Ta Paora Drive

This street is named after The Rt Rev. and Hon. Sir Paul Alfred Reeves (ONZ GCMG GCVO QSO CF KStJ), Paora being the Māori equivalent of Paul.

Paul Reeves was born on 6 December 1932 in Wellington. He was the second son of D'arcy and Hilda Reeves (Te Ātiawa iwi) and was educated at Wellington College and Victoria College (now Victoria University of Wellington).

Paul attended St John's Theological College in Auckland and trained to become an Anglican minister. He was established as a deacon in 1958, and became an ordained priest in 1960.

In 1959 Paul and Beverley Watkins were married and Paul resigned from his Tokoroa curacy, received a scholarship and travelled to Britain where he was an Advanced Student at St Peter's College, Oxford (BA 1961, MA 1965). He was Assistant Curate at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. Serving two further curacies in England, at Kirkley St Peter, Lowestoft, Suffolk (1961 - 63) and then at Lewisham St Mary (1963 - 64). They then returned to his ancestral home to serve as a minister at Ōkato. They have three daughters.

Paul was Bishop of Waiapu (East Coast) (1971 - 1979), Bishop of Auckland, (1979 - 1985), Archbishop of New Zealand, (1980 - 1985). On 22 November 1985, the Queen appointed Sir Paul the 15th Governor-General of New Zealand. He was the first Governor-General of Māori descent (1985 - 1990).

He had a long association with Auckland University of Technology (AUT), first as a professor, then, from 2005 as chancellor. AUT have recently opened "The Sir Paul Reeves Building".

Sir Paul Reeves died in Auckland, on 14 August 2011. With his passing it is said: "Kua hinga te Totara o te wa nui o Tāne!; The mighty Totara tree in the great forest of Tāne has fallen!"

This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.