M?ori composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author
Hirini (Sid) Melbourne
ONZM
(21 July 1949 ? 6 January 2003) was a
M?ori
composer, singer, university lecturer, poet and author who was notable for his contribution to the development of M?ori music and the revival of M?ori culture. He played traditional instruments (
ng? taonga p?oro
) and his
waiata
(songs) have preserved traditions and used M?ori proverbs.
[1]
He received the
New Zealand Order of Merit
in recognition of his services to M?ori music. He was from
Ng?i T?hoe
and
Ng?ti Kahungunu
M?ori tribes.
Early life
[
edit
]
Melbourne was born in
Te Urewera
of
Ng?i T?hoe
and
Ng?ti Kahungunu
descent.
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
Melbourne became a school teacher after attending
Teachers College
in Auckland but he did not enjoy teaching and left to become an editor of M?ori texts at School Publications in the
Department of Education
in
Wellington
.
[2]
From 1978 he was on the staff of the
University of Waikato
becoming an Associate Professor and Dean of the School of M?ori and Pacific Development.
[3]
[4]
Melbourne had started composing
waiata
(songs) early in his career.
[2]
[3]
In the last two decades of his life his musical interests extended to a fascination with
traditional Maori instruments
(ng? taonga p?oro). In 1985 he subsequently met ethnomusicologist and performer
Richard Nunns
.
[2]
The two regularly performed together on
marae
, and in schools, galleries and concerts.
[5]
[6]
They also collected traditional knowledge about the instruments and how they were played.
[2]
[7]
Nunns and Melbourne released several recordings:
Toiapiapi
(1991),
Te Kuraroa
(1998),
Te Ku te Whe
(1994), and
Te Hekenga-?-rangi
(2003), all widely regarded as influential in the ongoing ng? taonga p?oro revival.
[3]
[8]
Rattle Records
released
Te Ku Te Whe,
which included both original and traditional compositions and
Te Hekenga-?-rangi,
where Melbourne and Nunns teamed with
Aroha Yates-Smith
.
Te Hekenga-?-rangi
was recorded just weeks before Melbourne's death.
[9]
[10]
[11]
Melbourne regularly used his compositions to invoke the advice of elders to preserve and advance
tikanga M?ori
. Melbourne's song E Kui e Koro incorporates the whakatauki (M?ori proverb) "Mate k?inga tahi, Ora K?inga rua" (when one home fails, have another to go to).
[1]
Many Melbourne songs have been performed by other New Zealand musicians including
Hinewehi Mohi
,
Moana Maniapoto
, the
Topp Twins
and
Mere Boynton
.
[3]
Activism
[
edit
]
Melbourne was a member of the
Nga Tamatoa
protest group and many of his
waiata
were written as vehicles for ideals he was passionate about, most notably "Ng? Iwi E", composed for the New Zealand contingent heading to the 1984
Festival of Pacific Arts
(cancelled after political unrest in
New Caledonia
). The song calls for unity among peoples of the Pacific.
[1]
"Ng? Iwi E" has been a prominently used protest song for the
M?ori protest movement
.
[12]
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
In 2002 Melbourne was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the
University of Waikato
.
[13]
He was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
in the
2003 New Year Honours
, for services to M?ori language, music and culture,
[14]
just before his death a week later.
[15]
15 years after the original album, Rattle released
Te Whaiao: Te Ku Te Whe Remixed
, which won the Tui Award for the best M?ori album at the
New Zealand Music Awards
in 2007, featuring what Nunns described as a "pretty stellar line-up" of contemporary New Zealand artists, including
Salmonella Dub
,
Pitch Black
and
SJD
.
[16]
In 2009 Melbourne and Nunns were inducted into the
New Zealand Music Hall of Fame
.
[17]
Aotearoa Music Awards
[
edit
]
The
Aotearoa Music Awards
(previously known as
New Zealand Music Awards
(NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in
New Zealand music
and have been presented annually since 1965.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Hirini Melbourne, Part 3 - Music and Protest"
.
RNZ
. 1 July 2016
. Retrieved
28 August
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Obituary: Hirini Melbourne"
.
NZ Herald
. 10 January 2003
. Retrieved
25 August
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Hirini Melbourne"
.
RNZ
. Retrieved
26 August
2021
.
- ^
"Melbourne, Hirini (Dr), 1949-2003"
.
tiaki.natlib.govt.nz
. Retrieved
26 August
2021
.
- ^
"SOUNZ Hirini Melbourne"
.
sounz.org.nz
. Retrieved
26 August
2021
.
- ^
Flintoff, Brian (2014).
"Richard Nunns and Hirini Melbourne"
.
Te Ara
. Retrieved
26 August
2021
.
- ^
"Breath of the Birds by Dame Gillian Whitehead"
.
RNZ
. 11 November 2019
. Retrieved
31 August
2021
.
- ^
Flintoff, Brian (2014).
"Decline and revival of M?ori instruments"
.
teara.govt.nz
. Retrieved
28 August
2021
.
- ^
Hirini Melbourne & Richard Nunns ? Te Ku Te Whe (1994, CD)
, June 1994
, retrieved
28 August
2021
- ^
Te Hekenga-?-Rangi
, New Zealand: Rattle, 2003,
OCLC
155911921
, retrieved
28 August
2021
- ^
"SOUNZ Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns | Te hekenga-a-rangi - downloadable MP3 ALBUM"
.
SOUNZ
. Retrieved
28 August
2021
.
- ^
Sheehan, Maree (2 February 2016).
"Mana Wahine: M?ori Women in Music"
.
Te Kaharoa
.
9
(1).
doi
:
10.24135/tekaharoa.v9i1.12
.
ISSN
1178-6035
. Retrieved
15 February
2022
.
- ^
"Honorary Doctors of the University of Waikato - Calendar: University of Waikato"
.
calendar.waikato.ac.nz
. Retrieved
25 August
2021
.
- ^
"New Year honours list 2003"
. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2002
. Retrieved
26 July
2019
.
- ^
"SOUNZ - NZ composer - Hirini Melbourne"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 December 2008
. Retrieved
23 July
2009
.
- ^
"New version of album wins award"
.
Stuff
. 31 January 2009
. Retrieved
28 August
2021
.
- ^
New Zealand Press Association
(18 September 2009).
"Lawrence Arabia wins silver scroll"
.
Fairfax New Zealand
. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2011
. Retrieved
24 October
2010
.
- ^
"HOME INDUCTEES"
.
www.musichall.co.nz
. Retrieved
16 August
2021
.
External links
[
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]
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