She was born at Otangaroa, daughter of Pereni Tukariri and William Wilson. She was educated at Otangaroa Native School, Kaeo Primary and Kaeo District High School. She has attended Massey University as an extramural student and has attended the University of Auckland as a part-time student. She has taught Māori Studies and Māori language at Wesley College and Tuakau College. She tutored in Māori language at Auckland College of Education from She was an elected member of the Auckland City Council and was on the Community Board at Whangaroa. She also has worked in clerical and administrative management in recent years with Te Runanga o Whaingaroa. She writes non-fiction. Her phrase book was one of the finalists in the Watties Book Awards in 1990. She was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal in 1993.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence and phone conversation with Patricia Tauroa: 2 Dec. 1992 and 12 Aug. 1998.
Other
- "Grey Cloud or Glorious Day?" 1840-1990: A Long White Cloud? Essays for 1990. Ed. Tom Newnham. Auckland, N.Z.: Graphic; Citizens’ Association for Racial Equality, 1989. 67-70.
- Tauroa provides an account of her upbringing and tells of her growing awareness of the disappearing Māori tribal land and the growth of prejudice against Māori. Within race relations in New Zealand, Tauroa contends that there has been hurt on both sides, and wonders if ‘a recommitment of the partnership of Pakeha and God and Māori and God’ is the answer, or at the very minimum, ‘a commitment to working for the good of all.’
- "The Vernacular Languages - Mother Tongue." 1993-4. No details.
- It was about the need for recognising mother tongue and the importance of mother tongue in the retention of culture.
- Te Marae: A Guide to Customs & Protocol. Hiwi and Pat Tauroa. Photographs by Gil Hanly. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986, rpt 1987.
- The authors state in their introduction that this book ‘has been written to make the marae visit a more meaningful and rewarding experience.’ Hiwi Tauroa describes his marae, Te Patunga in Northland, and discusses his experiences growing up in a marae setting and the meaning of various aspects of the marae. The authors provide subsections in the book covering organising a Marae visit, step-by-step descriptions of the ritual involved in a marae welcome, texts of appropriate greetings and speeches, waiata, the kawa of speaking rights, and a description of the various houses on the marae. The writers discuss te whare karakia/the church and list the texts in Māori and English of Māori hymns and the Lord’s
- He Pakiaka: Whare Taonga At The New Zealand Embassy, Beijing, China, Opened 28 March 1986. [Wellington, N.Z.]: Air New Zealand in association with Hiwi Tauroa and the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator, [1986].
- This publication, written in English and Chinese, is an explanation of the Māori taonga gifted to the Chinese people and located in He Pakiaka, in the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing, China. Various tribal groups contributed carved panels, tukutuku, kowhaiwhai, curtains, floor rug and table lamps and the tribal stories of each piece are recounted in the text. Tauroa writes of the dedication of He Pakiaka on 28 March 1986.
- The Collins Māori Phrase Book. Auckland, N.Z.: Collins, 1990.
- This phrase book is divided into three sections which include an introduction focusing on pronunciation, dialectal differences and basic grammar; a section on oratory [whaikōrero] exploring the formal speaking; and the last section deals with general sayings [he kōrero noiho] and looks at numbers, weather and seasons, time, days, weeks, months and years. Tauroa writes that ‘[t]he primary objective of this phrase book is to enable those with limited ability to extend and increase their competence both in the understanding and the speaking of the language.’
- Taane, Lyn. Te Karanga: Canterbury Māori Studies Association 3.2 (Aug. 1987): 38.
- King, Michael. "Metro Books: The Cone People." Metro 7.72 (June 1987): 196-199.
- InfoChoice: A Buying Guide for Secondary School Libraries 6 (1990): 4.
- The Press 5 May 1990: 27.
- Dominion Sunday Times 14 Mar. 1990: 22.
- Otago Daily Times 3 Mar. 1990: 22.