Danny Tumahai was born in Auckland and was educated at Orakei Primary School and Sacred Heart College. He has spent most of his life working as a public servant for the Department of Māori Affairs in Auckland. He is a Justice of Peace and has worked with the Justice, Social Welfare and Children and Young Persons Departments. He chairs Taumata a Iwi at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and is vice-chairperson of the Ngāti Whatua o Orakei Māori Trust Board. Tumahai is a trustee for the Maritime Museum in Auckland, and is a trustee for the New Venture Trust. He acts as a kaumatua for Auckland Prison and the Mount Eden Prison.
Biographical sources
- Phone conversation with Danny Tumahai on 3 August 1998.
Non-fiction
- "Tumanako Te Puna Reweti." The Book of New Zealand Women - Ko Kui Ma Te Kaupapa. Ed. Charlotte Macdonald, Merimeri Penfold and Bridget Williams. Wellington, N.Z.: Bridget Williams, 1991: 555-560.
- Co-authored with Josie Tumahai and Cushla Parekowhai.