M¯aori heritage efforts recognised
Ma¯ ori culture and heritage belong to all New Zealanders, says Sir John Clarke.
Named a knight companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit for his contribution towards Ma¯ ori heritage and preservation, Clarke said he had had remarkable exper iences with people who were very involved with heritage.
‘‘It makes you proud to be a New Zealander, really.’’
Clarke, who lives in Lower Hutt’s Naenae suburb, said to hear he had received the award was a very humbling and emotional experience. He had had to keep the news secret from his children.
His first thoughts went to his family – wife Kathy, three children and six grandchildren – and to all those he had worked with.
Ma¯ ori culture and heritage belonged to all New Zealanders. ‘‘It gives us an identity of how we are as a nation.’’
Clarke said in his various roles, he had enjoyed seeing improvements, and areas where the alignment of Ma¯ ori culture and modern society was a success.
‘‘Going through the different stages, you never give up and you never stop dreaming.’’
Clarke has worked in education and Crown agencies. Since the 1990s, he has played a role in almost 30 Treaty of Waitangi settlements around New Zealand.
He has been a Crown Law Office cultural adviser since 2004, and an Office of Treaty Settlements cultural adviser since 1997.
Since 2013, as Ma¯ ori Heritage Council chairman, Clarke was instrumental in forming the new Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014.
From 2014, he was the deputy chairman of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga and worked to make enhancements to the role of the Ma¯ ori Heritage Council.
He was also responsible for the document Tapuwae, which captures a philosophy to safeguard Ma¯ ori heritage places.