Leaders across Aotearoa are paying tribute to renowned kamātua and educator Sir Toby Curtis who died on Wednesday surrounded by his whānau at his Lake Rotoiti home.
Curtis (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Rongomai, Te Arawa) was 83.
Iwi Chairs’ Forum spokesman Mike Smith said Curtis had an illustrious life as an educator.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sir Toby in relation to the climate change work that we’re doing. He’s always been a gracious and very thoughtful contributor to the thinking around the climate issues, and the health and well-being of his iwi,” he said.
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“We certainly offer our sincerest condolences to his family, and there will be people travelling all over the country to attend his tangi over the next couple of days.”
Curtis was a life-long champion of te reo Māori, and education. He was the chairperson of Te Arawa Lakes Trust for 16 years, only resigning in April this year.
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Sir Toby Curtis was a strong advocate for te reo Māori
The asset base of the rūnanga grew from $33 million to over $107 million during his tenure.
Value of the trust’s farming interests grew from roughly $160 a hectare to more than $77,000 a hectare earlier this year.
Curtis served as vice-principal of the Auckland Teachers College and was deputy vice chancellor of the Auckland University of Technology.
The life-long educator vehemently argued te reo was key to reversing socio-economic disparities like incarceration and poverty, where Māori are disproportionately represented, due to colonisation.
“When our kids are taught te reo, we don’t have this,” Curtis said in 2018.
Te Akatea Māori Principals Association president Bruce Jepsen said Curtis’ death is an absolute loss of someone who has paved the way for all Māori.
”Sir Toby Curtis was an astute academic, extremely knowledgeable and a visionary,” he said.
“Today Te Akatea, on finding out of the news, we had karakia, we acknowledged and reflected. A mighty tōtara has fallen,” he said.
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick said Curtis’ passing will be felt both locally and nationally.
“He was a great leader and a dear friend and I was privileged to have had the opportunity to spend time with him at his home during the past few weeks,” he said.
“Tā Toby was a deep intellectual, witty and influential, someone who didn’t suffer fools and who was a strong advocate for young people and for Rotorua. He was also a man with a deep love for his whanau, his whenua, his people and our country.”
Independent Māori Statutory Board chairman David Taipari said Curtis’ passing is a sad loss
“He was a very respectable man with strong integrity. In the times I have dealt with him, over the years, it’s always been such a pleasure,” he said.
“It’s a significant loss for our country and of course for the Te Arawa people.”
Full immersion
Curtis emphasised the importance of full immersion Māori schools for Māori, having been appointed chair of the Iwi Education Authority for Ngā Kura-ā-Iwi o Aotearoa in 2012.
He also served on the council of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
In 2014 Curtis was appointed as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to education.
Outside the education field, he played representative rugby union for Counties and Bay of Plenty.
In his final interview in April, Curtis told Stuff he dreamed of a time where Māori and Pākehā aspirations were achieved through mutual cultural understanding.
“They don’t understand and speak te reo, how we think culturally and what we prefer as a future for coming generations.”
He reflected that while today every Māori can speak English and pronounce English words correctly, he hoped the same could one day be said for tauiwi speaking Māori.
“I’m looking forward to the day when all Pākehā, children and adults, can say every Māori word correctly,” he said.
Taa Toby will remain at home with immediate whānau, before being taken to his marae, Rakeiao, Lake Rotoiti at 10am on Friday, August 19.
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