The Pacific Arts Association (PAA) mourns the passing of our esteemed founder, past president, and Manu Daula (Frigate Bird) Award recipient, Tā (Sir) Hirini Moko Mead, who passed away at the age of 99. A towering rangatira (leader) of Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe, and Tūhourangi descent, Tā Hirini was a foundational pillar in the global recognition of Indigenous Māori and Pacific arts. From presiding over the PAA from its inception until 1989, to navigating the international triumphs of the landmark Te Māori exhibition in 1984, he altered the museological landscape forever.

Tā Hirini was one of the founding members of the Pacific Arts Association (PAA). The first PAA Symposium was held at McMaster University in Canada in August of 1974, from which a volume, Exploring the Visual Art of Oceania was published in 1979. He edited the 26 articles written by ethnologists, art historians, archaeologists and anthropologists whose area of study was Oceania. Tā Hirini noted (on the book’s jacket) that this “was the first symposium devoted to a multi-dimensional examination of art-related topics in that one geographical area, and so this book presents a unique and much-needed contribution to the literature of Oceanic visual art.”

In 1978, Tā Hirini and Victoria University hosted PAA’s 2nd International Symposium. With the assistance of Bernie Kernot, he edited the papers that created Art and Artists of Oceania. As he was integral to the Te Māori exhibition that debuted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1984, Tā Hirini was also involved with the PAA’s 3rd International Symposium (organised by Philip Lewis at the Metropolitan Museum) addressing Art and Identity in Oceania.

Throughout his nearly century-long life, Tā Hirini’s approach to cultural advocacy was famously calm, measured, and never showy. He understood that the true revitalization of mātauranga (Indigenous knowledge) required structural permanence. In Aotearoa New Zealand, he established the country’s first university-based Māori Studies department at Victoria University of Wellington, oversaw its first campus marae (Te Herenga Waka), and later co-founded Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. A prolific author of over 70 books, his seminal works like Tikanga Māori and his final 2026 text Ngā Kākahu Māori o Mua (Traditional Māori Clothing) serve as intellectual anchors, unravelling and reconstructing lost knowledge systems for future generations to build on and continue his legacy.