Te Hatatapuipihopa Ohlson was born in Te Whaitinuiatoi, Bay of Plenty, the son of Jack Tapui Te Tuhi Ohlson and Merepeka Potatau. During his childhood he lived in Te Whaiti, Rotorua and Minginui and was educated at Te Whaiti Native School, Whakarewarewa School and Minginui Forest School. Ohlson went on to attend Murupara High School and St Stephen’s Māori Boys’ School. He pursued further studies at the University of Canterbury and Massey University. He graduated with a Teacher’s Certificate from Ardmore Training College, and worked as a teacher on the West Coast of the South Island. After moving to Christchurch, Ohlson began working as a television and radio broadcaster, script writer and presenter on "Seagull," "Woolly Hill", "Woolly Manor", "After School", and the parenting programme "You and Your Child". Ohlson has worked as a bushman, an insurance agent, Building Society agent, parish worker and polytech tutor. He was the founder of Mauri Psychology and Success Energy and established the Mauri School of Higher Learning in Christchurch in 1994. He writes children’s writing and adult publications in the area of communication skills and transformation. His dream is to run seminars up and down the country on Mauri psychology.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence and phone conversation with Ohlson 22 Apr. and 15 Sept. 1998, 15 July 2004.
- "Māori Mythology Used in Personal Development." Te Māori News 2.8 (1993): 5.
- "Olly Ohlson - After School’s Out." Tu Tangata 13 (1983): 2-3.
Children's literature
- Wiki and the UPIDS. Christchurch, N.Z.: Kowhai Publications, 1984.
- Ohlson states that this is ‘a story about friendly taniwha who have been sent by a kuia from the kingdom of U to rediscover beings that still have the Māori language.’ This is an introduction to the Māori language.
Non-fiction
- "Te Hata (Olly) Ohlson On 1990." Treaty Times: Information and views from people supporting Māori independence 8 (Feb. 1990): n.pag.
- This article is composed of various quotations from Ohlson on his disillusionment with the 1990 sesquicentennial commemorations of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and his commitment to bi-culturalism and the Treaty.
- Communication Caring: A Guide for Health Workers and Caregivers. Auckland, N.Z.: Longman Paul, 1992. Rpt. in 1994. Rpt. and rev. as Transforming Communication: Leading-Edge Professional And Personal Skills. Richard Bolstad and Margot Hamblett. Cross-cultural consultants: Te Hata Ohlson and Jan Hardie. Auckland, N.Z.: Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.
- Co-authored by Richard Bolstad with Margot Hamblett, Te Hata Ohlson, and Jan Hardie.
- "The Treaty of Waitangi and Bi-Cultural Issues for Psychologists." Bulletin: New Zealand Psychological Society 76 (Mar. 1993): 8-9.
- Ohlson presents the Treaty of Waitangi from a Māori perspective and discusses issues of tiro rangātiratanga in the psychological treatment of Māori.
Other
- Tu Tangata 16 (1984): 2.
- Ohlson replies to Henry Bird’s letter to the editor in Tu Tangata (16 (1984): 20-2) which questioned various statements attributed to Ohlson in "Olly Ohlson - After School’s Out."
Papers/Presentations
- "Mauri psychology and its application to the Treaty of Waitangi." No details.
- A written commentary on how the teachings of Mauri impact on the Treaty of Waitangi. This was published in an Auckland University publication in the early 1980s.
Reviews
- Rev. of "The NZ Wars", by James Belich. Race Gender Class 5 (July 1987): 104-105.
Other
- Doornebal, Stacey. "TV Presenter Olly Ohlson." Christchurch Star 5 Nov. 2004: 1.
- "Olly Ohlson - After School’s Out." Tu Tangata 13 (1983): 2-3.
- Smith, Clive. "Māori mythology used in personal development." Te Māori News 2.8 (1993): 5.
- "Energy, Skill, Experience Combine." Christchurch Star 25 May 1994: 12.