Kiti Karaka Rīwai Explained

Kiti Karaka Rīwai
Birth Date:12 September 1870
Birth Place:Ruapuke Island, Southland, New Zealand
Death Place:Greytown, New Zealand
Nationality:Māori, Moriori, New Zealand
Occupation:tribal leader
Notable Works:Wairua meeting house (1890s)
Father:Arapetere Karaka (Albert Clark)
Mother:Mary (née Owen)
Spouse:Rīwai Te Ropiha (div.1900s),
Te Ao Ahitana Matenga (Joseph Ashton)
Children:10

Kiti Karaka Rīwai (12 September 1870 – 21 January 1927) (also known as Kiti Karaka, Catherine Clark, Kate Clark, Kitty Clark, Kiti Karaka Te Ao Ahitana, or Kiti Ashton)[1] was a New Zealand tribal leader. She was born in Ruapuke Island, Southland, New Zealand in 1870, to parents Arapetere Karaka (Albert Clark) and Mary (née Owen).[2] [3]

Of Māori and Moriori descent, she identified with the Kāti Māmoe iwi. Her first husband was Riwai Te Ropiha, a Moriori of the Chatham Islands, with whom she had nine children before divorcing in the early 1900s. Her second husband was Te Ao Ahitana Matenga (Joseph Ashton) of Ngāti Kahungunu, with whom she had one child, Joey Ashton.

She helped build the meeting house in Wairua in the 1890s.[4] She died in Greytown in 1927.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Riwai, Kiti Karaka (1870–1927) Encyclopedia.com. 2020-12-30. www.encyclopedia.com.
  2. Web site: 1870-01-01. Riwai, Kiti Karaka, 1870-1927. 2020-12-30. Riwai, Kiti Karaka, 1870-1927 Items National Library of New Zealand National Library of New Zealand. en.
  3. Web site: Taonga. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Rīwai, Kiti Karaka. 2020-12-30. teara.govt.nz. en.
  4. Web site: Taonga. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. Kiti Karaka Rīwai (seated with child, right) in front of the meeting house she helped build at Wairua, Chatham Island, in the 1890s. 2020-12-30. teara.govt.nz. en.