New board member maintains whanau connection

Parininihi ki Waitotara (PKW) has welcomed a new member to the Committee of Management.

Māori development consultant Will Edwards (Ngāruahine, Taranaki, Tāngahoe, Pakakohi, and Ngāti Ruanui) replaces his sister Hinerangi Edwards, who has retired after 13 years service to PKW shareholders.

Elected by shareholders, the Committee of Management is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Incorporation, and for monitoring the performance of the business.

With degrees in horticulture and Māori language, a Masters in Māori and Development Studies and a Public Health PhD on Māori positive ageing, Will has worked extensively across the Māori development sector. He spent three years in post-doctoral study, researching the use of mātauranga Māori alongside Western science.

Being able to bring Taranaki values to the PKW table is important, he says.

“The new Kaitiakitanga Strategy is a good example, focusing on our Taranaki perspectives alongside Western commercial considerations.

That has the potential to define us as a successful Māori organisation that works effectively for the people.”

Born and raised just outside of Hāwera, Will grew up milking cows on the whānau dairy farm where he lives today. He was ‘sent away’ to Hato Pāora College near Feilding, and then to university.

“I always knew I was going. Right from an early age we were told by our people that we needed to go away to gain an education so we could contribute back home to a community recovering from the injustices of the past. I remember my oldest sister and cousins who were about to go to teachers’ college being lined up before us, and our aunties and uncles saying: “… and that’s what you’re going to do, too,” Will explains.

A horticulture degree broadened his farming experience and provided technical understanding of the primary sector. His second degree was in arts through total immersion te reo Māori.

“I wanted te reo so I could function fully in our world. Rangiātea in New Plymouth, 1993, was a pivotal year in my life – the first year of that degree, it was an amazing experience with Taranaki Māori who were mobilising and becoming critically aware of what was required to rebuild our communities,” says Will.

He then worked in health research under the mentorship of Professor Mason Durie, completing his Masters in Māori and Development Studies before moving into Māori language research. Returning home in 2007 to help set up a papakāinga on the whānau farm, he finished his PhD and with his wife established a Māori development consultancy.

Governance roles have included Te Reo o Taranaki, Tui Ora health and social services and Taranaki Futures. As chair of Te Korowai o Ngāruahine from 2014-2017, he led the entity during the final passage of Treaty settlement legislation and immediately post-settlement. He has a clear view on the importance of adapting to the post-settlement environment, further diversification from dairying (particularly in light of COVID-19 coronavirus disease impacts), and the re-imagining of PKW as a contemporary Māori organisation.

Family is clearly important. “Dad’s 85 this year. He’s a really important sounding board for me. I often check in with Dad for his take on things,” he says.

Above (left to right): Te Rāwhitiora Edwards-Hammond, Raihania Edwards-Hammond, Will Edwards, Pihama Edwards-Hammond, Ray Edwards, Hinerangi Edwards, Kiwa Hammond, Rahiri Makuini Edwards-Hammond and Karoro Edwards-Hammond.

PKW chair Hinerangi Raumati-Tu’ua paid tribute to the considerable contribution of the outgoing Board member, saying; “Hinerangi Edwards is leaving us after many years of diligent and loyal service. Her leadership as chair of the PKW Trust has seen it grow in scope, enabling more Taranaki Māori to aim for the stars in terms of their educational aspirations, as well as providing opportunities and support to community groups and organisations.”