Rimu Rangiihu was born in Ruatoki and was educated at St Stephen’s School. His Tuhoe grandfather encouraged him to become a priest; this encouragement led Rangiihu to attend St John’s Theological College in Auckland where he was ordained. He served his curacy in Hawkes Bay under Bishop Bennett. He married Myrtle Tahiti in 1937. Rangiihu worked in the Waipatu-Moteo Māori Pastorate out of Hastings, and later became the vicar of the Wairoa-Mohaka Pastorate. He was appointed a Canon of St Johns Cathedral, Napier, and in 1964 went with his wife to England to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Christian Service held in New Zealand conducted by Rev Samuel Marsden. On the 20 December 1964 Rangiihu preached in Westminster Abbey and during his visit presented a historic mere from Wairoa Māori to Queen Elizabeth as "a token of the harmony between Māori and Pakeha."
Biographical sources
- Phone conversation with Myrtle (Bundy) Rangiihu, 27 July 1998.
- "People and Places." Te Ao Hou 49 (1964): 32.
Non-fiction
- "Māoritanga." Māori and Pakeha: Studies in Christian Responsibility. Allan Pyatt. Christchurch, N.Z.: Presbyterian Bookroom for the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Churches in New Zealand, 1964. 11-16.
- Rangiihu discusses what he believes to be the central components of Māoritanga: the Māori language, Māori arts and crafts, the Māori community, the marae, religious beliefs and the importance of land and sense of turangawaewae. Rangiihu asserts that all these aspects of Māoritanga must be preserved but adds that Māori of today also need education, employment, and good housing.
Other
- "People and Places." Te Ao Hou 49 (1964): 31-33.
- This article contains a short reference to Rangiihu’s visit to England in 1964 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first Christian service held in New Zealand.