Kiti Karaka Rīwai
Moriori and Ngati Mamoe; founding mother
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
Kiti Karaka Rīwai | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 September 1870 |
| Died | 21 January 1927 (aged 56) |
| 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 |
|
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]
