Rowley (Rore) Te Whenua Habib Hapipi

Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Rungarangi

1933 - 2016

Rowley Habib was born and raised in Oruanui, the son of Anipatene Pitiroi of Ngāti Tuwharetoa, and Lebanese father, Hannah Habib. He was educated at Oruanui Native School, Taupo Public School, Te Aute College and Ardmore Teachers’ College. It was while he was at Ardmore that he "got the first urge to write". During 1954 two of his short prose pieces, "Consolation" and "The End", were entered, without his knowledge, into the short story competition of Farago, the Ardmore College Annual Magazine; these stories won first and second prizes. Habib left Training College and began writing while supporting himself by working as a labourer, timber-mill hand, bushman, post-splitter, freezing worker, clerk, book-packer, housemaster, groundsman, "postie", storeman, linesman, scrub-cutter, factory-hand, wharfie, building construction site labourer and truck driver. He was a member and vice president of Te Arai te Uru Māori Club in Dunedin from In 1972 he received a Literary Fund grant and in 1975 was the second person to receive the Māori Purposes Fund Board writer’s award. He was a founding member of Nga Puna Waihanga and assisted in administering its first conference in 1973. In 1974 Habib, Don Selwyn and Earl Spencer co-wrote and scripted a six-part television series of half-hour documentaries on Māori culture and art entitled "Tihei Mauriora". In 1977 Habib and Richard Turner made a film about contemporary Māori poets called Ka Tutaki Nga Awa Rua (Two Rivers Meet). In 1976 Habib and Jim Moriarty founded the Māori theatre company Te Ika A Maui Players, which was the only Māori theatre group in the country at that time. Te Ika A Maui Players gave the first performance of Habib’s play Death Of The Land in 1976; this was screened on television and broadcast on radio in 1977 and 1978. In 1982 Habib won the Feltex Television Award for Best Script with his play "The Protesters", and in 1984 was awarded the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship. Since 1984 he worked full-time as a writer and on establishing a papakainga on family land at Oruanui. Habib wrote poetry, short stories, plays, reviews and non-fiction articles which were published in a large number of journals and anthologies. He also worked on a novel. In later life he wrote under the Māori version of his name: Rore Hapipi.

"Habib continued to write and publish, and occasionally spoke at theatre conferences. In June 2011 Taupō Museum, Taupō Library and local Māori combined to mark Rowley Habib Week. The veteran scribe helmed workshops and readings, alongside a screening of The Protestors — and a talk recalling Habib's beginnings, growing up in a largely Māori-populated timber mill town near Taupo."

"In 2013 he was honoured for his lifelong contribution to Māori Arts, at the annual Te Waka Toi awards."

Rowley Habib passed away on 3 April 2016. He was 83.



Biographical sources

  • Interview and correspondence with Habib, 22 Aug. 1992, 22 Oct. 1996, 9 Aug. and 15 Oct. 1998, 30 April, 4 and 5 May 2004.
  • Te Ha Questionnaire, 1992.
  • Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982.
  • "Rowley Habib: A New Voice in New Zealand Writing." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 14-15.
  • https://www.nzonscreen.com/person/rowley-habib-rore-hapipi/biography 3 September 2016

    Fiction

  • "Fathers And Heroes." No details.
  • "Afternoon Sun." No details.
  • "Consolation." Farago. Ardmore Teachers College Annual Magazine, 1954.
  • "The End." Farago. Ardmore Teachers College Annual Magazine, 1954.
  • "Death in the Mill." Te Ao Hou 16 (1956): 51-52. Rpt. in Short Stories by New Zealanders One. Comp., preface, notes and questions by Phoebe Meikle. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1973. 96-100.
  • A story about the impact of an accident on Curram and his mother.
  • "The Burial." Te Ao Hou 18 (1957): 15-17. Rpt. in My New Zealand: Junior. Comp. Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1974. 55-58.
  • This was a prize winning story in Te Ao Hou’s second Literary Competition. Habib powerfully depicts the process of grieving.
  • "Love in the Mill." Te Ao Hou 19 (1957): 21-22.
  • In this story set in a milling community, Currani and Tootie listen to the stories of Mitch the boiler-man.
  • "The Visitors." Te Ao Hou 20 (1957): 11-12.
  • A sinister tale of inter-family intrigue concerning a will.
  • "The Boy and the Bird." Mate: A Literary Periodical 6 (1960): 30-33. Rpt. in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and Introduction by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 74-76. Rpt. in Side by Side: Texts and Exercises. 3. Skolforlaget Gaule, Falkoping: Gosla Dahlman, Goran R Eriksson, Lennart Gunnarsson, 1980: 54-56. Rpt. in The Seventies Connection. Ed. David Hill and Elizabeth Smither. Dunedin, N.Z.: McIndoe, 1980. 145-147. Rpt. and translated into Swedish and entitled "Pojken och fagelin" in Mellan Tva Varldar: Prosaantologi Med Māori Forfattare. Ed. Bengt Dagrin. [Sweden]: Forfattares Bokmaskin, 1982. 79-83.
  • When young Tama and his family move to a new house in the countryside, he begins an evening ritual of shooting birds in the nearby bush.
  • "Talking of Honesty." Te Ao Hou 36 (1961): 45-47.
  • A story about the honesty of Old Bill Evans.
  • "The Sad News." Arena 55 (1961): 2-4. Rpt. in Short Stories by New Zealanders Two. Comp. and Preface by Phoebe C. Meikle. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1972. 108-110.
  • A story describing the complex responses of young Tama when he hears of his mother’s death.
  • "The Boss." Te Ao Hou 39 (1962): 11-14. Rpt. in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and Introduction by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 77-84.
  • When tragedy hits the power board construction gang a new rapport develops between the workers and their boss.
  • "The Beginning." Mate: A Magazine of N. Z. Writing 10 (1962): 59-62.
  • A story about Tama’s introduction to smoking.
  • "A Woman Waiting in the Rain." Arena 59 (1963): 9-13.
  • A story about the meandering thoughts of a young man waiting in vain for his date.
  • "The Youth And The Gay Tartan Jacket." Mate: A Magazine of N. Z. Writing 13 (1965): 28-36.
  • A story about the relationships of a disparate group of residents living in a boarding house.
  • "Father and Son." Arena 66 (1966): 2-8.
  • This story explores the mysterious relationship between Old Cap and his son George who live together in a boarding house.
  • "Boarding House." Te Ao Hou 61 (1967/68): 19-23.
  • When Paul moves into the seedy, dilapidated boarding house, he vows to stay only until a better place materialises. However, one year later he has begun to feel settled in the squalid household with its ill-assorted inhabitants.
  • "The Widening Horizon." Arena 69 (1968): 17-23, 28.
  • When quiet nondescript Old King dies in the small rural settlement, the local children are surprised to discover that he had another life and family in Auckland. A revised version of this story entitled "A Death in the Backblocks" was published in Bernard Gadd’s My New Zealand: Junior in 1974.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood: The Awakening." Te Ao Hou 68 (1969): 20-22. Rpt. in Arena 74 (1971): 8-12.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood" is a collection of five short narratives printed in issues 68 and 69 of Te Ao Hou. "Awakening" is a brief interlude in the life of preschooler Nick.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood: Winter." Te Ao Hou 68 (1969): 22-23.
  • This second narrative focuses on the playful teasing between Nick and his two sisters.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood: Children." Te Ao Hou 68 (1969): 23-24.
  • A story about sibling rivalry and teasing.
  • "A Young Man Feeling His Oats." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.4 (1970): 31-37. Rpt. in My New Zealand: Senior. Forward by Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul Limited, 1973. 43-48. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 117-121.
  • A story about Motu’s admiration for the growing strength and fighting prowess of his older brother Arthur.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood: People and Names." Te Ao Hou 69 (n.d.): 10-12.
  • Young Nick puzzles over the names and relationships of those living in his local community.
  • "Fragments of a Childhood: The Toy." Te Ao Hou 69 (n.d.): 12-13.
  • Habib describes the onset of disillusionment when young Nick discovers that his older brother has damaged his toy engine.
  • "The Intruders." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.3 (1971): 35-39.
  • A story of the invasive presence of police searching the Josephs’ home for evidence of Mr Joseph’s "sly-grogging".
  • "The Gathering." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.5 (1971): 28-29.
  • A story about the conflicting emotions of children at their mother’s tangi.
  • "Motu." Short Stories by New Zealanders Two. Comp. and Preface by Phoebe C. Meikle. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1972. 110-112. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 109-111. Rpt. and translated into Swedish and entitled "En lektion i fula ord." in Mellan Tva Varldar: Prosaantologi Med Māori Forfattare. Ed. Bengt Dagrin. [Sweden]: Forfattares Bokmaskin, 1982. 76-78.
  • This story touches on different language usage in the classroom. While Miss McKewan freely corrects Motu’s language which she deems ‘rude’, she does not realise her own discourtesy in mispronouncing Motu’s name. This story, like others by Habib, articulates the cultural chasm Māori children have to bridge in order to succeed in the state education system.
  • "Strife in the Family." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.3 ([/n.d.]: 31-39. Rpt. in My New Zealand: Senior. Forward by Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul Limited, 1973. 35-42. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 111-117.
  • Habib writes of the impact of parental friction on children. This story was broadcast as part of "Tamariki" on Radio New Zealand during 1977-1978.
  • "Miss Lockhart and the Bad Boy." My New Zealand: Junior. Comp. and Forward by Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1974. 52-54. Rpt. in Pacific Voices: An Anthology of Māori and Pacific Writing. Comp. Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Macmillan, 1989: 96-98.
  • A grim story of classroom abuse and prejudice.
  • "A Death in the Backblocks." My New Zealand: Junior. Comp. and Forward by Bernard Gadd. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1974. 98-103.
  • This is a revised version of Habib’s story "Widening Horizon" published in Arena in June 1968, which focuses on the death of a local character, Old King.
  • "For Johnny, The V.I.P. Treatment at Last." Te Māori 6.6 (1974): 36.
  • A tale of the downward spiral of a social misfit who is alienated from the pa, seduced by the city and swept into a world of drinking and violence.
  • "Dole Day." Landfall 29 (1975): 38-56. Rpt. as "Of Tin Gods and Bludgers." in Ten Modern New Zealand Story Writers: Longer Stories and Linked Stories. Comp. and Introduction by Phoebe Meikle. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1976. 98-111. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 121-136.
  • Amidst the frustrated world of family pressures, marital discord and the demeaning effects of long term unemployment, Joe devises a dole day escape which is a momentary respite in his monotonous existence.
  • "The Room on the Top Floor." The Sunday Times 8 Feb. 1976: 45. Rpt. as "The Room on the Bottom Floor." in Koru: The New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Annual Magazine 1 (1976). n.pag
  • A story about prejudice in a boarding house.
  • "The Alkie." Dominion Sunday Times 29 Aug 1976: 30, 35.
  • This story profiles the secret life of an alcoholic and explores societal preconceptions about alcoholism.
  • Tamariki.
  • Six stories broadcast by Radio New Zealand during 1977-78.
  • "An Inventor in the Family." Short Stories From New Zealand. Comp. Alistair Paterson. Petone, N.Z.: Highgate/Price Milburn, 1988. 31-36.
  • A story about Luke’s laborious attempts to invent a method of taking his own photograph.
  • "From This Alien Place." Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 200-218.
  • Set in the post-war years when Māori were migrating to the cities, this story describes Mrs Joseph’s journey to Auckland to meet her husband on his release from Mount Eden prison. Habib portrays the sense of trepidation and anxiety experienced by Mrs Joseph on her solitary journey to the city and highlights the foreign and friendless environment of the city.

    • Films/Video

  • Ka Tutaki Nga Awa Rua. (Two Rivers Meet). No further details.
  • Rowley Habib provides a discussion on Māori poetry and reads "Johnny", "One hundred chiefs", and "When I of Fish Eat." Other poets reading their poetry on this film are: Mana Cracknell, Peter Croucher, Robin Kora, Keri Hulme, Brian King, Apirana Taylor, Henare Dewes, Rangi Faith, Dinah Rawiri, Haare Williams, Hone Tuwhare, Don Selwyn, Arapera Blank and Katarina Mataira.

    • Non-fiction

  • "A Week-end in August: A View of the South Island Young Māori Leaders’ Conference, Christchurch, N.Z., 19th-21st August." Te Ao Hou 33 (1960): 13-14.
  • Habib writes his impressions of the 1960 South Island Māori Leaders’ Conference.
  • "For My People The Art of Positive Thinking." Te Ao Hou 35 (1961): 23.
  • Habib discusses his Māori identity.
  • "‘Our Heritage’: An Operetta at Turakina Māori Girls’ College." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 43-44.
  • Habib reviews the operetta, Our Heritage, performed by Turakina Māori Girls’ College in 1963.
  • "Point of View: The Māori as an Artist." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.5 (1970): 33.
  • Habib discusses various aspects of the Māori as an artist.
  • "Judge’s Comments on Donovan Cup Poetry Competition." Bulletin of New Zealand Women Writers’ Society 4 (1972): 7-8.
  • Habib provides an overview of his judging criteria for the Donovan Cup Poetry competition.
  • "Māori Major Placing 1971 Book of Year Award or Innocence Abroad." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.6 (1972): 39-43.
  • Habib writes a narrative of his role in the Watties Book of the Year Award presentations when Margaret Orbell’s Contemporary Māori Writing won second prize.
  • "Contemporary Māori Writing Takes Major Placing in the ‘Book of the Year’ Award." Te Ao Hou 71 (n.d.): 20.
  • Habib gives a brief report of the 1971 James Wattie Book of the Year Awards.
  • "Artists on the Marae." Te Māori 5.2 (1973): 33-35.
  • Habib writes his impressions of the Māori Artists and Writers’ Conference held at Te Kaha in 1973.
  • "Birth Of A Myth." Te Māori 5.3 (1973): 26-27.
  • Habib writes about All Black Pat Walsh when they were both first-year students at Ardmore Teachers’ College and were members of the Ardmore Teachers’ College seven-a-side squad in 1954.
  • "Whenua: A Personal Account of the Māori Land March." The Sunday Times 14 Dec. 1975: 19, 22, 43, 46.
  • A description of Habib’s experiences on the Māori Land March from Te Hapua to Wellington in 1975.
  • "Te Manukorihi - Waitara. (A Critical Study of the Māori Artists And Writers Conference)." Koru: The New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Annual Magazine 1 (1976). n.pag.
  • An account of the Māori Artists and Writers’ Conference held at Te Manukorihi Marae in Waitara in 1975.
  • "Māorirattsrorelsen." Mellan Tva Varldar: Prosaantologi Med Māori Forfattare. Ed. Bengt Dagrin. [Sweden]: Forfattares Bokmaskin, 1982. 26-35.
  • Translation into Swedish of an article entitled "Modern Māori Protest Movement" which was not published in English.
  • "Looking Back on the Early Days in Oruanui." Taupo Times 9 Jan. 1998. No further details.
  • An evocative and descriptive portrayal of Oruanui in the time of Habib’s childhood.
  • "Tracing the Last Days of Timber Town." Taupo Times 22 Jan. 1998. No further details.
  • Habib writes about the transitions facing Oruanui since the 1950s as the timber industry declined.
  • "An Historic Place" Taupo Times 24 Feb. 1998. No further details.
  • Habib writes about the early settlement and history of Oruanui.

    • Other

  • "Letter to the Editor." Te Ao Hou 65 (1968/69): 5.
  • Habib presents a case against the proliferation of Māori research by Pakeha. He contends that while Pakeha can write from first-hand knowledge of the Māori, they can never "realize those subtle emotions that go on within the hearts of [their] subjects."

    • Papers/Presentations

  • "As it was." Playmarket news (Spr 2008): 11.

  • Performing Arts

  • Tupuna. No further details.
  • A narrative poem that was broken up for voices for performance. The protagonist has fleeting visions of "his peoples’" history, evoked by the singing of a Māori concert party practicing as he passes the hall in the evening. This rivets him to the spot while the powerful evocations wash over him.
  • Nga Morehu. No further details.
  • A hodge-podge of a series of a dozen or so performances of various of my short stories, prose sketches and poems depicting the plight of the Māori in modern day society.
  • Death of the Land. Koru: The New Zealand Māori Artists and Writers Annual Magazine. Ed. Haare Williams. 2 (1978): 35-38. An excerpt rpt. in Countless Signs: The New Zealand landscape in literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 348-355. Rpt. in full in He Reo Hou: 5 plays by Māori playwrights. Ed. Simon Garrett. Wellington, N.Z.: Playmarket, 1991.16-50. Excerpt rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 218-224.
  • This play, which is composed of three scenes within one act, was filmed by a French film crew and was screened in France in 1978-1979. The play articulates the great divergence between Māori and Pakeha views of the land, land-use and land ownership.
  • The Gathering. 1979. An extract is rpt. Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 136-144.
  • The extract deals with the interaction of family members at their mother’s tangi and the fight that emerges between two brothers. This play was screened on Channel Four in Britain in 1985 and on Channel Two by Television New Zealand in 1979. This is Habib’s second television play.
  • Ahi Kaa. No further details.
  • Written as an episode for the "Open House" Television Series and screened in 1987.
  • Fragments of Childhood. No further details.
  • Performed at the Depot by Jim Moriarty in 1988. A series of cameos narrated and performed by a leading actor with three or four supporting cast. The placy tracks the major traumatic events of the protagonist’s childhood that lead to his eventual nervous break-down as a young man.
  • The Protesters. An extract is printed in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 225-226.
  • In this extract, Angie asserts her Māori identity while admitting that in the past she had wanted to be a Pākeha.
  • The Captive. No further details.
  • World premier performed at the 1996 Taupo Arts Festival.

    • Poetry

  • "To the Hand of Woman: The Plea of a Young Writer." In "Verse by Modern Māori Poets." Te Ao Hou 28 (1959): 16.
  • In this poem, the love of a woman is seen as the catalyst for clarity of thought, creative vision and poetic inspiration.
  • "To My Brothers and Sisters." In “Verse by Modern Māori Poets.” Te Ao Hou 28 (1959). 17.
  • The speaker recalls the days when he and his brothers and sisters "were not so far apart."
  • "Retrospect." Te Ao Hou 32 (1960): 60.
  • The poet writes of the evocative experience of walking "beneath the silent trees" at night.
  • "Written in a Boarding House in Christchurch." Te Ao Hou 32 (1960): 60.
  • A poem highlighting the solitary world of the writer.
  • "Fall Undaunted Spring Rain." Landfall 57 15.1 (1961): 30-32.
  • A poem about the restorative nature of spring rains.
  • "Composed On A Summer’s Evening." Landfall 61 16.1 (1962): 30.
  • A description of the intricate sounds of birds and insect life heard on a summer’s evening.
  • "The Haka Performers who Welcomed to the Hui The Hon. J. R. Hanan Minister of Māori Affairs." Te Ao Hou 39 (1962): 28. Rpt. as "Haka" in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and Introduction by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 73.
  • In this poem, the pulsating and evocative rhythms of the haka reawaken the Māori heritage of the speaker.
  • "When I of Fish Eat." Te Ao Hou 40 (1962): 4. Rpt. as "Fish." in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and Introduction by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 72. Rpt. in Poet: An International Monthly 15.5 (1974): 13.
  • In this poem the speaker is drawn back into the world of his Māori tipuna when the sea was a sustaining lifeforce for his ancestors.
  • "The Home Welcoming." Arena 58 (1962): 15-17.
  • The speaker recalls a traumatic event in his childhood that impacted on his current relationship.
  • "The Raw Men: For The Māori Battalion." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 12-13. Rpt. in Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and Introduction by Margaret Orbell. Wellington, N.Z.: Reed, 1970. 69-71.
  • A tribute to the men of the Māori Battalion.
  • "In the Dining Room of a Woollen Mill." Arena 61 (1964): 15.
  • The speaker affirms the merits of working amongst "the raw people" employed at the woollen mill where he feels "near to the truth of life".
  • "Mother and Sons: the Soliloquy of a Dying Mother." Te Ao Hou 59 (1967): 45.
  • A mother contemplates her sons’ response to her impending death and wonders if they will one day mourn her passing.
  • "Months in the City." Te Kaunihera Māori: New Zealand Māori Council Journal Spring Issue (1968): 61.
  • The poet takes issue with the way Māori have been endlessly researched and he is refreshed by a visit to a small town pub, where he sees afresh "The Māori in the raw."
  • "O Come Large Long-beaked Bird." Poet 9 (1968): 16-17.
  • In a mood of despondency, the speaker longs to escape the world of people and take refuge in the world of birds and animals.
  • "Taupo, After Ten Years." Arena 70 (1968): 14.
  • The poet mourns the changing face and commercialisation of Taupo.
  • "Māori." Te Ao Hou 65 (1968/69): 9. Rpt. in Poet: An International Monthly June (1974): 78. No further details.
  • Habib speaks of the nurture and strength he receives from his Māoritanga.
  • "Pakeha." Te Ao Hou 65 (1968/69): 9.
  • A reflection on the Pakeha response to Māori.
  • "On The Anniversary Of The Wahine Disaster." Eastbourne Sun. c. April, 1969. No further details.
  • This poem was published on the first anniversary of the Wahine disaster.
  • "The Sea Is Serene Today." Eastbourne Sun. c. April, 1969.
  • This poem was published on the first anniversary of the Wahine disaster.
  • "Thoughts on the Māori and Ngata." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.5 (1971): 25.
  • Habib likens Ngata to "a huge Totara", "a bright clear star", and "a beacon solid upon a rock".
  • "Whispers Of the Future. (Everywhere Signs of Union)." Te Ao Hou 70 (1972?): 15.
  • Habib writes of integration between Māori and Pakeha.
  • "Singing In The Evening." Poet: An International Monthly Pacific Number (1972): 60-61.
  • A poem urging Māori to continue singing until "the sorrow departs".
  • "When I See the Children." NZ Listener 29 May 1972: 56. Rpt. in Poet: An International Monthly 15.5 (1974): 13.
  • A poem about the impact of children on the life of the poet.
  • "Orakau." Listener 31 July 1972: 50. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 102-103.
  • Habib writes of the courage and persistence of the Māori defenders at Orakau in April 1864 when they were under siege by Crown troops.
  • "Māori in Suburbia - II." Te Ao Hou 70 (1972?): 21.
  • A poem highlighting the toll of urbanisation on the Māori.
  • "This Is The Song I Sing." Te Ao Hou 74 (1973): 44.
  • A newspaper photograph of enthusiastic rugby fans waiting to see a test match takes on evocations of a harmonious future New Zealand society.
  • "O Tama." Rowley Habib (Nga Pitiroirangi) Poet: An International Monthly 14.10 (1973): 55.
  • A vision of a vibrant generation of young Māori men.
  • "A Love Poem (Along the Canterbury Plains)." B. P. Recorder 145 (1973): 5.
  • In this love poem, the majestic expanse of the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps pale in significance to the speaker’s lover.
  • "A Photograph From Home." Rongo 1.1 (1973/74): 9.
  • A poem on the future unity of New Zealand.
  • "Husband." Landfall 27.2 (1973): 98.
  • A bleak portrayal of an oppressive marriage.
  • "Ancestors: Go Home Māori." Rongo 1.1 (1973/74): 14. Rpt. as "Go Home Māori." in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 105-106.
  • A poem about the effects of racism on Māori children.
  • "Ancestors." Landfall 27.2 (1973): 99. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 103. Rpt. in Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 341. Rpt. in 100 New Zealand Poems. Comp. Bill Manhire. Auckland, N.Z.: Godwit, 1993. n.pag. Accepted for publication in Writing. Auckland, N.Z.: Addison Wesley Longman, 1996.
  • A contrast of different responses to the land.
  • "For Johnny, the V.I.P. Treatment at Last." Te Māori 6.6 (1974): 36.
  • The tale of a social misfit who was alienated from the pa, seduced by the city and swept into a world of drinking.
  • "Married And Gone Away." Listener 18 May 1974: 43. Rpt. in A Cage of Words. Comp. Harvey McQueen. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1980. 40.
  • A poem in which the speaker recalls his former love of Spring before he was consumed with the household duties incumbent with his marriage.
  • "Wail O Black-Clad Women." Poet: An International Monthly 15.5 (1974): 12. Rpt. in Listener 12 Oct. 1974: 25. Rpt. in World Anthology: A Verse Mosaic by Living Poets. Comp. Orville Crowder Miller and Dorothy Munns Miller. Urbana: Delora Memorial Fund For World Brotherhood, 1980. 216. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 104-105.
  • The poet urges Māori kuia to karanga for the new generation of Māori youth.
  • "For the Young Child Wide-eyed And Innocent." Poet: An International Monthly 15.5 (1974): 12.
  • A poem paying tribute to the innocence and receptivity of children.
  • "A Coloured Man Addresses A White Protester Against Apartheid." Listener 30 March 1974: 34. Rpt. in Into the World of Light An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 104. Rpt. in White Feathers: An Anthology of New Zealand and Pacific Island Poetry on the Theme of Peace. Ed. Terry Locke, Peter Low and John Winslade. Christchurch, N.Z.: Hazard, 1991. 118.
  • A tribute to the courage and conviction of a Pakeha anti-apartheid protester.
  • "My Poems." OCARINA: A Bi-monthly Journal of Poetry and Aesthetics IV.6 (1974): 22.
  • The poet likens his poems to sparks flying into the atmosphere with an indeterminate future.
  • "Thoughts of a Some-Time Marcher." Dominion Sunday Times 21 Sep. 1975. No further details.
  • The speaker describes his impressions of the Māori Land March.
  • "The Prize-giving." Mate 25 (1976): 59.
  • A poem about the relationship between impoverished writers and industrial funding agencies.
  • "Waiata of My Tipuna." The New Quarterly Cave: An International Review of Arts and Ideas 1.3 (Old Series Cave 11) (1976): 60.
  • The speaker calls upon the waiata and mauri of his ancestors even though he acknowledges that they have become to him like an "alien sound" and a "dissipated force".
  • "Waiata Tangi." The New Quarterly Cave: An International Review of Arts and Ideas 1.3 (Old Series Cave 11) (1976): 60-61.
  • The speaker ponders on the sound of grieving Māori kuia.
  • "The Nuns And The Motorway." The New Quarterly Cave: An International Review of Arts and Ideas 1.3 (Old Series Cave 11) (1976): 61.
  • A poem contrasting the longevity of human effort with God’s endeavours.
  • "Another Kind of Wilderness (Mount Eden: Summit and Prison)." Pacific Moana Quarterly 3.4 (1978): 441. Rpt. in Into the World of Light. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 107-108. Rpt. in Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 170-171.
  • The poet contrasts the early Pakeha settlers’ proud claims of turning a wilderness into "a smiling land" with the wilderness of Mount Eden prison inhabited by many Māori.
  • "On Becoming A Father." The Japonica Sings: Ocarina’s Anthology of New Zealand and World Poetry 9.11 (1979): 14.
  • An account of the impact of fatherhood on the speaker. Far from feeling confident and assured, he feels instead "fear and doubt; gnawing responsibility", and is awed with the "tiny vulnerable being."
  • "Fletcher’s Mill, Early Mornin’ Blues." Landfall 140 35.4 (1981): 392. Rpt. in Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 198-199. Rpt. in Dangerous Landscapes: An Anthology of New Zealand Poetry. Comp. Rangi Faith. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1994. 53.
  • A poem describing the grim toll of the midnight shift on a mill worker.
  • "The Shade of Your Youth." Landfall 140 35.4 (1981): 393.
  • This poem contrasts the blissful simplicity of youth with the complexities of adulthood.
  • "Jacko." ibid. 98-99. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 104.
  • A poem about the implications of the alienation of Māori land.
  • "Memorial Day." ibid. Rpt. in Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 108.
  • A poem highlighting the dispossession of Māori land.
  • "Moment Of Truth. (Māori Land Protest Sit-in)" Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 106-107.
  • A poem about the rising anxiety of a Māori land protester who nervously awaits the arrival of the police and fearfully wonders what prison will be like.
  • "Portrait of the Artist As A Young Mongrel." Dominion c1983/84.
  • "Menton Vignette I." Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 199.
  • As the poet hears the unusual sound of wind hitting the riggings of many boats in the harbour, his mind conjures up different images of what the sound might represent.
  • "Menton Vignette II." Te Ao Mārama: Contemporary Māori Writing. Comp. and ed. Witi Ihimaera. Contributing ed. Haare Williams, Irihapeti Ramsden and D. S. Long. Vol. 1: Te Whakahuatanga O Te Ao: Reflections of Reality. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed, 1992. 199-200.
  • The poet muses over the simultaneous arrival of the sun after "days of overcast weather" with "glamorous golden girls" and "peacock youths with bandy-kneed swaggerings".
  • "Menton Vignette III." From a Room of Their Own: A Celebration of the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship. Comp. and ed. Michael Gifkins. Paintings by Peter Featherstone. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcoulls Limited, 1993. 70-71.
  • The poet ponders on the presence of poverty amongst the world of affluence.
  • "Ozymandias Revisited." From a Room of Their Own: A Celebration of the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship. Comp. and ed. Michael Gifkins. Paintings by Peter Featherstone. Auckland, N.Z.: Whitcoulls Limited, 1993. 71.
  • The poet writes of the Berlin Wall.
  • "The Ballad of the Four Māori Boys." Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2003. 70-71.
  • "The 7th Day Adventist." Whetu Moana: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland UP, 2003. 71-72.
  • "The Ballad of the four Māori boys." Whetū moana : contemporary Polynesian poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z. : Auckland University Press, 2003.
  • "The 7th Day Adventist." Whetū moana : contemporary Polynesian poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Auckland, N.Z. : Auckland University Press, 2003.
  • "Miscellaneous madness : Fletcher's Mill early morning blues." Mrs McBeaton's economical haggis attack : a collection of contemporary New Zealand comic verse. Ed. Jackie Evans. Wellington, N.Z. : Waimahea Publications, 2005.
  • The raw men : selected poems, 1954-2004. Volume one. Taupo, N.Z.: O-A-Tia Publishers, c2006.
  • "Piko piko pickin' blues." Taupo, N.Z. : O-A-Tia Publishers, 2006
  • The raw men : selected poems 1954-2004. Volume one. Taupo, N.Z.: O-a-Tia Publishers, 2010.
  • "Māori land protest march." Hapipi, Rore. Mauri ola : contemporary Polynesian poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, c2010.
  • "Waiata tangi." Hapipi, Rore. Mauri ola : contemporary Polynesian poems in English. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, c2010.
  • "Tame Iti." Hapipi, Rore. Mauri ola : contemporary Polynesian poems in English. Ed. Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri and Robert Sullivan. Honolulu : University of Hawaiʻi Press, c2010.
  • "Surburban incident." Eastbourne : an anthology. Ed. Mary McCallum, Anne Manchester and Maggie Rainey-Smith. Wellington, N.Z.: Makaro Press, 2013.
  • Puna wai kōrero : an anthology of Māori poetry in English. Ed. Robert Sullivan and Reina Whaitiri. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press, 2014.

  • Reviews

  • "‘Our Heritage’: An Operetta at Turakina Māori Girls’ College." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 43-44.
  • "Bastion Point: A Cold Hard Stare." Tu Tangata 2 (1981): 31-32.
  • A descriptive and evocative review of Bastion Point: Day 507, a documentary film made by Mita, Pohlmann, Narby Productions which records the events of 25 May, 1975 when police arrested 222 people at Bastion Point and demolished the buildings.

    Other

  • "A Writer Returns to Walk the Land." Tu Tangata 28 (1986): 24-25.
  • In this article Habib discusses his time overseas as a Katherine Mansfield scholar, and notes the difficulty of writing outside his own country, his learning of the craft of poetry, and his culture shock in returning to New Zealand.
  • Leader, Glenda. "Poet, Writer and Artist." Manawatu Standard 29 Sept 1965: 12.
  • "Rowley Habib: A New Voice in New Zealand Writing." Te Ao Hou 47 (1964): 14-15.
  • Shadbolt, Gillian E.M. "Writer of the ‘Advance Gguard.’" Te Māori 5.2 (1973): 18.
  • Vincent, Rosemary. "Poet: March Shows How." The Sunday Times 2 Nov 1975: 9.
  • Concerning the Māori Land March.
  • Young, Nicola. "Quality Means More Than Cash to Author." The Post 25 Oct. 1975: 9.
  • "Biographical Notes and Selected Bibliography." Countless Signs: The New Zealand Landscape in Literature. Comp. Trudie McNaughton. Auckland, N.Z.: Reed Methuen, 1986. 366-367.
  • Taylor, C. R. H. A Bibliography of Publications on the New Zealand Māori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, Oxford UP, 1972. 50.

  • Reviews

    Death of the Land.
  • Brunton, Alan. "Māori Theatre More than a Performance." Dominion Sunday Times 21 July 1991: 22.
  • Mason, Bruce. Dominion 1977/78. No further details.
  • "One-Act Play - Māori Theme." Evening Post 15 Feb. 1979: 14.
  • Paske, Helen. "The Lie of the Land." NZ Listener 3 Feb. 1979: 21.
  • "Riki Gather Star Role." Dominion 7 Apr. 1980: 4.
  • White, Damon. "‘Television’: Culture Time." Salient 14 Apr. 1980: 15.
  • Fragments of Childhood.
  • Coke, Merrill. "Spotlight on Solos." Listener 16 Apr. 1988: 40-41.
  • The Gathering
  • NZ Listener 5 Apr. 1980: 85.
  • Tupuna and Nga Morehu.
  • Coke, Merrill. "Arts: Towards a Māori theatre." Listener 21 Nov. 1987: 61-63.