‘Aunty Gabe’ Rikihana gone at 98

‘Aunty Gabe’ Rikihana gone at 98

Gabrielle Mary Rikihana – He Kōtuku Rerenga Tahi

b January 21, 1927  d March 2, 2025

Ōtaki lost one of its most remarkable citizens when Gabrielle Rikihana died peacefully aged 98 at her Waikanae home on March 2.

Gabrielle (Simply Aunty Gabe to many) was a beloved matriarch of Ngāti Korokī ki Ōtaki and stalwart of Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga. She was one of the first wāhine Māori to attend university and spent most of her working life as a teacher and schools inspector. She met with many prominent Māori leaders of the 1930s at home and abroad.

She was remembered for her charm, intellect, elegance, manaakitanga, joyful chuckle and trademark pearls. At her tangi, people spoke of her generosity and incredible memory, how she always spoke her truth, and was a staunch advocate for education, wāhine and kaupapa Māori. She provided a window to the past, sharing many stories of growing up with tūpuna from the three local iwi – Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira – and beyond.

Gabrielle is a descendent of Rikihana Te Tarure; her mother, Goldie, was a ballerina. In her early years, Gabrielle and sister Mary were raised by their grandparents Tiemi (Pukupakaru) and Bridget Rikihana.

“I grew up with my feet firmly planted in the soil of Makuratawhiti, where we lived on Carkeek Drive, near Raukawa Marae,” she said. “The bigger part of me is Pākehā, especially through my birth father, but the father in my life was my grandfather, Tiemi, who I adored.” 

When her grandparents got older, Gabrielle went to live in Wellington with her mother’s sister, Nancy Maraea (known as Peach) and her husband, Ehae Ropata of Te Ātiawa.

“I would take the train back to Ōtaki for the weekends and school holidays. The main trunk line was not far from our papakāinga at one end and our Wellington flat at the other. The track was my umbilical cord to home.”

She described Ehae as loving, kind and responsible.

“He looked after us all until he was killed in action at Alamein in 1942. Peach was bereft for many years; but she had the fortitude to make her own living and to hold us all together.”

Gabrielle trained as a teacher in Wellington, taught throughout the central and lower North Island, and was widely recognised for her work. She was a member of Ngāti Poneke and a patron until she died. Her love for children and animals was another constant throughout her life.

She travelled to England for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and spent two years teaching in London schools. She attended the unveiling of a memorial to soldiers (including Ehae) who died at El Alamein but had no known graves. Before she returned to New Zealand in 1955, Gabrielle wrote a radio play for the BBC called Life in a Maori Village.

Gabrielle had a Massey University master of arts degree in education, which she completed with a thesis titled Invariance: a study of some conserving behaviours in young children in 1972.

On retiring in 1987, Gabrielle was drawn back into Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Raukawa. She regularly attended tangi and hui, sharing her advice, wit and dynamic stories, until her health deteriorated at 96.  She worked hard for her iwi, contributing to the Raukawa Marae Trustees, Ngāti Korokī Committee, Te Rūnanga o Raukawa, Te Wānanga o Raukawa, Te kura-a-iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano and the Mandated Iwi Organisation for Raukawa fisheries. With Iwi Nicholson, Prof Whatarangi Winiata, Sir Taihākurei Durie and Wattie Kereama, she was appointed to review Te Rūnanga o Raukawa operations.

In 2020 Gabrielle received the Sir Kingi Ihaka Award by Creative New Zealand, to “kaumātua/kuia in recognition of their contribution to strengthening the continuity of Māori culture through their support of ngā Toi Māori.”

Gabrielle was a crucial Waitangi Tribunal claimant for Ngāti Korokī. At last year’s hearings, she described the three central Ōtaki hapū as some of the most landless of the inquiry district: “We hold only the shadow of the land."

At her Rangiātea Church service, Gabrielle was surrounded by children and Joy to the World was sung as she was carried by women pallbearers. A fitting tribute to a wahine toa who lived 98 full years with joy, sparkle and laughter.

Kia au tō moenga roa e te kuia, te taonga o te whānau. He kōtuku rerenga tahi.