MRS RIPEKA WHARAWHARA LOVE, O.B.E.

Te Ao Hou, Autumn 1953, Page 3

MRS RIPEKA WHARAWHARA LOVE, O.B.E. One of the best-known Maoris in the Wellington district, Mrs Ripeka Wharawhara Love, O.B.E., died at Lower Hutt, aged 70. She was the widow of Mr Wi Hapi Love, O.B.E., who died last August. One of their sons was Lieutenant-Colonel E. T. W. Love, the first commander of the Maori Battalion, who died at El Alamein during World War II. Mrs Love was born on Kapiti Island, the daughter of Matene Tauwhare, a chief of Te Ati Awa, and Anehaka Tauwhare, who was a daughter of Mr Robert Park, the New Zealand Company's surveyor, and his wife Terenui, a chieftainess of Ngarauru, in Taranaki. During the First World War she was a worker for Lady Pomare's Maori Soldiers' Committee, and received the O.B.E. for her services. Her husband received a similar decoration in 1949. Mrs Love was a prominent figure in Church of England affairs, and for many years services for the Maori community were held in her home.