She was born in Otaki, the grand-daughter of Wiremu Te Kākākura Parata and daughter of Nātanahira Te Umutapu W˚ Parata and ōriwa Tuni Horomona. She was raised at Whakarongotai, the family marae in Waikanae, and was educated at the Waikanae primary school and Hukarere College. She attended Wellington Teachers’ Training College and taught at the former Porirua School, Ngāti Toa School, Porirua East School and others, resigning from teaching in 1959. During the Second World War, she was part of a patriotic fundraising presentation called "Trooping of the Colours". She married Matuaiwi Solomon in 1947. She was a tutor in Māoritanga and a member of the Māori Writers and Artists’ Association. She was a J.P. and was awarded the QSO for services to the Māori Community in 1990. She was a trustee of the International Festival of the Arts in Wellington. She travelled overseas a number of times, attending the opening of the Polynesian Cultural Centre in Hawaii in the early 1960s. She stated: "I do a little painting and a bit of writing just for my own enjoyment. I’ve had some things published at our local polytech down here, also some journalism mainly in the local newspaper." She was recorded on the Radio New Zealand children’s holiday programme, ‘Hotchy Potchy’, which won an award the 1983 Ohio State Awards for radio and television programmes in the United States. This programme, produced by Piripi Walker and Lyn Chambers, involved Solomon and other Takapuahia Marae kaumatua talking with the children of the marae in a magazine-type programme.
Biographical sources
- Brown, Karen. "Kaumatua Profile". Tu Tangata 12 (1983): 18.
- "Harata Solomon." Te Timatanga Tātau Tātau Te Ropu Wahine Māori Toko I te Ora: Early Stories from Founding Members of the Māori Women’s Welfare League. As told to Dame Mira Szaszy. Ed. Anna Rogers and Miria Simpson (Wāhanga Māori). Photographs by Margaret Kāwharu. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Women’s Welfare League
- Bridget Williams, 1993. 204-213.
Biography
- "Harata Solomon." Matriarchs: A Generation Of New Zealand Women Talk To Judith Fyfe. Portraits by Louise Guerin. Auckland, N.Z.: Penguin, 1990. 85-99.
- In this autobiographical account Solomon tells of her childhood raised by her grandmother, Ria Wineera, discusses her experiences through the war years, and discusses her family, teaching and Māori identity
- "Hārata Solomon." Te Timatanga Tātau Tātau Te Ropu Wahine Māori Toko I te Ora: Early Stories from Founding Members of the Māori Women’s Welfare League. As told to Dame Mira Szaszy. Edited by Anna Rogers and Miria Simpson (Wāhanga Māori) Photographs by Margaret Kāwharu. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Women’s Welfare League; Bridget Williams, 1993. 204-213.
- Solomon describes her childhood growing up in the household of her grandmother, Ria Te Uira Wineera, speaks of her teaching career, extensive overseas travel and her work in the Māori Women’s Welfare League. This interview was conducted at Takapuwāhia on 16 November, 1991.
Non-fiction
- "Te Roopi Wahine Māori Toko I Te Ora: The Māori Women’s Welfare League Annual Conference." Tu Tangata 1 (Aug./Sept. 1981): 21-24.
- A report of the 29th Māori Women’s Welfare League annual conference which was held at Wairaka Marae in the eastern Bay of Plenty, in May 1981 and hosted by Mataatua, Ngāti Awa and Tuhoe. Solomon includes extracts from Dennis Hansen’s conference address on penal reform, and MWWL National President Violet Pou’s annual report.
- "Powerful Profile of a Remarkable Kuia: A Life of Leadership and Love." Tu Tangata 14 (1983): 2-3.
- In this tribute to Maraea May-Anne Te Kawa (1899-1983), Solomon writes a detailed biography of Te Kawa and describes her as ‘a woman of spirituality, tremendous energy and great humanity.’
Other
- Brown, Karen. "Kaumatua Profile." Tu Tangata 12 (1983): 18.
- A description of the very active life and work of Harata Solomon highlighting her indefatigable commitment to her marae in Porirua, and her love of the Māori culture and people