Dr. Kihi Ngātai, QSM

Tauranga Moana is in mourning after the death of Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pukenga kaumātua Dr, Kihi Ngātai QSM at 91 years old. Ngātai was awarded a Queen's Birthday Honour in 2006, a Ta Kingi Ihaka Toi Maori award in 2009, was the first chairman of Te Runanga o Ngāi Te Rangi. Ngātai spent most of his life on the Matapihi peninsula where his governance experience grew from converting the family dairy farm into a kiwifruit orchard. He also served as the director of the Māori kiwifruit growers fraternity, Te Awanui Hukapak Limited, for several years. As a trustee of Te Pā o Te Ariki Trust and the Maungatapu Marae Trust, he was involved in the decades-long battle to have Transpower move powerlines in Maungatapu and particularly off Te Pā o Te Ariki, the pā site of Ngāti Hē.

NGATAI, Dr Kihi QSM. Tērā te marama ka mahuta i te pae. Ko taku tau kahurangi, ko Tākuta Kihi Ngatai QSM. I te ahiahi pō tuatahi o Hereturikōkā 2021, i kapia ōna karu i te pūāhurutanga o tōna whānau. It is with a heavy heart that the whānau of Dr Kihi Ngatai QSM announce his passing on Sunday, 1 August 2021 surrounded by his whānau at Te Hau Maruru. After recently turning 91, he joins his beloved wife Maria Hokimate Ngatai QSM, his eldest daughter Puharangi Ngatai, his parents Tiuka and Parehuia Ngatai, and siblings. Loved by his children Rikihana, Turi, Kihi Jnr, Ngawa, his mokopuna and mokopuna tuarua. Published in The Bay of Plenty Times on Aug. 3, 2021.

See also

1. Part 1 of 2 Profile of Tauranga kaumatua Kihi Ngatai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDJVO8UzDVE
2. Part 2 of 2 Profile of Tauranga kaumatua Kihi Ngatai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z-EgWAB9S0
3. Remembering Tauranga Moana kaumātua Kihi Ngatai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxGxwGmCLY4
4. Tauranga Moana mourns the loss of Kihi Ngātai https://www.teaomaori.news/tauranga-moana-mourns-loss-kihi-ngatai

Along with his late wife Maria, the couple planted the first kiwifruit vines in the Tauranga region more than 40 years ago. He was a true visionary and will be sadly missed by his whānau and the wider community. - Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson.

It's a great loss for Tauranga Moana and probably for te ao Māori across the country... It has been a privilege for us as whānau that he's been around here with us for as long as he has before aunty called him to the other side... It's always a shock and the emotions well up. We think of our whānau, cousins and uncles and aunties who will be dealing with this... He's always been that rock in that regard, but the thing that makes it so poignant is he's so kind and generous to all of us. He's someone that we've fought to try to aspire to be. - Carlo Ellis.

We here in Tauranga mourn the loss of Dr Kihi Ngatai QSM a man who dedicated his life to caring for the whenua and progressing our horticulture industry. Along with his wife Maria, Mātua Kihi planted the first kiwifruit vines in the Tauranga region more than 40 years ago. He was a Māori horticultural pioneer. In the late 1950’s Kihi and Maria moved back to Matapihi to run a whānau dairy farm. They later converted the farm into a kiwifruit orchard opening up employment opportunities for whānau and the community. He would later become the director of the Māori kiwifruit growers’ fraternity, Te Awanui Huka Pak. Kihi was a Ngai Te Rangi trustee for the Mauao historic reserve. In 2006 Kihi was awarded a Queen’s Birthday Honour and in 2014 he was awarded an honorary doctorate for his contribution to Māori welfare and leadership for Tauranga iwi. A huge loss for our community but his legacy will live on through his whānau and all of those he helped. - Jan Tinetti MP.

I had a lot to do with both Kihi and his wife Maria over my time in local government. I found Kihi incredibly supportive... He was incredibly helpful... He could transverse both the Māori world and the non-Māori world and he was a person who could explain Māori matters to a non-Māori like myself. - Former Tauranga mayor Stuart Crosby.