Dame Hinewehi Mohi, of Havelock North, DNZM, for services to Māori, music and television
Dame Hinewehi Mohi (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tūhoe) has contributed to music, television production, charity work and advocacy for te reo and tikanga Māori.
Dame Hinewehi sang the New Zealand national anthem in Māori at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Twickenham.
It was the first time this had been done at an international rugby match, leading into the now customary practice of singing the anthem in both Te Reo Māori and English at events of national significance.
She co-founded the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre (RMTC) in 2004, for people with disabilities. RMTC now has more than 500 people receiving music therapy each week in its three centres in Auckland, Whangārei and Hawke’s Bay.
As a prolific television producer, she has created television and digital content for mainstream and Māori programming, celebrating te ao Māori. Her shows have received or been nominated for several television awards.
In 2019, she produced the ‘Waiata/Anthems’ album, supporting well-known musicians to re-record their hit songs in Te Reo Māori. It debuted at number one on the New Zealand top 40 chart and achieved gold record sales.
Dame Hinewehi continues to support the growth of Māori music in her role at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), promoting waiata reo Māori and the development of a bilingual music industry in Aotearoa.