Mr Moana Jackson CRSNZ
Hastings Boys' High School 1959 - 1963
Mr Moana Jackson was born in Hastings, and was one of six children of Everard Jackson, an All Black rugby player, and Hineaka Cunningham. He is Ngāti Kahungunu on his mother's side and Ngāti Porou on his father's side. He attended Mayfair Primary School and Hastings Intermediate, and from 1959 to 1963 he attended Hastings Boys' High School, where he was a prefect in his last year. He was also a member of the school's 1st XV and picked up the History Cup at Senior Prize Giving and was awarded University Entrance and Endorsed School Certificate.
He graduated in law and criminology at Victoria University of Wellington, and after a short period in practice took up the teaching of the Māori language. He then undertook further study in the United States, attending Arizona State University.
In 1987 he co-founded the Māori Legal Service and as of 2021 was a director of the organisation. His overseas work included leading the Indigenous Peoples caucus of the working group that drafted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 1993 he was a judge on the International Tribunal of Indigenous Rights in Hawaii and again in 1995 in Canada
In 2017 Mr Jackson was awarded an honorary doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington for his outstanding contribution to legal scholarship around the Treaty and how Māori are treated by the justice system in New Zealand. In 2021 he was made a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, recognising his leadership in New Zealand. He was presented with the inaugural Te Whare Pukenga award by the National Iwi Chairs forum, to recognise his "outstanding contributions as an advocate, facilitator and educator" in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi, human rights and social justice
Mr Jackson passed away on 31 March 2022, His tangi took place at Matahiwi Marae. On Mr Jackson's death, a number of well-known New Zealanders paid tribute to him including New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern she said:
Moana Jackson was well-known domestically and internationally for his expertise in indigenous issues. He was incredibly generous with his time and sharing of his knowledge, storytelling and gentle approach. He will have left a mark on an entire generation and beyond.
