Toby Curtis
Sir Toby Curtis | |
---|---|
![]() Curtis in 2014 | |
Born | Noble Thomson Curtis 13 November 1939 Rotoehu,New Zealand |
Died | 17 August 2022 Lake Rotoiti,New Zealand | (aged 82)
Occupation | Educator |
Spouse |
Mary Agnes Sharry (m.1966) |
Relatives | Cliff Curtis(nephew) |
Sir Noble Thomson"Toby"CurtisKNZM(13 November 1939 – 17 August 2022) was a New Zealand educator andMāorileader.
Early life and family
[edit]Born atRotoehuon 13 November 1939, Curtis was of Māori descent, and affiliated toNgāti PikiaoandNgāti Rongomaiin theTe Arawaconfederation.[1][2]He was educated by theSisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart at St Michael's school, Rotorua,andSt Peter's Maori CollegeinAuckland.[1]In 1966, he married Mary Agnes Sharry, and the couple went on to have four children.[1]He was the uncle of actorCliff Curtis.[3]
Curtis played representativerugby unionforCountiesandBay of Plenty.[1]
Education career
[edit]Curtis studied atArdmore Teachers' Collegeand theUniversity of Auckland,graduating with a Diploma of Teaching in 1972, and a Master of Arts degree in 1980.[1]His master's thesis was titledIndependent Maori boarding schools: continue or discontinue.[4]He later completed a PhD at the University of Auckland in 2005, titledAn investigation of how Hawaiki knowledge is fundamental for Maori leadership,in which he sought to contribute to more authentic traditional knowledge in modern Māori society and to discussion of Māori leadership.[5]
After working as a primary school teacher and with intellectually disabled students, Curtis was principal of his old high school, which had changed its name toHato Petera College,and vice principal ofAuckland Teachers' Collegeduring the 1980s. He was director of primary teacher education atAuckland College of Educationand then dean of the education faculty atAuckland Institute of Technologyduring the 1990s, becoming deputy vice chancellor atAuckland University of Technologyin 2000. He was appointed chair of the Iwi Education Authority for Ngā Kura-ā-Iwi o Aotearoa (tribal immersion schools) in 2012. He has also served on the council ofTe Wānanga o Aotearoa.[2]
Other activities
[edit]In the late 1980s, Curtis was chair of the Māori broadcasting advisory committee, leading to the formation ofAotearoa Radio,iwi radio stations, andMāori Television.In 1997, he was appointed chair ofTe Māngai Pāho(the Māori Broadcast Funding Agency).[2]
Curtis chaired the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, and was a member of theIwi Chairs Forum.[2]He also served on thepolice commissioner's Māori Focus Forum.[6]
Curtis died at his home onLake Rotoition 17 August 2022, at the age of 82.[7]
Honours
[edit]In the2014 New Year Honours,Curtis was appointed aKnight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to Māori education.[8]
References
[edit]- ^abcdeTaylor, Alister,ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001".New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa.Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 261.ISSN1172-9813.
- ^abcdMartin, Matthew (31 December 2013)."New Year honours: Sir Toby Curtis".Rotorua Daily Post.Retrieved5 November2013.
- ^Nicholas, Jill (8 December 2013)."Our people: Toby Curtis".Rotorua Daily Post.Retrieved5 November2020.
- ^Curtis, Noble Thomson (1980).Independent Maori boarding schools: continue or discontinue(MA). University of Auckland.Retrieved5 November2020.
- ^Curtis, N. T. (2005).An investigation of how Hawaiki knowledge is fundamental for Maori leadership(PhD). University of Auckland.Retrieved5 November2005.
- ^"Māori and Police working together".New Zealand Police.Retrieved5 November2020.
- ^Tahana, Jamie (17 August 2022)."Sir Toby Curtis, Te Arawa leader and Māori education advocate, dies at 83".RNZ News.Retrieved17 August2022.
- ^"New Year honours list 2014".Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2013.Retrieved5 November2020.
External links
[edit]- 1939 births
- 2022 deaths
- Academic staff of the Auckland University of Technology
- Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
- New Zealand educators
- Ngāti Pikiao people
- Ngāti Rongomai people
- People educated at Hato Petera College, Auckland
- People from the Bay of Plenty Region
- University of Auckland alumni
- People educated at John Paul College, Rotorua