Te Wānanga o Aotearoa mourns passing of matriarch

Ka tanuku e! ka tanuku e! 

Ka tanuku koa te tihi o te maunga tītohea o Taranaki, ka tanuku! 

Maturuturu noa te wai o aku kamo

Aue, te ringa tohau nui i ngakingaki ai i te māra o te matauranga hei oranga mo te iwi,

E rere ra kei taku manu taiko ki te tāpuhipuhi o
te taumata okiokinga o ō mātua tūpuna

Ki reira e Whaea Marie titiro whakararo mai ki nga kaihoe o te waka

o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa e mau nei i te parekawakawa o aituā.
He tangi apakura mōu e te manu kōrihi kua riro nei i te hao nui a Hine-nui-te-pō.

 E Marie, ka waiho ō mahi huahua me tō Whare a Apakura hei whakamaumahara i a koe,

ko tō wairua e tāwharau tonu i te kaupapa o Te Wānanga o Aotearoa a haere ake nei.

Moe mai rā e Kui e.

Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is mourning the loss of our respected matriarch, beloved kuia and aunty to many, Marie Panapa.

Aunty Ma, 73, passed away yesterday at Waikato Hospital after earlier suffering a heart attack at an event held at Apakura campus.

Te Taiurungi Dr Jim Mather said while Aunty Ma’s health had been failing for some time, her passing has come as a shock to everyone at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

 “There is profound sadness among the many kaimahi within Te Wānanga o Aotearoa who are deeply affected by her passing,” he said.

“We extend our aroha and sympathy to Aunty Ma’s whānau at this sad time, moe mai rā e te māreikura.”

Dr Mather said Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was forever indebted to Aunty Ma, who had been an integral part of the rise of the organisation from its humble origins in Te Awamutu in the mid-1980s.

 “The legacy that Aunty Ma leaves behind - which is Te Wānanga o Aotearoa - is enormous.”

“She shared a vision of better outcomes for the casualties of the mainstream education system. This philosophy was later extended to make education more accessible to all within our communities.”

“It rightfully brought Aunty Ma a great sense of pride that the result of this vision was Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, which evolved to become the second largest tertiary organisation in New Zealand.”

Aunty Ma worked alongside Rongo Wetere, Iwi Kohuru (Boy) Mangu and her late husband Rewi Panapa, to see their vision of a fledgling Ō-Tāwhao Marae project - created primarily for secondary school dropouts - come to fruition.

With little financial support, Aunty Ma and her colleagues found innovative solutions to re-engage people with education through teaching whakairo and raranga at Ō-Tāwhao, reconnecting many with their taha Māori while setting the foundations for further higher learning opportunities at the then Waipā Kōkiri Arts Centre.

She retired from her role as cultural adviser with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa late last year but was still involved through her role on Te Taumata Kaumātua, the kaumātua committee.

Aunty Ma was also a long-serving member of the governing council (Te Mana Whakahaere) of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.  Te Mana Whakahaere chair, Vanessa Eparaima, also acknowledged Aunty Ma's meritorious service and outstanding contribution at the governance level.

Aunty Ma is lying in state at Ō-Tāwhao until Monday. The funeral service will commence at 11am, Monday, May 8.

Marie Nita Tito was from Te Atiawa iwi and was born in Waitara in 1944.

She married Rewi Panapa in 1963. Rewi passed away in 2005.

Aunty Ma is survived by three of their five children, Julie, Lisa and Charles.