Dame Rangimārie (Naida) Glavish wins 'The Kia Ora Incident'
May 25, 1984
While working as a telephone operator for New Zealand Post Office, Rangimārie was instructed to stop using "kia ora" when greeting callers after the post office had received a complaint. She refused to do so and was consequently demoted. Rangimārie's refusal to comply risked not only her job but her housing, as she lived in Post Office rented house at the time.
She remembers, "as I was driving over the Harbour Bridge, I heard this voice in my ear: “Nui ake tenei take ia koe.” (This is far greater than you.) As if to say: ”Who do you think you are?... so I went to the supervisor and said: “You do what you have to do as my supervisor, and I will respect it. But I will do what I have to do as the child of my grandmother.” Then I went back and sat on the toll board and said: “Kia ora. Tolls here."
Her refusal drew widespread support in a time where Māori language was not in as widespread of use. After the Prime Minister intervened she won, and on this day in 1984, the Postmaster General backed down, restoring her job. Following the incident, Rangimārie trained as a Māori language teacher before beginning a career as a Māori cultural advisor predominantly in the health sector. She also served in politics for the Māori party, and continues her work for support for Māori liberation.
In a 2015 interview she stated her current goals, "But one goal is that my mokopuna — as many of my mokopuna as possible — can kōrero te reo. And another is that not one of them will ever go into the hands of CYFS. Not one. And that goes for my mokopuna tuarua as well."
She remembers, "as I was driving over the Harbour Bridge, I heard this voice in my ear: “Nui ake tenei take ia koe.” (This is far greater than you.) As if to say: ”Who do you think you are?... so I went to the supervisor and said: “You do what you have to do as my supervisor, and I will respect it. But I will do what I have to do as the child of my grandmother.” Then I went back and sat on the toll board and said: “Kia ora. Tolls here."
Her refusal drew widespread support in a time where Māori language was not in as widespread of use. After the Prime Minister intervened she won, and on this day in 1984, the Postmaster General backed down, restoring her job. Following the incident, Rangimārie trained as a Māori language teacher before beginning a career as a Māori cultural advisor predominantly in the health sector. She also served in politics for the Māori party, and continues her work for support for Māori liberation.
In a 2015 interview she stated her current goals, "But one goal is that my mokopuna — as many of my mokopuna as possible — can kōrero te reo. And another is that not one of them will ever go into the hands of CYFS. Not one. And that goes for my mokopuna tuarua as well."