“My fellow students thought I was that person, the Ihimaera, when I was really this person, Witi Smiler. Witi Ihimaera was really a construct, somebody I had created to do the mahi he does.” — Witi Ihimaera Smiler, in an extract from ‘Te Kaikaukau / The Swimmer’.
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“When I die, I want to make sure that when my ancestors say to me: ‘Kia ora, nau mai, haere mai,’ I won’t say to them: ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t speak te reo.’” — Witi Ihimaera, on learning te reo at 80.
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“You must continue your education, son, I don’t want you to be a servant to anyone, man or woman, Māori or Pākehā. Your father and I didn’t raise you to help us on the farm.”
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