Toby Curtis: Unfinished Business: Ki hea āpōpō

Born into poverty in 1939, Toby Curtis has risen to the peak of achievement in Māoridom. His long history of leadership in education, broadcasting and the powerful Te Arawa confederation of iwi belies the challenges he has had to overcome, and the legacy of colonisation that still overshadow the fields in which he has contributed.

In this thoughtful and lively memoir, Sir Toby reflects frankly on his life and career — interspersing memoir with text boxes that address policy and academic issues in education, language and rights.

He reflects on a teaching career spent creating connection to tikanga and te reo for his students; leadership in broadcasting, where he helped chart the path to creating an independent voice in Māori; and his 16 years as the leader of Rotorua’s influential Te Arawa Lakes Trust.

Toby was knighted in 2014 for his services to Māori education but, as this book’s subtitle and contents assert, he sees a lot more work to be done.

• Toby Curtis, Author

  Sir Toby Curtis (Ngāti Rongomai, Ngāti Pikiao) had a distinguished teaching career before lecturing at AUT University. After retiring to Rotoiti, Rotorua, he led the Te Arawa Lakes Trust for 16 years, among many other roles. Sadly, he passed away before this book could be published. From a farming background,

• Lorraine Berridge McLeod, Author

  Lorraine Berridge McLeod was a teacher, principal lecturer at AUT, dean of early childhood education in Auckland and then associate professor of education in the United Arab Emirates. A long-time colleague of Sir Toby’s, she lives in Taranaki.