Rea Rangiheuea was born in Murupara and was raised in Rotorua. She was educated at Western Heights Primary, Kaitao Intermediate School, Western Heights High School and Edgecumbe College. Rea Anne continued her studies at the University of Waikato and graduated with a B.A. in History and Social Anthropology in 1993. She is currently completing a Masters Degree at Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi. Her thesis is a case study of the hapu and iwi associated with the Lake Tarawera Catchment District; she is researching traditional Māori methodologies and matauranga concerning the preservation, conservation and management of resources. Rea Anne has written several unpublished tribal reports and has assisted her sister, Tania Rei, in the publication Women Together. She was a finalist in a Rotorua District Council literary short stories competition; her story on Merekorama was published in their publication in 1992. Rangiheuea is chairperson and trustee on a number of Ahuwhenua Trusts and Corporations. She is currently lecturing at the Waiariki Polytechnic in the Bachelor of Māori Studies Programme.
Biographical sources
- Phone conversation and correspondence with Rea Rangiheuea, 22 and 27 June 1998.
Non-fiction
- "Māori Women Remember?" Daughters Of The Land/ Nga Uri Wahine A Hineahuone: A Glimpse Into The Lives Of Rural Women In The Rotorua Region 1893-1993. Joan Boyd. Rotorua, N.Z.: The Bath-House Art & History Museum; Te Whare Taonga o Te Arawa; Rotorua District Council, 1993. 60-80.
- Co-authored with Raina Meha.
- "The Guides of Whakarewarewa." Women Together: A History of Women’s Organisations in New Zealand: Ngā Ropu Wāhine o te Motu. Ed. Anne Else. Wellington, N.Z.: Co-published by Daphne Brasell; Historical Branch, Dept. of Internal Affairs, 1993. 18-20.
- Co-authored with Tania Rei.