Tā Toby Curtis, a great rangatira of AUT
Kei taku rangatira e Tā Toby Curtis, takahia te nuku o te whenua, mai i Te Arawa e tae koe ki Te Reinga ki Te Rerenga Wairua. Rukutia ngā wai o te tatau o te pō e heke ai koe i te tāhekeroa ki a Hinenuitepō e noho mai rā i Rarohenga, i te kāpunipuni o ngā wairua. Haere haere haere oti atu okioki ai.
On behalf of the Vice-Chancellor's Office, we lament the loss of one of our greatest rangatira Sir Toby Curtis.
Sir Toby was committed to the success of Māori students at AUT. When we were AIT (Auckland Institute of Technology) Sir Toby was instrumental in the development and establishment of Ngā Wai o Horotiu marae at AUT in the centre of the country's strongest commercial centre.
In the 90's as Dean he led Māori staff and the establishment of the first Māori faculty in Aotearoa - Te Ara Poutama.
With the establishment of the marae and Te Ara Poutama, Sir Toby had strategically placed the institution in a strong position in its bid to become a university, a dream realised on 1 January 2000 becoming AUT's first Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
The legacy of his achievements continue to ripple and positively impact AUT today. It was not only Māori students whom were his passion, but all students in their pursuit of higher education within the bi-cultural context of Aotearoa.
Sir Toby, we proclaim our aroha for you, we honour and acknowledge you, and it is with deep sadness we farewell you, thank you for all you have done for us, e kore te puna aroha o Horotiu e mimiti mōu, haere e te pāpā, e au te moe.