From engineering to iwi advocacy, Puhirake Ihaka returned to Tauranga Moana to serve his people and spent the next three decades helping reshape Māori representation.

This week, the Ngāi Te Rangi kaumātua has been honoured as an Officer in the New Zealand Order of Merit for his service to Māori and governance.

“I felt so humbled and so proud - [a] great feeling [that] everything I’ve done was not in vain and other people did notice the difference I thought that I’d made,” Ihaka says.

A self-proclaimed urban Māori, Ihaka spent the first 45 years of his life in Tāmaki Makaurau, knowing very little about te ao Māori.

“I was pretty much entrenched in the mainstream way of life,” he says.

There, Ihaka completed a postgraduate degree in engineering, later working for several prominent firms before launching his own consultancy.

“I thought, well, I’ve given 45 plus years to the mainstream Pākehā side of me, maybe it’s time I did something for my Māori side. So I took my steps and returned home [and] went back to my tūrangawaewae.”

He hoki anō ki tōna ūkaipō

Nā wai rā, ka hoki a Ihaka ki tana ūkaipō, ki Tauranga Moana, ki ngā rekereke o ana pakeke, ki te mātotorutanga o tana ao Māori.

I ngā wā o mua, i mōhiotia whānuitia a Ihaka ki tōna ingoa Pākehā, ki a Albert.

Nō tana hūnukutanga ki te kaenga, ka hoki anō ia ki tana ingoa Māori ki a Puhirake, hei whakamana i tana tipuna i a Rawiri Puhirake o Ngāi Te Rangi.

He kanohi kitea i roto i te iwi, i te hapori anō hoki

Ihaka has spent decades serving his iwi and community, holding leadership roles across key iwi trusts and governance boards.

He represented Ngāti Tapu on Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Te Rangi for 24 years, led Treaty research and negotiations, and helped establish Tauranga City Council’s Tangata Whenua Collective and Māori ward.

He has chaired the Otamataha Trust, served on multiple iwi and education trusts, and remains a respected kaumātua and advocate for Māori representation.

Ihaka says securing a seat at the council table and being part of local government decision-making has been one of the biggest challenges for Māori.

“It’s evolved, yes. I would say [30] years ago, I would give it a one or two - now I would say it’s about a five or six. [We’re] there and it’s getting better and we can only improve.”

But the 76-year-old’s greatest achievement remains rooted in his cultural identity.

“To connect with my taha Māori, with my Māoritanga on whānau, hapū [and] iwi basis all the way through, I learnt as much as I could. [Hopefully] I can carry that on.”