Tūroa Royal
Tūroa Kiniwe Royal CNZM D.Litt (Hon) QSO ED, was born in 1935 and is a Māori educationist. During the 1960s, he taught at Tāmaki College, Auckland, and from 1970 to 1978, he was an Inspector of Māori and Island Education, for the then Department of Education of the New Zealand Government. From 1978 to 1986 he was Principal of Wellington High School[1] and from 1996 to 2006 he was Foundation Director of Whitireia Polytechnic, Porirua.[2] From 1981 to 2011, Royal was heavily involved in the establishment of Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa in Ōtaki.[3] He undertook numerous roles during its establishment phase include governance, management and teaching roles.
Early life
Tūroa Royal was born on the 28th of January 1935, at Waimangō Point, on the Firth of Thames, just north of Kaiaua. His parents were Haunui Tukumana Royal of Ngāti Whanaunga, Ngāti Tamaterā and Ngāti Raukawa. His mother was Meri Te Oi Tamehana of Ngāpuhi.
Royal grew up on the family farm, a remnant block within the lands of his Ngāti Whanaunga people. The block was first converted into a farm by his paternal adopted grandfather, Tukumana Te Taniwha and later by his father Haunui.
Tribal (Iwi) Affiliations
Through his father, Royal belongs to the iwi (tribes) of Ngāti Whanaunga and Ngāti Tamaterā of the Hauraki region and Ngāti Raukawa of the Horowhenua region, near Wellington. His family’s surname, Royal and Te Roera, comes from Ngāti Raukawa.
On his mother’s side, Royal belongs to Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine. His maternal grandfather was Te Oi Tamihana of Ngāti Kōpaki, Ngāti Hine. His maternal grandmother was Hana Toi of the Ngāti Korokoro and Ngāti Whārara peoples of Ōmāpere, Hokianga.
As Royal was born and raised at Waimangō, Firth of Thames, within the lands of Ngāti Whanaunga, this is his primary tribal affiliation. His family continue to maintain ‘ahi kā’ (home fires) at Waimangō and many of Royal’s immediate family members (including his parents and some of his siblings) are interred in the family cemetery at Waimangō.
Education
Royal attended Kaiaua Primary School (commencing in 1940) and Wesley College, near Pukekohe. Encouraged by his mother’s brother, Rev Māori Marsden, Royal enrolled at the University of Auckland in 1953.[4]
In 1975, Royal completed a Masters of Education Administration (M.EdAdmin) at the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Personal Life
Royal married Maryrose Wells in 1959. They had six sons, including Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal.
Career
Royal spent his career seeking ways of uplifting Māori educational achievement at all levels of schooling and tertiary education.
In 1959, Royal published an article in the Te Ao Hou magazine entitled 'A Māori Child Grows up in Auckland'.[5] The article provides an overview of primary, secondary and tertiary education as it relates to Māori in Auckland at the time. Royal expresses a number of views that would become key themes in his subsequent career.
The use of Māori language and culture was a critical dimension of his approach to Māori education and he was critical of ‘mono-cultural bias’ in schooling.[6]
In 1980, Royal introduced bilingual and whānau based schooling into Wellington High School, one of the very first schools in New Zealand to do so.
Royal was a founder of the World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC). Between 2002 and 2008 he was Chairperson of the Consortium.[7].
Awards
In 2009, Royal was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Literature by Massey University, Palmerston North.[8] The citation awarding the Honorary Doctorate to Royal acknowledged his commitment to Māori education sustained over more than 50 years.[9]
In the 2013 New Year Honours he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.[10] He received his insignia from Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae on 23 May 2013[11].
References
- ^ Underhill, Bridget. "Tūroa Kiniwe Royal". Komako: Māori Writing in English.
- ^ "History of Whitireia and Weltec". 2022.
- ^ "Raukawa Wananga Recognised as a University". Tu Tangata, Issue 21, Page 36. 1 December 1984.
- ^ "Turoa Kiniwe Royal". Tu Tangata (6): 13. 1 June 1982.
- ^ Royal, Tūroa (June 1959). "A Maori Child Grows up in Auckland". Te Ao Hou.
- ^ Hayes, Lindsay (1 June 1982). "Tu Tangata, Issue 6, Page 12".
- ^ "World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium Brochure 2014" (PDF). World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium. World Indigenous Higher Education Consortium.
- ^ "Honorary doctorate for educationalist Turoa Royal". Scoop. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ "TUROA KINIWE ROYAL, ED, QSO, MA, MEd Admin., Dip. Tchg. A CITATION ON THE OCCASION OF HIS CONFERMENT OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF LITERATURE (HONORIS CAUSA)". Tāmiro: Showcasing Selected Taonga from the Collections of the Massey University Library. 2009.
- ^ "New Year Honours List 2013". DPMC. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ Dando, Kris. "Education advocate makes voice heard". Stuff. Stuff. Retrieved 31 October 2022.