30 January 2018

Manukau Institute of Technology is mourning the passing of our Kaiākau, Kūkupa Harakore Tirikātene ONZM (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Māmoe, Waitaha, Pāhauwera, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Toa).

Papa Kū – as he was affectionately known – was a man of mana and matauranga, who in his long career in education guided the paths of many.

During the countless welcomes he led at Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae, Kū would always say “the tapestry of understanding is not woven by one strand alone.”

It was this spirit of manaakitanga and connectedness that he emphasised in his work with the staff and students at MIT.

This worldview helped us foster a modern, multi-ethnic institute based on bicultural foundations.

Kūkupa ’s life was testament to the transformative power of hard work and education.

Kū left school in the fifth form for a job at a freezing works followed by a long stint with New Zealand Railways. He became a local identity in Papakura running a dairy and then a tea rooms.

But upon hearing of a shortage of teachers fluent in te reo, Kū retrained, teaching at Rosehill College from 1976 to 1991, before serving as lecturer and kaumātua at MIT from 1993 to 2006.

Born at Rātana Pā, eighth of the twelve children to later-Sir Eruera Tihema Tirikātene and Lady Ruti Matekino Tirikātene.

The name ‘Kūkupa  Harakore’ was given to him by Rātana Movement founder, Wiremu Rātana.

In recent years, he served as iwi kaumātua for Ngāi Tahu at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa marae and was recognised by Creative New Zealand for his life’s work preserving and furthering Māori culture and language.

“The thoughts of everyone at the institute are with Kū’s whānau. We acknowledge that his work at MIT was just one chapter in a big life, lived with humility, dignity and purpose. But what he has done here is immense,” says chief executive Gus Gilmore.

Kūkupa  was also fond of saying that ‘footprints on the earth blow away in the wind, but imprints on the mind stay with us forever.’

His legacy will always be a part of what we do here.

Funeral arrangements are under way for Kūkupa Harakore Tirikātene.  We will let the MIT whānau and community know about those as soon as possible.

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