giving lectures on farming, book-keeping, sewing, carving and other arts.  

Notable work

An integral part of his thesis "The Changing Role of the Leader in Māori Society" referred to Māori leadership being delegated by a hereditary system prior to colonisation. His research observed the changes in the positions, structures, and responsibilities of Māori leaders after the impact of the gradual loss of land, culture, and identity. Eminently, he observed the kīngitanga as an example of Māori being adaptive to this drastic change. he proposed the movement, and other similar movements, illustrated that Māori had designed their own movements to protect their own self-determined leadership. He also asserted that such structures can be used, implicated, and remodelled to encourage and empower Māori in future generations.  

Impact in Te Ao Māori

Dr Winiata has had an everlasting impact in Te Ao Māori and an example of this is his whakatauākī which signifies that although he has long passed his words have remained and are still present. “Ina aro atu ana te oranga ki nga mea pai, ka rere te wairua, ka taea nga mea katoa” (When our lives are attuned to good things, when the mind is clear and the spirit flows freely, all is possible).

Across Tauranga Moana, Dr Winiata is remembered as a prominent leader for Māori, especially those from this region. This whakatauākī is remembered and cements Winiata as a figure in Te Ao Māori which advocated for his people. He was known as a leader who actively strived towards giving for his people and empowered them in the process of recovery after the wreckage of colonisation. During a time when his people were lacking resources and funding, he established a carving school in Huria and commissioned the building of a new wharenui. As a scholar his words, work and research are remembered. 

Biographical information compiled and written by Ngaki Te Kare - Ruaine