Māori Anglicans have joined in farewelling Sir Tāmati Muturangi Reedy (Ngāti Porou) and Sir Hirini Moko Mead (Ngāti Awa, Tūwharetoa, Tūhoe, Tūhourangi) two great Māori educators who have both died in recent weeks.

Both men are widely celebrated for their lifelong contributions to Māori education, and are also fondly remembered within Te Hāhi Mihinare for their quiet but influential service to the Anglican Church across Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. 

Sir Tāmati, who died aged 90, had deep whakapapa ties to the Church. Alongside his late wife, Lady Tilly, he played a key role in the Kōhanga Reo movement, and later co-led the development of Te Whāriki in the 1990s – New Zealand’s first national early childhood curriculum, still in use today. 

In 2012, he was appointed to the Ma Whea? General Synod Commission on same-gender blessings and ordinations. Reflecting at his tangihanga, Archbishop Don Tamihere recalled Sir Tāmati’s wisdom on language and intent, noting his belief that meaning lies not just in structure, but in what is carried from the heart. 

Sir Hirini Moko Mead, who passed away aged 99 just a week later, was a towering figure in te ao Māori and served his iwi, Ngāti Awa, for more than 70 years. In the 1970s, he contributed to securing the independence of Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa, and later helped shape the Church’s bicultural journey, including advocating for commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

His legacy also lives on through Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, where he helped establish a Mihinare studies programme exploring the history and practice of the Anglican Church in Māori contexts. 

Kei te tangi tahi nei Te Hāhi Mihinare me te iwi Māori whānui i te ngarohanga o ēnei rangatira tokorua, kua waiho mai nei he taonga tuku iho nui mō te Hāhi, mō te iwi Māori, ā, mō Aotearoa whānui.