Ockham NZ Book Award Winner 2025
GENERAL NON-FICTION AWARD
"Hine Toa is a rich, stunningly evocative memoir that defies easy categorisation. As well as painting a vivid picture of Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku’s early life, from her childhood on 'the pā' at Ōhinemutu to her many creative and academic achievements, it is also a fiery social and political history that chronicles the transformative second half of the 20th century in Aotearoa from a vital queer, Māori, feminist perspective. From its extraordinary opening sentence, it weaves Māori and English storytelling traditions: “Once upon a time there was a pet tuatara named Kiriwhetū; her reptile skin was marked with stars.” Hine Toa is both a personal testimony and a taonga, and it was a clear winner for the judges."
"Hine Toa: a story of bravery by Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku is a stunning coming of age memoir by a strong and proud Māori lesbian woman, an activist and academic trailblazer."
An incredible memoir by a trailblazing voice in women's, queer and Maori liberation movements.
'Remarkable. At once heartbreaking and triumphant' Patricia Grace
In the 1950s, a young Ngahuia is fostered by a family who believe in hard work and community. Although close to her kuia, she craves more: she wants higher education and refined living. But whanau dismiss her dreams. To them, she is just a show-off, always getting into trouble, talking back and running away.
In this fiery memoir about identity and belonging, Ngahuia te Awekotuku describes what was possible for a restless working-class girl from the pa. After moving to Auckland for university, Ngahuia advocates resistance as a founding member of Nga Tamatoa and the Women's and Gay Liberation movements, becoming a critical voice in protests from Waitangi to the streets of Wellington.
'Extraordinary, vivid, riveting. I learned, I laughed and I wept over this book' Fiona Kidman
'Beautifully written and fiercely honest' Deborah Challinor
'Brilliant. This timely coming-of-age memoir by an iconic activist will rouse the rebel in us all. I loved it' Tina Makereti
Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku (Te Arawa, Tūhoe, Ngāpuhi, Waikato)
336 pages, H: 235mm W: 155mm Spine: 25mm
Weight: 442 grams