26 April 2001 Honorary doctorate for genealogist

Ngai Tahu Trust Board genealogist Terry Ryan of Christchurch has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree for Contributions to Genealogy by Lincoln University.

The degree will be conferred at Lincoln University's Graduation Ceremony in Christchurch Town Hall tomorrow. (27 April)

Terry is Kawai Kaitiaki, guardian, of the Ngai Tahu Whakapapa and has worked in this area with Ngai Tahu Trust Board since 1974. He is the acknowledged authority on the contemporary whakapapa of the Ngai Tahu people.

As a social scientist Terry has established an electronic database acknowledged internationally as a model system for the retrieval of genealogical information among indigenous people.

It is a database which has helped thousands of people throughout New Zealand and overseas with information about their Ngai Tahu affiliations.

The database contains the names and histories of 29,000 members of the iwi.

The project started with a list of names from what is known as the "Blue Book" - a record of Ngai Tahu Kaumatua alive in 1848. All members of the iwi today are able to trace their whakapapa back to this 1848 census.

Terry's work provided background for the Ngai Tahu Claim and helped with determining beneficiaries of the Ngai Tahu settlement. It will be of on-going value to the future of the iwi.

 He has served Maoridom and Aotearoa New Zealand in many roles over the years - Maori Land Court Clerk; Maori Land Court Title Improvement Officer; Senior Court Clerk and Deputy Registrar, South Island Maori Land Court; Trade Trainee Officer, Department of Maori Affairs; Private Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Social Welfare; and Adviser to the Inland Revenue Department.

He was a co-drafter of the legislative provision that recognised Maori as an official language of New Zealand, and recognised the Maori rights embedded in the Treaty of Waitangi which led to the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal.

When Terry moved to the South Island he associated with the Maori Methodist Mission, particularly with its involvement in Maori trade training, the Rehua Maori Apprentices Hostel, Rehua Marae and Waitaha Cultural Council. He is the longest serving, continuously active, member of the Council's executive.

He is either a committee member, secretary, chairman or trustee of an immense number of community, civic and cultural organisations - both Maori and pakeha - and is a Life Member of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. He is also a Justice of the Peace, lay preacher and marriage celebrant. He was awarded an MBE in 1995.

Terry is proud of all his lines of descent, Celtic and Maori, and his family's affiliations with Te Tai Tokerau, Waikato and Te Waipounamu.

Citation: Doctor of Science (honoris causa) for contributions to Genealogy Terence John Ryan

Madam Chancellor - 

With the award of the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, for contributions to Genealogy, Lincoln University is privileged to acknowledge the stature and mana of Terence John Ryan MBE, JP of Christchurch.

Terry's formal position is Kawai Kaitiaki, guardian, of the Ngai Tahu Whakapapa and he has worked in that area with Ngai Tahu Trust Board since 1974. He is the acknowledged authority on the contemporary whakapapa – genealogical ancestry – of the Ngai Tahu people.

As a social scientist Terry has established an electronic database acknowledged internationally as a model system for the retrieval of genealogical information among indigenous people.

It is a database which has helped thousands of people throughout New Zealand and overseas with information about their Ngai Tahu affiliations.

Terry has served Maoridom and Aotearoa New Zealand in many roles over the years - Maori Land Court Clerk; Maori Land Court Title Improvement Officer; Senior Court Clerk and Deputy Registrar, South Island Maori Land Court; Trade Trainee Officer, Department of Maori Affairs; Private Secretary to the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Social Welfare; and Adviser to the Inland Revenue Department.

He was a co-drafter of the legislative provision that recognised Maori as an official language of New Zealand, and recognised the Maori rights embedded in the Treaty of Waitangi which led to the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal.

His work provided valuable background for the Ngai Tahu Claim and helped with the settlement. His database has been invaluable in determining beneficiaries of the Ngai Tahu settlement and will be of enduring value in securing the future of the iwi.

On the 'voluntary' side his committee memberships and chairmanships in cultural and marae organisations number more than 20. Bodies involved, past and present, range from Rehua Marae, Christchurch Polytechnic and the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation's Southern Region Programme Advisory Committee to the Ngai Tahu Youth Council, the New Zealand Aotearoa Polynesian Festival Committee, and Tautoko Maori Trust, to name just a few.

Beyond these voluntary roles there are and have been numerous connections with business development groups, governmental agencies, genealogical groups, sports organisations and church bodies. He is both a lay preacher and marriage celebrant.

When Terry joined Ngai Tahu Trust Board in the early 1970s there was little available written information about modern day whakapapa. That so many families have subsequently chosen to trust him with their histories is a clear sign of the respect in which he is held by Kaumatua and others with relevant information, background and memories.

Working from a small but solid foundation of information, Terry has built up a database that now contains the names and histories of 29,000 members of the iwi.

The project started with a list of names from what is known as the "Blue Book" – a record of Ngai Tahu Kaumatua alive in 1848. This taonga was the remarkable work of a whakapapa group led by Werita Tainui Pitama and Te Mairaki Taiaroa.

All members of the iwi today are able to trace their whakapapa back to the 1848 census, and it is thanks to the persistence, knowledge and expertise of Terry and those working with him in the Ngai Tahu Whakapapa Unit that many people in the community have been able to fit together missing links in their personal histories, receiving the gift of history and a sense of belonging.

As the Honourable Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan has said in endorsing today's award to Terry, whakapapa is a precious gift of enduring value. Loss of one's whakapapa is tantamount to disinheritance from one's land and one's forebears.

In acknowledging the person Terry Ryan is today, it is important to recognise his own whakapapa and earlier associations. Terry is a New Zealander, proud of all his lines of descent, Celtic and Maori, and his family's affiliations with Te Tai Tokerau, Waikato, Te Waipounamu.

Terry was born in the small Northland Nova Scotian settlement of Waipu and spent his early life in the far north. Schooling at Wesley College brought him into the Waikato where he was much influenced by the Methodist Home Mission, in particular Sister Heeni Wharemaru and the late Father Seamer.

His passion for Maori land title and its inherent link with personal identity, was ignited there. He became aware of the feelings of dislocation which can arise from separation from one's land and history and he shared 

Sister Heeni's sense of injustice over Maori land appropriated by 'pernicious' Acts of Parliament.

When Terry moved south he associated with the Maori Methodist Mission, particularly with their involvement in Maori trade training, the Rehua Maori Apprentices Hostel, Rehua Marae and the Waitaha Cultural Council. He continued this work until the Maori trade training scheme was terminated.

Terry's commitment to Rehua Marae and Waitaha Cultural Council remains and he is the longest serving, continuously active, member on the council's executive. Remarkably the Council has continued to stage cultural competitions and festivals in Canterbury annually for the past 36 years. No other province in New Zealand can match this record.

In addition to his wealth of knowledge and experience in whakapapa, Terry has an enormous understanding and knowledge of tikanga Maori – protocol and tradition. He shares his knowledge with a wide variety of individuals, both Maori and pakeha. This advice has ensured a smooth and open relationship for many groups operating in today's environment. It has promoted mutual understanding and respect and has helped develop harmonious and beneficial relationships.

Terry walks the path between two worlds easily and ensures that others are able to follow his footsteps.

It is not possible to mention every one of Terry's many voluntary activities, but here is a sample – Trustee of the Maori Law Centre; Trustee of Floyd's Centre for the Intellectually Handicapped; Trustee of Christchurch Heritage Trust; Trustee of the Christchurch City Council's Year 2000 body; Trustee of Waipu Museum, Northland; Trustee of Waipu 150 Trust; Life Member of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; Member of the Project Committee, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography; Joint Chair of Te Waipounamu Cultural Council; Trustee of Christchurch's Court Theatre; Committee member of Christchurch City Libraries; Trustee of Te Ohaki-o-nga-tipuna of Canterbury Museum; Secretary/Trustee of Rehua Marae;

Secretary/Chairman of Waitaha Cultural Council for 36 years; Secretary of Canterbury Maori Rugby; Secretary of Otautahi Football Club; and Coordinator of Maori Church Groups.

In his quiet but thorough and professional manner he has contributed to almost every strand of Maori society in the South Island. He has given tirelessly of his time, energy and expertise to ensure that the Maori voice is heard and given fair representation. His contributions have made the South Island a richer, more harmonious place in which to live.

Madam Chancellor, I present Terence John Ryan for admission to the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa, for contributions to Genealogy.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.