Tā Tipene O’Regan has long been on my dream list of people to interview. He is a kaumātua, Ngāi Tahu leader and Member of the Order of New Zealand. I was very humbled to sit with him and hear some of his life story and wisdom about many topics.
Instead of asking about events of the past, I asked about who were the people who influenced him most, in this almost 2 hour long conversation. Below is an index of the topics we discussed including his reflections on the concepts of Wairua, Whenua, Mana, Kaitiakitanga and more. I am grateful to Anake Goodall for helping connect us so this conversation could happen.
Seeds Podcast is a long term project to record life stories, because they matter. It started in September 2017 and you can find out about it and the more than 360 other conversations at www.theseeds.nz
Index:
0:00:00: Opening and intro
0:02:16: Welcome
0:03:30: The influence of the Ocean
0:04:32: His paternal Grandfather Patrick O’Regan
0:16:10: His maternal Grandfather and influence of the South Seas (Ship’s Captain and Master Mariner)
0:19:39: His maternal Grandmother (keeper of the claim of Ngai Tahu)
0:26:46: About his Father, Rolland O’Regan’s ideas and his formative influence
0:37:11: Talking about his Children
0:40:12: Memories of his Mother Rena and her important role on his life
0:44:29: Memories of Te Rangi Hiroa (Sir Peter Buck)
0:48:52: Influence of his Mother and his maternal Grandmother and visits to her in Bluff
0:53:20: His Parents relationship and connections back
1:00:55: Role of Te Reo Māori in childhood
1:04:52: What he loved about Sailing and the Ocean
1:10:30: Other influences such as his Uncle Con, artist Cliff Whiting (his mural is in photo), Frank Winter.
1:18:38: Sharing about his wife Sandra and the support she has been
1:23:18: Sharing about concepts: Whenua, Wairua, Mana, Kaupapa, Kaitiakitanga …
1:39:02: On Governance and being proactive in decision making
1:46:46: What he would like his Grandchildren to know
1:49:55: End
Coming in October is the Seeds Impact Conference with 27 amazing sessions all online, chck it out www.seedsconference.nz
The Apple Tree will be released soon – a picture book with deeper meaning. You can find out more here The Apple Tree – Seeds (theseeds.nz)
Contact: steven@theseeds.nz
