Modern leader made history from hospital bed

Friday, 14 September 2018

Lawrie Duckworth and Kath Hemi at Omaka Marae in 2009.

It was one of the most significant moments in New Zealand history, yet it didn't even make the front page of some newspapers. The Suffrage movement, signed September 19, 1893, changed lives, not only for the women who signed the landmark petition calling for change, but for those who followed in their footsteps.

Even from her hospital bed, Kathleen Hemi remained a staunch protector of all she held dear.

Kathleen Hemi signed the historic settlement for the Ngati Apa tribe at Wairau Hospital Chapel. (file photo)

Remembered by many as one of Marlborough's most effective and renowned modern community leaders, Hemi was the only remaining member of the Ngāti Apa tribe that had launched a claim under the Treaty of Waitangi.

'Aunty Kath,' as she was fondly known, signed the final part of the settlement from her bed at Wairau Hospital, in Blenheim.

T-shirts for the Marlborough Māori rugby team were donated by Kathleen Hemi of the Omaka Marae. (File photo)

Hemi was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 1986 for her contribution to the community.

During her lifetime she devoted herself to more than 40 community organisations, groups and projects around the region.

The mother of 10, grandmother and great-grandmother was especially concerned with the degradation of Māori whanau, values, education, social issues and welfare.

She was chairwoman of Omaka Marae, helped set up the Omaka Māori Women's Welfare League, was a founder and a trustee of Te Rapuora Health Services and was involved with the Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Charitable Trust .

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Ms Hemi was a key fundraiser and founder in 1985 of Omaka Marae.

Grandson Kiley Nepia described his grandmother as a loving person who was driven, focused and determined.

'We liken her to being the matriarch of our family and tribe, and definitely of the iwi.

'We have a bit of a saying that she's the last of the Mohicans because she's one of the few people left from that generation that really held true to our Māori values,' Nepia said.

Education, social issues and welfare were dear to her. She represented Māori at conferences in Samoa, Tonga, Rarotonga, Tahiti, United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

Kathleen Hemi died on November 22, 2010, at her Blenheim home surrounded by family members after a long illness. She was 85.