Mana was born in Tiki Tiki and was educated at Tiki Tiki Native School and St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College in Napier. She married Mika Rangi and had four children. She worked in the Playcentre Movement for ten years in the Tikitiki-Te Araroa-Cape Runaway-Ruatoria district as a mother helper, assistant supervisor and supervisor in 1960s. In 1967 she was awarded a New Zealand Playcentre Supervisor’s Certificate and in 1969 was invited to be part of a group that travelled to Australia to work in early childhood education with Australian Aborigines. Mana was awarded the MBE in 1970 for her work with early childhood education and in 1977-78 travelled to Fiji as part of a two-member team working in early family education. Mana has been a member of Māori Women’s Welfare League for over 30 years and is a member of the Nati Branch of the League. In 1995 she was awarded an Early Childhood Education Diploma by Kohanga Reo and worked with Kohanga Reo for many years. She lives in Tikitiki.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence and phone conversation with Mana Rangi, 18 Feb. and 24 Mar. 1998, and 10 Feb. 2005.
- "Mana Rangi." Haeata Herstory 1985. Haeata Herstory Collective. Auckland, N.Z.: New Women’s Press, 1985. 54.
Other
- "Mana Rangi." Haeata Herstory 1985. Haeata Herstory Collective. Auckland, N.Z.: New Women’s Press, 1985. 54.
- Brief biographical account drawn from an interview with Rangi, which notes her long involvement with MWWL, her strong belief in the whanau and community cooperation, and her many years teaching Sunday School for the Anglican Church