He maimai Aroha: We remember Māori academic Dr Manuka Henare

The University of Auckland is saddened by the loss of Dr Manuka Henare (Ngāti Hauā, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kahu) who passed away 23 January 2021.

Dr Henare’s father, Harry Arnold, was a Scotsman; his mother, Ellen Henry, came from the Puku/Hēnare whānau from Whangapē in the far north. After leaving Sacred Heart College Ponsonby (now St Pauls), Henare became heavily involved in justice, youth and Māori matters within the Catholic church according to Geremy Hema, Kaiarahi  for the Faculty of Law.

“The late Pā Hēnare Tate, described Manuka as the most eminent Māori Catholic scholar of our time. Manuka was part of the delegation who went to Rome to meet with the Pope to request the ordination of a Māori Bishop. When Pope St John Paul II came to New Zealand
on his papal visit (1986), he heard the wishes of the Māori people to establish a Māori Bishop. Manuka was the Popes principle guide during that visit. Not long after that visit, Bishop Tākuira Māriu of Tuwharetoa was ordained the first Pihopa Katorika Māori- Māori Catholic Bishop”

Dr Henare referred to academia as his third career; his role as a tertiary teacher in the field of Māori and indigenous business enterprise and development economics did not begin until mid‐life.

In 1996, he had become the first lecturer in Māori business development to be appointed to the University of Auckland Business School. He became the main teaching contributor to the Postgraduate Diploma in Business (Māori Development), known as the Te Tohu Huanga Māori Programme where he saw the opportunity to foster teaching and research on the history of the Māori economy. He also led the organisation of the Māori Business Leaders Awards.

As associate professor in the School of Business, Dr Henare developed the Kahurangi (Dame) Mira Szászy Research Centre and was awarded a national teaching excellence award (Award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching - Kaupapa Māori category) in 2018.

He believed his earlier experiences, including as CEO of two national non‐government organisations - Caritas Aotearoa/New Zealand and Community Volunteers, helped shape his work as a senior Māori academic, examining how the philosophies, religions, cultures and worldviews of indigenous peoples inform theories and practices in innovation, management, organisational culture, economics, and globalisation.

He also attributed his academic direction to the late Tā (Sir) Hemi Henare who encouraged him to do his PhD research on ‘He whakapūtanga’ and record the scholarly side of oral traditions.

Dr Hēnare will lie in state at Te Kotahitanga marae in Whangapē.