Turoa Kiniwe Royal

Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngā Puhi

1935 -

Turoa Royal was born at Waimango in Hauraki and was educated at Kaiaua Primary School and Wesley College. He graduated with a B.A. and an M.A. in Geography from Auckland University. He worked as a secondary school teacher at Tamaki College from 1960 to 1966. From 1966-1970, he took up an appointment as Specialist Adviser on Māori Education for the New Zealand Department of Education. He was Secretary of the National Advisory Committee on Māori Education and later became Inspector of Māori and Island Education in Auckland and Wellington from 1970 to 1978. He was a member of Vocational Training Council Polynesian Advisory Committee from 1973-1978 and was Director of Parumoana Community Polytechnic. Polytechnic.

Royal has been on various overseas study and work tours. In 1969 he travelled to the U.S.A. on a Ford Foundation Cultural Exchange. From 1970-78, he made extensive travels in the Pacific to Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and Fiji. In 1974 he was awarded a Kelloggs Foundation grant to study education administration at the New England University, 300 miles north of Sydney. In 1975 he graduated with a Masters of Education Administration from the University of New South Wales, in Armidale. Royal represented the Department of Education at a conference in Rarotonga, and visited Tonga, Niue, and Western Samoa to discuss education matters with departmental officers. In 1978 he was a consultant to the British Commnwealth Secretariat in Fiji on a two month education training programme for Pacific countries held at the University of the South Pacific. In 1981 he spent three months in India on a Commonwealth Exchange Programme. In 1984 Royal studied bilingual education in Singapore, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Royal was Chair of the Wellington Consultative Committee on Polynesians in Employment under the Vocational Training Council and was a member of the National Committee on Polynesians in Employment. He also worked as secretary of the National Advisory Committee on Māori Education.

In 1982 Royal was the Minister’s nominee on the Otaki-Porirua Trust Board and the Papawai Kaikokirikiri (Wairarapa) Trust Board. A year later, he was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Bilingual Education in the Department of Education. In 1982 he became Chair of the Council of Te Wananga o Raukawa. He has been a member of both the N.Z.U.S.A. Educational Foundation and the J.R. McKenzie Trust and has served on the BNZ Advisory Committee on Māori programmes as Deputy-Chair. Royal was principal of Wellington High School and was Foundation CEO of Whitireia Community Polytechnic. He has now retired from his position at Whitireia and is currently part-time Senior Lecturer in the School Education at Victoria University. He is also Chairperson, Mana Whakahaere at Te Wananga o Raukawa in Otaki. Royal is currently working on a history of the family farm on the Hauraki Gulf and is interviewing the people who were brought up there. He has received the Queen’s Efficiency Decoration for Military Honours.



Biographical sources

  • Interview and correspondence with Turoa Royal, in 1991, 9 Aug. 1998 and 23 Sept. 2004.
  • “Turoa Kiniwe Royal.” Tu Tangata 6 (1982): 13-14.

    Children's literature

  • Te Tautoko 3: Te Hararei. Wellington, N.Z.: School Publications Branch, Dept. of Education, 1975.
  • A series of short plays in Māori based on the theme of going on a holiday.

    • Non-fiction

  • "The Blind." Te Ao Hou 22 (1958): 53-54.
  • Royal describes his visits to schools for the blind and deaf in Auckland and notes that ‘one-third of the number admitted to these special schools are Māoris; a phenomenal figure when one considers that Māoris only constitute one-sixteenth of the total New Zealand population.’ He gives brief case histories of four children and states that in some of the cases neglect caused the problem or exacerbated it.
  • "The Māori Child Grows up in Auckland." Te Ao Hou 27 (1959): 40-45.
  • Royal gives an assessment of educational opportunities for Māori school children in Auckland and examines the extent of Māori language and culture taught in Auckland schools. He contrasts the traditional Māori system of education, which was very practical and integrated with the environment and gave a ‘thorough preparation for life’, with today’s education system in which the Māori child has to ‘adjust, and to progress in a wholly new and different environment.’ Royal notes that in 1955 the committee on Māori Education decided that ‘the basic educational needs of Māori and pakeha were identical’ and ‘the Auckland Education Board does not make available any special facilities for teaching the Māori children in Auckland.’ Royal highlights a number of very positive features in Auckland schools: the teaching of Māori arts, waiata and games by Māori teachers in primary schools, Auckland Teachers’ Training College Māori Club performing concerts at schools, and Training College teachers being taught aspects of the Māori culture. On the negative side, Royal observes that the Auckland Education Board does not ‘always place the available Māori teachers in those schools where the Māori roll is highest’ and that in the intermediate schools there is only one Māori teacher and her teaching does not include Māori culture. Royal also includes the rather gloomy statistics regarding the high dropout rate of Māori students at secondary school but praises the excellent contributions of the Māori private schools and Auckland Girls’ Grammar in providing Māori culture and language studies.
  • "Looking at the Future: A Māori Point of View." Te Ao Hou 63 (1968): 44-47.
  • Royal contends that while the centennial celebrations of Māori schools highlight a century in which Māori attained many achievements, this is not a time to be complacent or self-satisfied. Instead he advocates careful planning for the future noting that as yet there is still a considerable discrepancy between the educational levels and achievements of Pakeha and Māori. Royal pinpoints fluency in the English language as a crucial factor for Māori children and notes that those who are not fluent are considerably disadvantaged in the classroom. Royal encourages Māori parents to help their children attain ‘better English fluency’ while not neglecting their Māori language and Māoritanga because ‘all children are capable of handling two languages quite easily’. Royal discusses the various ways Māori parents can encourage their children at all levels from pre-school through to adult classes and concludes by stating that with educational qualifications come greater opportunities.
  • "Thames High School Māori Club holds a Regional Fifth and Sixth Form Seminar." Te Ao Hou 64 (1968): 42-44.
  • A description of a highly successful conference for over one hundred fifth and sixth form Māori students held at Thames High School in July 1968. Royal gives an outline of topics covered by guest speakers Mr M. Te Hau, Dr Sinclair and Mr John Dansey and also examines key issues that were raised in the various panel discussions.
  • "Tomorrow’s Citizens: The Aims of Education and the part that Teachers and Parents play in the Education of Children." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 1.2 ([1969?]): 39-43.
  • In this comprehensive essay, Royal looks at the difficulties of defining the aims of education and presents a model of education that espouses the development of aroha and follows the dictum of Sir Apirana Ngata’s ‘E Tipu E Rea’ with its emphasis on combining the ‘arts of the Pakeha...cherishing the treasures of your ancestors...[and y]our soul given to God’. Royal concludes by looking at the practical objectives of education that undergirds the importance of the role of parent and teacher, and the importance of the home environment with the goal of active citizenship and satisfying occupation.
  • Report On The Refresher Course For Teachers Of The Māori Language. [Ngaruawahia?], N.Z.: Ngaruawahia High School, 1969.
  • "Māori and Polynesian Adult Education." W.E.A. Review 2.5 (1970): 133-136.
  • The text of a remit adopted at the NZWEA Annual Conference in July 1970 consisting of eight measures to combat the loss of Māori culture in contemporary New Zealand. The measures include extending Māori studies beyond primary school level, that Polynesian Studies be part of the curriculum for all training college students, for Department of Education and Māori and Islands Affairs to promote training programmes for Māori language teachers, to promote study conferences to facilitate greater Pakeha understanding of Māori and Polynesians, for television and radio programmes to promote Māori and Polynesian culture, for university departments to establish programmes in researching Māori and Polynesians, for WEA to support and cater to the needs of different ethnic groups, and for voluntary agencies in adult education to promote Māori Studies courses. Royal also includes the text of a letter he wrote to Mr Readman dated 24 June, 1970 in which he writes 12 recommendations in the area of ‘greater educational facilities for Māori and Polynesian adults’ and provides a framework for promoting an educational environment that will be culturally appropriate to Māori and Polynesian adult students.
  • Handbook for Teachers on Māori Language at Primary and Intermediate Schools. Auckland, N.Z.: Department of Education, 1970.
  • Report On The Teaching Of Māori Language At Secondary School Level, 1969. Auckland, N.Z.: Education Department, 1970.
  • "Breakthrough in Language Expected. " Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.1 (1970/1971): 17.
  • This article is largely composed of statistics enumerating the number of secondary students studying Māori in state and private schools. Royal calls for more Māori language teachers to meet the increasing need for Māori language instruction and he writes of his intention to establish a register of Māori language teachers.
  • "Māori In Primary Schools." Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.2 (1971): 9.
  • Royal discusses the ministerial approval given for teaching Māori language as an official subject at Form II level in ‘approved primary and intermediate schools contributing to secondary schools where Māori language is taught.’ He lists the approved schools and gives some guidelines on the time-tabling and content of Māori language classes at intermediate level.
  • [Untitled]. Te Māori: The Official Journal of the New Zealand Māori Council 2.3 (1971): 35.
  • A brief report on the increase of secondary schools teaching Māori in 1971 with reference to a Māori language teaching refresher course to be held in Feilding in May 1971.
  • "Māori Language" Māori and Polynesian Education in New Zealand. Ed. D. Bray and C. Hill. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann Educational Books, 1972.
  • "Haere Ki O Koutou Tipuna: Iripeti Bethia Ranapia." Te Ao Hou 73 (1973): 2-3.
  • In this tribute to Iripeti Bethia Ranapia, Royal describes her as ‘one of the greatest leaders and workers in the development of the teaching of Māori language in the last ten years’. Born in Scotland, Beth received her teachers certificate in New Zealand and taught at Te Kaha until 1955 when she began working for the Correspondence School. In 1966 she became the Māori Language Editor of the School Publications Branch a position she retained until her death in 1972. Royal writes that ‘her unfailing efforts to provide Māori language books have been of tremendous value.’
  • "The Teaching of Māori Language in Schools." Polynesian and Pakeha in New Zealand Education. Vol. 2. Ethnic Difference and the School. Ed. Douglas H. Bray and Clement G. H. Hill. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann Educational Books, 1974. 128-134.
  • Co-authored with J. Tapiata.
  • "A Partnership - School and the Māori community." Multi-Cultural School 3 (1976): 4-13.
  • Royal discusses how schools can enjoy ‘closer partnership’ with the Māori community. He affirms the importance of parental involvement and lists possible reasons for the non-involvement of Māori parents and gives suggestions on how to encourage greater involvement. He describes some existing successful school-parent activities. The latter part of this article is devoted to how teachers can make links with the Māori community.
  • "What Do Māoris In New Zealand Want From Education?" Aboriginal Child At School 5.1 (1977). No further details. Rpt. in Multi-Cultural School 11 (1979): 14-25.
  • Royal begins this essay by noting the various views of Māori on the necessary components of education for Māori children. Drawing upon existing research and his own work in the field of education Royal states that schools must take into account the cultural needs of Māori students by recognising Māoritanga in schools and giving access to Māori language study will result in a bicultural and bilingual education for Māori and Pakeha children. Royal lists three recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Māori Education and notes other new policies directed to education administrators.
  • "Māoris Consider Alternatives." PPTA News 2.17 (1981): 7.
  • Royal discusses the growing Māori dissatisfaction with an education system which sees ‘almost 70 percent of Māoris leav[ing] school without even one School Certificate subject pass, compared with 34 percent of non Māoris.’ Royal attributes blame for these statistics to both the education system and to Māori parents. He examines ways of encouraging greater Māori parental involvement in schools and looks at the mono-cultural aspects of the current education system.
  • "A Bi-lingual Model for Secondary Schools." Living Languages: Bilingualism & Community Language in New Zealand. Ed. Walter Hirsh. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann; Office of The Race Relations Conciliator, 1987. 89-93.
  • Royal discusses the development of a bi-lingual programme at Wellington High School and the Community Institute in the early 1980s. Royal observes that this bi-lingual model could be adapted for the introduction of any second language and he notes that a number of other schools have successfully adopted the same programme.
  • "Perfomrance Based Research Fund: Evidence Portfolion." Turoa K. Royal. May 2003.
  • "Managing the Wānanga claim before the tribunal." Te Whakahaere (2003): 26-37.
  • "Wānanga : an emerging higher education institution in New Zealand." Te Whakahaere (2003): 6-14.

    • Other

  • Te Hararei. 1974. No further details.
  • Māori language reader for secondary schools.

    • Papers/Presentations

  • "Adult Learning, Challenges and Choices." Conf. Wellington, N.Z. No further details.
  • "Te Wananga o Raukawa - A New Indigenous Tertiary Education in New Zealand." University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Can. May 29, 1993.
  • "Tertiary Education in New Zealand." Ninth Technological and Vocational Education Conf. Taiwan. Mar.18, 1994.
  • "The Question of Quality in a Multicultural Society." Whitireia Community Polytechnic, 19 Sept. 1995.
  • "Te Wananga o Raukawa - A Case Study of a Tertiary Institution Addressing The Education Needs of the Indigenous People of New Zealand." Sixth Asian & Pacific University Presidents Conf. HI. 13-15 Jan. 1997.
  • "The Treaty of Waitangi: A Māori Viewpoint." Whitireia Community Polytechnic. Porirua, N.Z. Nov. 13, 1997.
  • "Nga Wero Ki Nga Wananga: The Education Scene – Past, Present and Future. Surfing the Political, Social, Cultural and Economic Environment." Address to Members of Nga Mana Whakahaere. Awanuiarangi, Aotearoa, Raukawa Wananga, 11 Sept. 2004.

  • Reviews

  • Rev. of Contemporary Māori Writing, ed and introd. by Margaret Orbell. Te Ao Hou 69 (n.d.): 60-62.

  • Theses

  • "Fertilizer Industry in New Zealand." U of Auckland, 1968.
  • "Multicultural Education in New Zealand." 1975.

    Other

  • "Australian Study Grant." Marae Magazine 1.3 (1974): 10.
  • A brief note on Royal receiving a Kellogs Foundation grant in 1974 to study education administration in Australia.
  • Butterworth, G. "On the Ground Floor." Listener 5 Apr. 1971: 46.
  • Olsen, S. "C.I.T. Education Given A Kick." Tu Tangata 27 (1985): 18-19.
  • "Turoa Kiniwe Royal." Tu Tangata 6 (1982): 13-14.
  • A profile on Royal which explores his commitment to bicultural education.
  • Taylor, C. R. H. A Bibliography of Publications on the New Zealand Māori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands. Oxford: At the Clarendon; Oxford UP, 1972. 47, 68.