Te Upokowhakamutunga Hōne Matuakore Apanui

Hōne Apanui was born and raised on Te Tai Rāwhiti (East Coast). He was educated at Whakaangiangi Primary School, Te Waha O Rerekohu High School, and St Stephen’s College. He is a graduate of Auckland Teachers’ College and Victoria University. He has had a long and continuing involvement in Māori education and was a teacher for many years in New Zealand, and also taught abroad in Perth, Western Australia and London, UK. Apanui left teaching to pursue an interest in Māori resource production as Editor and later Chief Editor of Māori Publications in the Department of Education. He edited a number of key Māori textbooks and assisted Hōri Ngata with the preparation of the Ngata Dictionary, the major Māori dictionary since Williams’ dictionary was produced last century. Apanui returned to the field as an Inspector of Schools and was responsible for Māori in Te Waipounamu (The South Island). With the coming of the Tomorrow’s Schools’ reforms, he joined the Education Review Office as Takawaenga Māori (Māori Coordinator) responsible for monitoring Māori education in Te Waipounamu. He is currently Manager, Māori Publishing at Te Pou Taki Kōrero (Learning Media Ltd) the biggest publisher in te reo Māori in the country. Te Pou Taki Kōrero produces a wide range of literature for schools. He has a strong commitment to see more Māori language books produced to underpin and support the current renaissance in te reo Māori. He works essentially as an editor rather than a writer having edited a number of major Māori text books and reading books.

Biographical sources

• Phone conversation and correspondence with Hōne Apanui on 8 and 17 Nov. 1995, 22 Aug. 1997, and 1 Apr. 2004.
• Tu Tangata 34 (Feb./Mar. 1987): 10.