Unfinished Business – Ki hea āpōpō
Sir Toby Curtis with Lorraine Berridge McLeod
The late Te Arawa leader sets out his life from poverty to knighthood with frank views on education and racism
Knowing that he was unwell, over the past year the late Sir Toby Curtis worked with long-time friend Dr Lorraine Berridge McLeod to record his life and views on key areas from his stellar career — especially Māori education and leadership, and his experience of racism.
Toby Curtis – Unfinished business: Ki hea āpōpō follows Toby’s progress from his humble origins through family life and his mahi as a teacher and lecturer, government adviser in education and broadcasting, and leader of the Te Arawa iwi confederation.
Interspersed throughout are text boxes that take a more academic approach to key issues like the loss of te reo, religious colonisation, educational underachievement and government policy.
The result is an engaging story of a life emerging from the shadows of a Pākehā-led model to a bicultural society, balanced with opinions that will challenge and inform thinkers for years to come.
Sir Toby passed away on 17 August. This book stands as his legacy to the nation he cared about so passionately, and sets out a wero (challenge).
As the subtitle indicates, Tā Toby felt his life’s work to be unfinished, with a long way to go to for Aotearoa. Ki hea āpōpō!
Moe mai, moe mai, moe mai rā e te rangatira. Rest in peace, chief. Your words carry forward the business for others to finish.
The authors
Sir Toby Curtis (Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Pikiao) had a distinguished teaching career before lecturing at AUT University. After retiring to Rotoiti, Rotorua, he led the Te Arawa Lakes Trust for 16 years, among many other roles. Sadly, he passed away before this book could be published.
From a farming background, Lorraine Berridge McLeod was a teacher, principal lecturer at AUT, dean of early childhood education in Auckland and then associate professor of education in the United Arab Emirates. A long-time colleague of Sir Toby’s, she lives in Taranaki.
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