Ngāi Tahu kaumatua Sir Tipene O’Regan spent many years leading the tribe’s development and negotiating Te Kerēme - their Treaty of Waitangi claim.
Tipene O’ Regan’s plaque reads:
"Rakatira, kaumatua, writer, orator and teacher, principal negotiator of the Ngēi Tahu Settlement, which brought many positive results for all of Canterbury"
Early life
The only child of a Ngāi Tahu mother (Rena), and an Irish father (Rolland), Sir Tipene was educated in Wellington, although he spent significant time as a child at Bluff with his Ngāi Tahu grandmother.
Ngāi Tahu negotiator
After a career as a teacher and academic he joined the Ngāi Tahu Trust Board. For more than 30 years he travelled the country in the interests of the tribe, becoming known as Te takata heare po - the one who travels at night.
This work included 230 formal presentations to parliamentary select committees and leading programmes of investment and economic development in land, property and fisheries by Ngāi Tahu.
As the national voice of Ngāi Tahu his work culminated in the settlement of the treaty claim in 1998.
Honours
Tipene O’Regan was knighted in 1994.
He has continued involvement in business and academia including as founding chairman of the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission, and as the first University of Canterbury Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Māori).
He is Upoko (traditional head) of the Awarua Runanga of Ngāi Tahu.
Photos
Photos of the Tipene O'Regan bust
Sources
- Twelve local heroes : a celebration : set of bronze busts commissioned by the Local Heroes Trust, Mark Whyte, sculptor. Christchurch: Local Heroes Trust, 2009
- Sir Tipene O’Regan Recording Tumultuous Years With Ngāi Tahu Ian Henderson (nzine.co.nz, reprinted from the University of Canterbury Chronicle), 2001
- Ko Tahu Ko Au: Kāi Tahu Tribal Identity Hana O’Regan. Christchurch: Horomaka Publishing, 2001.
- Building A Boat for the Whole Tribe – article in Mana Aug/Sep 2003; n.53: p.111-119
- Brief biography of Sir Tipene O’Regan, Māori Business Symposium, 2008
More information
- Information about Sir Tipene O'Regan from the Twelve Local Heroes trail at the University of Canterbury
- Books about Sir Tipene O’Regan at Christchurch City Libraries
- Tā Tipene O’Regan: a life spent building a bicultural nation On the occasion of Tā Tipene being made New Zealander of the Year 2022, Radio New Zealand
- Te Kerēme a selective index to the Ngāi Tahu claim
- Ngāi Tahu website
- Find news stories about Sir Tipene O’Regan in our Papers database
