Te Kepa Takataka-ō-Rangi Stirling (Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Porou), one of the pioneers of Māori education in South Auckland, has died aged 88.
“Ko ōna mātua ko Eruera Kawhia Whakatane Stirling rāua ko Amiria Manutahi.
“Tipu mai, whānau mai i roto o Te Whānau-a-Apanui, whakangungua ki ngā kōrero tuku iho o ōna mātua tīpuna, [ka] puta ki te ao hei kāmura,” says whānau spokesperson Ngarimu Parata.
Whānau, former students, iwi leaders and members of the wider community have gathered at Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae to remember a man whose contribution to Māori education spans generations.
“I haramai ngā rōpū kapa haka, i haere mai ngā kura, i haere mai ngā taniwha katoa, ngā kaiwhakawā o Te Matatini, ngā whānau katoa kua pari mai nei.”
For many, his legacy can be seen in the kura itself.
Almost 50 years ago, Te Kepa and his late wife, Pani Takawhenua Waipapa Stirling, began building a Māori education pathway at Ngā Tapuwae College, creating a place where te reo Māori and tikanga Māori could sit at the centre of education for Māori students.
Former associate principal Mark Rangi spent 20 years working at the kura and says Te Kepa and Pani became like parents to him.
“I tino piripoho ahau ki a Te Kepa rāua ko Pani, anō nei he mātua mōku ki Tāmaki nei.”
The couple are now together again.
“Ka eke rā te kōrero a ō tātau mātua tīpuna — nā te mate i wehe ai rāua, ā, mā te mate anō rāua e tūhono anō,” says Parata.
What began within a mainstream secondary school would eventually become an immersion unit and later Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae.
From carpenter to kaiako
Education was not where Te Kepa began his working life.
He was originally a carpenter, before retraining as a kaiako Māori in 1976 and joining Ngā Tapuwae College as a physical education and Māori language teacher.
Parata describes it as a move from building houses to building the minds of people.
“Nā, i roto i ngā tau ka tahuri mai i te waihanga whare ki te waihanga i ngā whakaaro o te tangata, ki ngā mahi kaiako.”
It was there that he and Pani began work that would have an impact well beyond the school gates.
At a time when generations of Māori had experienced an education system in which their own language and culture were largely absent, the couple were helping create something different — an environment where Māori students could see themselves, their language and their tikanga reflected in their education.
The pathway they helped establish became part of a much wider movement for Māori-medium and kaupapa Māori education.
But Gemmell says Te Kepa’s message to whānau was a simple one: whatever level of reo they had, use it with their children.
“Ia te whānau hui, ka tū a Pāpā Kepa me te kī ake, ahakoa iti, ahakoa te rahi o tō reo — kōrerohia ki ō tātau tamariki.”
Their children, Arihia Stirling QSM and Tiwai Stirling, would continue that commitment to Māori education, while generations of students who passed through Ngā Tapuwae have carried their influence into their own whānau and communities.
For those who knew him, however, Te Kepa’s contribution was also deeply personal.
“Ko tōna ngākau mō ōna mokopuna katoa,” says Gemmell.
“He tangata kōkiri kaha mō mātau katoa.”
His final journey home
Te Kepa will remain at Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae in Māngere as people continue to arrive to pay their respects.
On Tuesday, August 18, he will begin his final journey home to Te Whānau-a-Apanui, returning to Wairūrū Marae at Raukōkore.
Ope will be welcomed onto the marae on Wednesday at 9 am, 12 pm and 4 pm.
His nehu will take place on Thursday, August 20, when he will be laid to rest at Moutara.
Almost half a century after Te Kepa and Pani Stirling began creating a different pathway for Māori students at Ngā Tapuwae, the kura that grew from that work now stands as part of their legacy.
So too do the generations who followed in their footsteps.
Whāia rā ngā tapuwae o te iwi nui i te pō. Moe mai rā ki te huinga o te kahurangi, ki te ope o te rua Matariki e.
