Moe mai ra e te Rangatira Michael King me to hoa Rangatira hoki, moe mai ra i
roto te ngakau o te kaihanga
e kore rawa koe e warewaretia,
ka tangi tonu mei mou
moe mai ra moe mai ra

Sleep well the esteemed chief Michael with your wife and friend for life,
sleep well in the heart of our Lord, you will never be forgotten, we shed
the tears of sorrow as you have now departed, sleep well, sleep well...

Michael King passes away
Haere Ra
Rest in Peace

Photo: Michael King with his wife Maria JungowskaMoe mai ra e te Rangatira Michael King me to hoa Rangatira hoki, moe mai ra i
roto te ngakau o te kaihanga
e kore rawa koe e warewaretia,
ka tangi tonu mei mou
moe mai ra moe mai ra

Sleep well the esteemed chief Michael with your wife and friend for life,
sleep well in the heart of our Lord, you will never be forgotten, we shed
the tears of sorrow as you have now departed, sleep well, sleep well...

Michael King passes away
Haere Ra
Rest in Peace

Photo: Michael King with his wife Maria Jungowska Michael King Obituary

Legacy of stories and laughter

From Penguin New Zealand

Interview Courtesy of National Radio

Morning Report" 7-8 am Thursday 1 April 2004
Presenter (Sean Plunket): Well the writer and historian, Michael King, is being described as a man of rare ability to build bridges between Maori and Pakeha. Dr King and his wife, Maria Jungowska, were killed two days ago when their car crashed into a tree and burst into flames near Maramarua south of Auckland. Penny McKay has been looking at Dr King's historical and literary legacy.

Reporter (Penny Mckay): Last year Michael King won the inaugural Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. He was a Montana Book Award winner and won many writing fellowships. But Peter Biggs, the Chair of Creative New Zealand, says Michael King's greatest contribution to literature was the way he wrote about New Zealand history for ordinary New Zealanders.

Peter Biggs (Chair, Creative New Zealand): That was Michael's wonderful gift to us which was he made finding out about our country interesting, enjoyable and accessible.

Reporter: Head of Penguin Books, Geoff Walker, says Dr King had a singular ability to shine a light on what it means to be a Pakeha.

Geoff Walker (Head of Penguin Books): I think the single most important thing has been Michael's development of the concept of being Pakeha, the idea that white skin New Zealanders are not Europeans, are not poms, they are a particular kind of cultural person who has been influenced by 150 years of living in New Zealand.

Reporter: In 1989 Michael King wrote 'Moriori, a People Rediscovered' in which he debunked the view that Moriori were an inferior race that didn't have the strength to resist the Maori invasion of the Chatham Islands. In the book he argued that the Moriori in fact refused to fight back as they were a peaceful race. A spokesperson for the Te Iwi Moriori Trust Board, Maui Solomon, says until the release of Dr King's book descendants of Moriori grew up as Maori and hid their true identity.

Maui Solomon (spokesperson, Te Iwi Moriori Trust Board): The book was one of the significant steps along the route of reclaiming our identity and our pride in identifying as Moriori.

Reporter: Dr King is also being praised as a man with the ability to unite Maori and Pakeha and his loss is being keenly felt at a time when race relations has become such a contentious issue. The chair of the Waitangi Fisheries Commission, Shane Jones, says there are very few people like Michael King.

Shane Jones (Chair, Waitangi Fisheries Commission): There are a very limited number of people who have quite the blend of skill and acceptability that Michael King enjoyed and it's a great loss and it's a particular tragedy that he goes at a time where we're finding more and more to complain about where we should be focusing on what draws us together.

Reporter: Dr King's Penguin History of New Zealand has sold more than 50,000 copies since its October launch. Maui Solomon says it's important for both Maori and Pakeha to read his book.

Solomon: I think it behoves us as New Zealanders to do what we can to understand the messages that Michael left for us.

Reporter: The police are still investigating the car accident in which Michael King and his wife died and say it may be weeks before they know what happened. For morning report, Penny Mckay.

From Creative New Zealand
Michael King leaves priceless legacy

Creative New Zealand mourns the loss of Michael King, who died with his wife, Maria Jungowska, in a car accident yesterday. He has left NewZealand a priceless legacy of his writings about the country that he loved, says Peter Biggs, Chair of Creative New Zealand.

"This is a devastating, cruel loss and our deepest sympathy goes to Maria's and Michael's families," Mr Biggs says. "Michael was one of our foremost chroniclers of New Zealand's history and its people. He was also an incredibly generous man whose insights into New Zealand's past and present society have illuminated our lives."

In October last year, Michael King was one of three outstanding New Zealand writers to receive the inaugural Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement. Fiction writer the late Janet Frame and poet Hone Tuwhare were also recognised.

Displaying his customary generosity, Michael King said of winning the award for non-fiction: "Ever since I discovered New Zealand literature in my late teens, I have admired immensely the work of Janet Frame and Hone Tuwhare. To receive this award in their company was the greatest compliment I could have."

At the same time as he received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in non-fiction, his Penguin History of New Zealand was published. This became a bestseller and has sold more than 50,000 copies since its publication.

"Michael King - through his writings, his scholarship and his generous spirit - has made us understand more clearly what it is to be a New Zealander," Mr Biggs said. "And ultimately, his life has made us better New Zealanders. We all mourn his passing."

_______________

From Radio New Zealand
New Zealand's eminent historian and biographer Michael King and his wife Maria Jungowska have died in a car accident.

Their car burst into flames when it hit a tree on State Highway Two, near Maramarua on Tuesday.

King was born in Wellington in 1945 and developed a passion for New Zealand history at an early age. He is most noted for his books Princess Te Puea, Dame Whina Cooper and a history of the Moriori.

King was also held in high regard as a biographer notably on the life of Frank Sargeson and Janet Frame.

His death comes a few months after the publication of his History of New Zealand which became an overnight bestseller. King won a number of literary awards throughout his life.

In November last year King was diagnosed with cancer for which he had been receiving chemotherapy.
© RNZ

*********************************************
From National Business Review

Biographer, historian Michael King dies

Noted biographer and historian Michael King has died.
Mr King, 58, and his wife, Maria Jungowska, were killed in a one-vehicle automobile crash yesterday.

Tributes for Dr King, who authored or edited 34 books, are coming from all quarters.

Waikato University Vice-Chancellor Bryan Gould said his death was a "devastating loss" for New Zealand.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was deeply distressed and described Dr King's death as a terrible tragedy.

Among Dr King's works are biographies of Princess Te Puea, Dame Whina Cooper, Janet Frame and Frank Sargesson, as well as a history of the Moriori.

TV One News notes that his death comes a few months after the publication of his History of New Zealand, which became an overnight bestseller.

Dr King was born in Wellington in 1945 and studied history at Victoria University and the University of Waikato before joining the Waikato Times as the Maori issues reporter.

He graduated from Waikato University with a Master of Arts in 1968. In 1977 he returned to the university to complete a doctorate.

Dr King was appointed to a senior research fellowship at the university in 2002. He was in the process of writing a history of Waikato University, due to be launched early next year as part of the university ¹s 40th anniversary celebrations.

Last year, he won the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in non-fiction.

31-Mar-2004