Flavell Te Ururoa: Obituaries — Sir Howard Morrison OBE 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Obituaries — Sir Howard Morrison OBE 
[Volume:657;Page:6835] 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
: 
E te Kaihautu o te Whare otira tatau e hui nei i tenei rangi e te Whare Paremata tena koutou tena koutou kia ora tatau. Kua pokarekare nga wai o te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe. Kua pahu nga waiariki o Ohinemutu. Kua tairi te kohu ki runga o Tamatekapua. Kua ru Te Papaiouru i te hinganga o Ta Howard Morrison uri o Whakaue Kaipapa reo rongonui o te ao Maori ki nga topito katoa o te ao.  
E te rangatira ka pa mai te rongo kino nei ka pakaru mai te tangi o nga iwi huri noa Maori mai Pakeha mai i te mamae i te arohanui ki a koe. Nou te reo aroha. He reo whakapai i te wairua whakamama i te taumahatanga. He reo whakamenemene whakakatakata. He reo whakakotahi i nga iwi. He reo kawe i te mana Maori ki te ao he reo waiata i tonoa mai e nga ariki e nga upoko e nga mana nui o nga iwi o nga whenua puta noa.  
I naianei kua wahangu koe kua ngau mai a mamae haunga ano te hotuhotu o te tangi o te ngakau. Ta Hauata takoto mai ra e koro takoto mai ra i te poho o to whanau o to marae o to iwi. Moe mai ra i te moenga te whakaarahia i te urunga te taka. Ko koe tera e whai nei i te huarahi kua oti i a Atareta ma i a Taini ma te takahi. Ma raua ma ratou koe e pohiri. Haere haere haere ki te po. E koro whakangaro atu ra. 
[ 
Mr Speaker of the House and indeed we who are gathered here today greetings to you greetings to you and greetings to us the House. The waters of Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe have rippled. The geysers at Ohinemutu have become active. Fog hangs over Tamatekapua. The marae of Te Papaiouru shudders as Sir Howard Morrison descendant of Whakaue Kaipapa and famed voice of Maoridom to all corners of the world is felled.  
When this devastating news came oh chiefly one cries broke out throughout from Maori and Pakeha because of the pain and their great compassion towards you. Your voice was a loving one soothing to the spirit and easing difficulties. It brought smiles to people humoured and united them. It was a voice that took the prestige of the Maori to the world. It was a singing voice that was sent by the high chiefs heads and powerful tribal and land forces throughout.  
Now you are silent. Oh how the pain gnaws within accompanied by the sobs of the heart. Lie there Sir Howard grandfather. Lie there in the bosom of your family your marae and your people. Sleep the long sleep of no awakening and no ending. That is you now following the path walked upon already by Atareta Taini and others. Those two will welcome you as will others. Depart go forth and journey on to the night. Disappear from view grandfather 
.] 
I am told that the very first release of the Howard Morrison Quartet in 1958 would be a fitting tribute to the life of this remarkable man. “There’s Only One of You”/“Big Man” says it all about Ta Howard Morrison. Sir Howard Morrison is a name that every New Zealander can identify with. Older New Zealanders remember the stunning songs of the Howard Morrison Quartet the likes of “Hoki Mai” “Haere Ra A Hine” “Little Darlin’ ” and the legendary “My Old Man’s an All Black”. The matter of being the son of an All Black is something worth considering in terms of Sir Howard Morrison. He was the son of Maori All Black Temuera Morrison and he was angered at the time of the decision in 1960 that Maori were not allowed to tour South Africa with the All Black tour. Now others campaigned with the slogan: “No Maori—no tour”. There was a petition with 150000 signatures. There were protests. And Sir Howard Morrison sang. 
That was something special about Sir Howard and some might call it that “Morrison magic”. He had a wicked smile a neat sense of humour and he had of course a wonderful talent—the professional entertainer—but boy he could cut you like a knife if you were not up to standard. That can happen in te ao Maori. He was like that because he always wanted the very best for his people and for the nation. To that end I believe Sir Howard Morrison became a powerful figure in the nation’s history with his ability to persuade to challenge and to move us all.  
He made Ngati Whakaue proud to be Ngati Whakaue. He made us all proud to be Te Arawa. He made us all proud to be Maori. He made us proud of Aotearoa. “Howie the Maori” as he was often called pioneered along with many others that Maori entertainer style with that wicked sense of humour that endeared him to audiences and often made him centre stage even when he was not performing. But his talents extended way beyond the concert hall in the way that he was determined to express his love for his people across many spheres of influence.  
When the Howard Morrison Quartet was in full flight their manager Harry Miller wanted to take them to Las Vegas and London where no doubt their talents would have been fully appreciated. But Sir Howard was reluctant to leave the home shores and the people he loved. The show business circuit was a long way away from his upbringings in Rotorua and Ruatahuna. Sir Howard always spoke of the days of isolation in Te Urewera as providing him with the space to dream big. In a documentary last year he reflected: “As I was an audience of one I fell in love with the way I sounded.” Ko ia a Ta Howard Morrison. With the security of his whanau around him and the solid foundation provided at both the Urewera native school and Te Aute College Sir Howard developed the confidence that would take his big dreams to the world.  
Before the fame of the world stage he worked as a storeman in the Hawke’s Bay on the line at the Whakatu freezing works as a survey chainman and as an electricity meter reader. These experiences remained a powerful influence with him and no doubt influenced his decision to take up a role of director of youth development in the Department of Maori Affairs. Under his leadership the programme called Tu Tangata evolved including true to form a nationwide tour with the entire Morrison family touring party alongside included his beloved mother Kahu a distinguished singer herself.  
This is another aspect of the man: the love and commitment he expressed for his family his whanau across the many areas of influence. The Morrison magnetism is a fundamental expression of Te Arawa of Ngati Whakaue of Rotorua and of Waiariki. We often say that deaths come in threes. Today the loss is even more profound. Recently of course his sister Atareta Maxwell passed away a year or two ago—and she will never be forgotten—and no more than probably four months ago now his niece Taini. They will all be sadly missed.  
And so today is a very dark day for us at home as we begin to mourn this remarkable man. Maori Television had the wisdom to preserve special memories with Sir Howard Morrison in a series they dubbed  
He kotuku rerenga tahi 
. It literally means that the flight of the kotuku the white heron is seen but once. Sir Howard will be remembered as an extraordinary entrepreneur a brilliant showman a sophisticated diplomat and a distinguished ambassador for Aotearoa. But we will miss him most for his generosity of laughter the breadth of his love and the way he made us all feel. There will only ever ever be one Ta Howard Morrison. Kia ora tatou. 
Waiata 
Motion agreed to. 
Honourable members stood as a mark of respect.