Rereahu Maniapoto descendent William Te Rite is making waves in the radio broadcasting industry. At just 18 years of age, he has read network news for ZM, reads the weather for ZB and is the current breakfast announcer for Maniapoto FM (MFM).
A top radio broadcaster in the making, in due time Te Rite may be the one sitting in the prime-time seat.
"Sitting here at this desk, Mike Hosking, legends have been here, Sir Paul Holmes was here as well," says Te Rite, "This station has a massive history that I'd love to be a part of."
When Te Rite turns on his radio voice people are often surprised as he sounds older than he actually is.
"One lady here at ZB who was saying that she's scared for her job now because of it, because she heard my voice on the radio."
He has connected with many people in the broadcasting industry but it is his connection to his iwi that he holds close to his heart.
Te Rite recently became the breakfast announcer for Maniapoto FM.
"It's been a welcome challenge, obviously with incorporating te reo Māori in there which I'm not incredibly fluent in, but I'm humbled that they asked me to become a breakfast announcer.
"I think the challenge for me with taking this role on board was that I had to leave behind the kind of authoritative news reading and have a bit more personality to myself, which is the challenge that I'm still facing daily is trying to bring more personality out into my show."
He adds, "Growing up I wasn't really exposed to my Māori culture and I'm not blaming my parents for that, they always have best intentions. I've never grown up with it so it's been welcoming to learn more about my culture and my iwi."
Te Rite could eventually take his skills back home to settle and reside amongst his tribe.
“Ideally I’d love to, that’s the retirement plan, going back home and hopefully still doing broadcasting.”
