Toby Curtis

For the TV character, seeToby Curtis (Scorpion).

Sir Toby Curtis KNZM
Curtis in 2014
Born	Noble Thomson Curtis (1939-11-13)13 November 1939 Rotoehu,New Zealand
Died	17 August 2022(2022-08-17)(aged 82) Lake Rotoiti,New Zealand
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

Born atRotoehuon 13 November 1939, Curtis was of Māori descent, and affiliated toNgāti PikiaoandNgāti Rongomaiin theTe Arawaconfederation.He was educated by theSisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart at St Michael's school, Rotorua,andSt Peter's Maori CollegeinAuckland.In 1966, he married Mary Agnes Sharry, and the couple went on to have four children.He was the uncle of actorCliff Curtis.

Curtis played representativerugby unionforCountiesandBay of Plenty.

Education career

Curtis studied atArdmore Teachers' Collegeand theUniversity of Auckland,graduating with a Diploma of Teaching in 1972, and a Master of Arts degree in 1980.His master's thesis was titledIndependent Maori boarding schools: continue or discontinue.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.

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.

Other activities

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).

Curtis chaired the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, and was a member of theIwi Chairs Forum.He also served on thepolice commissioner's Māori Focus Forum.

Curtis died at his home onLake Rotoition 17 August 2022, at the age of 82.

Honours

In the2014 New Year Honours,Curtis was appointed aKnight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit,for services to Māori education.

External links

• Toby CurtisatIMDb