Kiti Karaka Rīwai

Kiti Karaka Rīwai
Born	(1870-09-12)12 September 1870 Ruapuke Island, Southland, New Zealand
Died	21 January 1927(1927-01-21) (aged 56) Greytown, New Zealand
Nationality	Māori, Moriori, New Zealand
Occupation	tribal leader
Notable work	Wairua meeting house (1890s)
Spouse(s)	Rīwai Te Ropiha (div.1900s), Te Ao Ahitana Matenga (Joseph Ashton)
Children	10
Parents	Arapetere Karaka (Albert Clark) (father) Mary (née Owen) (mother)

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.[1][3] Her second husband was Te Ao Ahitana Matenga (Joseph Ashton) of Ngāti Kahungunu, with whom she had one child, Joey Ashton.[4]

She helped build the meeting house in Wairua in the 1890s.[5] She died in Greytown in 1927.[1][3]

References

1. "Riwai, Kiti Karaka (1870–1927) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
2. "Riwai, Kiti Karaka, 1870-1927". Riwai, Kiti Karaka, 1870-1927 | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1870. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
3. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Rīwai, Kiti Karaka". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
4. King, Michael. "Kiti Karaka Riwai". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
5. 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". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 December 2020.