Ray Ahipene-Mercer
Encyclopedia
Ray Ahipene-Mercer is a New Zealand
politician currently serving as city council
lor in Wellington
, only the second Māori to be elected to the Wellington City Council and the first Māori to be elected since 1962. He is also a guitar-maker, musician, and well-known environmentalist
, and was one of the leaders of the Clean Water Campaign, which led to the end of sewage
pollution
of the Wellington coast. He was a candidate for mayor
of Wellington in the council elections of 2007, the first Māori ever to contest the position.He was runner-up to the incumbent. http://wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/elections/results/2007/final/2007results.html As a musician and guitar maker he usually uses the name Ray Mercer, and has used the name Ray Ahipene-Mercer for other purposes including his environmental work and politics.
, Swedish, and Scots
descent. He descends from the ancient Wellington tribes of Ngai Tara and Ngati Ira. Direct ancestors were members of the Ngati Ira people displaced after conflict in the Wellington area in the 1820s to the Wairarapa
. Ahipene Mercer's closest Māori links now are at Pirinoa, and Kohunui Marae, the people of his maternal grandmother. His mother's father, from whom the name “Ahipene” was passed down, was of the Ngati Kahungunu
, tribe from the area around Porangahau
, and also of Ngai Tahu
descent. This grandfather was also of Scots descent, through James Wybrow, a whaler
. There is a strong family link with Ruapuke Island
, between Stewart Island and the South Island
.
Ahipene Mercer's mother, Ramona Ahipene, married Eugene (Gene) Mercer, a seaman of mixed Welsh and Swedish ancestry who arrived in New Zealand after World War II
. Both parents were both active members of the celebrated Ngati Poneke
Māori club in Wellington City, and later the famous Hutt Valley Mawai Hakona group. The whole family was closely associated with the urban Orongomai Marae. Eugene Mercer was a staunch trade union
ist.
Ahipene-Mercer married Christine (Chris) Viggars in 1972. After an extended OE
in the UK they returned to New Zealand, where Chris died, suddenly, in 1981.
and Upper Hutt
, and attended Trentham School and Upper Hutt College
, where despite congential problems with one arm and leg he captained the rugby first XV. During high school he resolved to become a full-time musician, and left school to pursue this dream.
player and his mother a singer. He began his music career playing in school bands in the early 1960s. In 1964 the Beatles
came to Wellington and the young Ahipene-Mercer attended their concert, resolving then to immerse himself in music. He joined the music programming section of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation
in 1967, resigning in 1969 to become a full-time musician at the age of 21. As Ray Mercer he played lead guitar with The Dedikation, which successfully recorded three singles and an album. They were number two on the New Zealand Hit Parade in 1969 with their first single, “Wait for me Maryanne”, a cover of a 1968 song by Marmalade, and reached number 12 on the national charts with their 1970 cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday." Dedikation appeared on the famous “C'mon” TV series, and were finalists in the Loxene Golden Disc Awards.
Between 1972 and 1980 Ahipene-Mercer worked in London, UK, playing in pub bands, and returned to New Zealand to tour with the Rocky Horror Show in 1978. By that time, he had begun training in making guitars, with the aim of becoming a full-time Luthier
. He returned to Wellington in 1980 as a Luthier, but has continued to play guitar both for pleasure and semi-professionally. He organised and performed in “Rock against Racism” concerts in Wellington in the early 1980s and worked with other bands such as the Wayne Mason band and Blue Highways. He has composed and recorded music for children's stories and some films, and took part in concerts for causes such as medical aid for Iraq
i children, child cancer and the Mary Potter Hospice. He claims to have played in every hall in Wellington. Ahipene-Mercer is an external assessor of live music performance at Whitirea Polytech, as a member of the music advisory board. He is a member of the Board of Studies at Te Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.
He has the unusual status as the only City Councillor ever to perform in the Wellington International Festival of the Arts as part of the “Maori All Stars” in 2006.
He is well known for his work to protect and rescue little blue penguins or Korora, and arranged the construction of the first artificial nesting areas for the birds in Wellington. Poachers of paua
, or New Zealand abalone
, have been a particular target of Ahipene-Mercer's attention, and as an honorary fisheries ranger he has seized and returned many thousands of illegal paua to the sea. He regularly speaks to groups, especially schools, about environmental issues, and includes a strong Maori perspective in these talks. He is an advocate of reforestation in Wellington City and has been an active organiser of community tree-planting events since 1990. He has sought to reintroduce a number of Maori names to Wellington, such as Te Tangihanga-a-Kupe, for the rocks known also as Barrett's reef, and Tarakena Bay, and in 1996–1997 assisted Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
in creating an audio tape of Māori
names of flora and fauna for use by sanctuary volunteers and members. He received a major conservation award in 1998.
in 2000, taking the Eastern Ward position previously held by Sue Kedgley
, who was elected to parliament as a Green MP. He was elected again in 2001 and 2004. Mana News Service reported that in 2001 he was one of 20 Maoris, out of a total of over a thousand New Zealanders, to win office in local elections that October. He is only the second Maori to be elected to the Wellington City Council and the first Maori to be elected since 1962.
He is currently Cultural and Arts Portfolio Leader on the Wellington City Council, a member of the Council Controlled Organisations, Strategy and Policy and Grants Committee. He is a director of Wellington Waterfront Ltd, a member of the Wellington Conversation Board, and a trustee of the Joe Aspill Trust.
Initially regarded as part of the “left” group on Council, Ahipene-Mercer has avoided alignment with any faction, preferring to work across all groups. He has fielded some criticism from supporters for his willingness to work cooperatively with right-wing Mayor Kerry Prendergast
, but announced in early 2007 his intention to oppose Prendergast in the elections to be held later that year. He told reporters he was “in to win”, and if elected would continue to work with all councillors.He was runner-up in the election http://wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/elections/results/2007/final/2007results.html
Ahipene-Mercer attributed his 2001 council win to votes from Pākehā
(non-Māori) as well as Māori voters who recognized that he worked for everyone, not just for Māori interests. He does not believe in designated Māori seats on either the national and local level, and hence emphasizes the importance of Treaty
education so that Pākehā are well-informed about and responsive to Māori issues.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
politician currently serving as city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
lor in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, only the second Māori to be elected to the Wellington City Council and the first Māori to be elected since 1962. He is also a guitar-maker, musician, and well-known environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
, and was one of the leaders of the Clean Water Campaign, which led to the end of sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
of the Wellington coast. He was a candidate for mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Wellington in the council elections of 2007, the first Māori ever to contest the position.He was runner-up to the incumbent. http://wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/elections/results/2007/final/2007results.html As a musician and guitar maker he usually uses the name Ray Mercer, and has used the name Ray Ahipene-Mercer for other purposes including his environmental work and politics.
Family background
Ahipene-Mercer is of Māori, WelshWelsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
, Swedish, and Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
descent. He descends from the ancient Wellington tribes of Ngai Tara and Ngati Ira. Direct ancestors were members of the Ngati Ira people displaced after conflict in the Wellington area in the 1820s to the Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
. Ahipene Mercer's closest Māori links now are at Pirinoa, and Kohunui Marae, the people of his maternal grandmother. His mother's father, from whom the name “Ahipene” was passed down, was of the Ngati Kahungunu
Ngati Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke’s Bay and Tararua and Wairārapa regions....
, tribe from the area around Porangahau
Porangahau
Porangahau is a small township close to the Pacific Ocean coast of the southeastern North Island of New Zealand. It has a very small population. It is in the southernmost part of Hawke's Bay, 45 kilometres south of Waipukurau, and close to the mouth of the Porangahau River...
, and also of Ngai Tahu
Ngai Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
descent. This grandfather was also of Scots descent, through James Wybrow, a whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
. There is a strong family link with Ruapuke Island
Ruapuke Island
Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in New Zealand's main chain of islands. It lies to the southeast of Bluff and northeast of Oban on Stewart Island/Rakiura. The island covers an area of about . It guards the eastern end of Foveaux Strait...
, between Stewart Island and the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
.
Ahipene Mercer's mother, Ramona Ahipene, married Eugene (Gene) Mercer, a seaman of mixed Welsh and Swedish ancestry who arrived in New Zealand after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Both parents were both active members of the celebrated Ngati Poneke
Ngati Poneke
Ngāti Poneke is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. It is a pan-tribal iwi of Māori who have migrated to the city of Wellington ."Poneke" is a Maori language diminutive of "Port Nicholson".-References:***...
Māori club in Wellington City, and later the famous Hutt Valley Mawai Hakona group. The whole family was closely associated with the urban Orongomai Marae. Eugene Mercer was a staunch trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist.
Ahipene-Mercer married Christine (Chris) Viggars in 1972. After an extended OE
Oe
Oe or OE may refer to:*Œ or œ, a ligature of o and e used in the modern French and medieval Latin alphabets*Oe *Open-mid front rounded vowel or *Ö*Ø*Ө, a letter in the Cyrillic alphabet*Ōe, Yamagata, a town of Japan...
in the UK they returned to New Zealand, where Chris died, suddenly, in 1981.
Early life and education
Ahipene-Mercer was raised in PetonePetone
Petone is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour...
and Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt is a satellite city of Wellington. It is New Zealand's smallest city by population, the second largest by land area. It is in Greater Wellington.-Geography:Upper Hutt is 30 km north-east of Wellington...
, and attended Trentham School and Upper Hutt College
Upper Hutt College
Upper Hutt College is a state co-educational secondary school in the city of Upper Hutt, in the Wellington region of New Zealand.The school day runs from 8:40 am to 3:15 pm, and students attend five one-hour classes per day...
, where despite congential problems with one arm and leg he captained the rugby first XV. During high school he resolved to become a full-time musician, and left school to pursue this dream.
Musician
Ahipene-Mercer's father was a guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player and his mother a singer. He began his music career playing in school bands in the early 1960s. In 1964 the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
came to Wellington and the young Ahipene-Mercer attended their concert, resolving then to immerse himself in music. He joined the music programming section of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation
The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation was established by the New Zealand government in 1962. It was dissolved on 1 April 1975, and replaced by three separate organisations: Radio New Zealand, Television One, and Television Two, later known as South Pacific Television....
in 1967, resigning in 1969 to become a full-time musician at the age of 21. As Ray Mercer he played lead guitar with The Dedikation, which successfully recorded three singles and an album. They were number two on the New Zealand Hit Parade in 1969 with their first single, “Wait for me Maryanne”, a cover of a 1968 song by Marmalade, and reached number 12 on the national charts with their 1970 cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday." Dedikation appeared on the famous “C'mon” TV series, and were finalists in the Loxene Golden Disc Awards.
Between 1972 and 1980 Ahipene-Mercer worked in London, UK, playing in pub bands, and returned to New Zealand to tour with the Rocky Horror Show in 1978. By that time, he had begun training in making guitars, with the aim of becoming a full-time Luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
. He returned to Wellington in 1980 as a Luthier, but has continued to play guitar both for pleasure and semi-professionally. He organised and performed in “Rock against Racism” concerts in Wellington in the early 1980s and worked with other bands such as the Wayne Mason band and Blue Highways. He has composed and recorded music for children's stories and some films, and took part in concerts for causes such as medical aid for Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i children, child cancer and the Mary Potter Hospice. He claims to have played in every hall in Wellington. Ahipene-Mercer is an external assessor of live music performance at Whitirea Polytech, as a member of the music advisory board. He is a member of the Board of Studies at Te Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.
He has the unusual status as the only City Councillor ever to perform in the Wellington International Festival of the Arts as part of the “Maori All Stars” in 2006.
Community activist, environmentalist
Described as a "tireless environmental campaigner" by former Mayor Mark Blumsky, Ahipene-Mercer, with John Blincoe, led the Wellington Clean Water Campaign, which successfully sought to have Wellington to treat its sewage, and stop dumping it, raw, in the sea.He is well known for his work to protect and rescue little blue penguins or Korora, and arranged the construction of the first artificial nesting areas for the birds in Wellington. Poachers of paua
Paua
Pāua is the Māori name given to three species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae , known in the United States and Australia as abalone, and in the United Kingdom as ormer shells.-Species:There are three species of New Zealand pāua:New...
, or New Zealand abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
, have been a particular target of Ahipene-Mercer's attention, and as an honorary fisheries ranger he has seized and returned many thousands of illegal paua to the sea. He regularly speaks to groups, especially schools, about environmental issues, and includes a strong Maori perspective in these talks. He is an advocate of reforestation in Wellington City and has been an active organiser of community tree-planting events since 1990. He has sought to reintroduce a number of Maori names to Wellington, such as Te Tangihanga-a-Kupe, for the rocks known also as Barrett's reef, and Tarakena Bay, and in 1996–1997 assisted Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, where the biodiversity of 225 ha of forest is being restored...
in creating an audio tape of Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
names of flora and fauna for use by sanctuary volunteers and members. He received a major conservation award in 1998.
Politician
Ahipene-Mercer's work on environmental issues often brought him into regular contact with the Wellington City Council. He was elected to the Wellington City Council in a by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in 2000, taking the Eastern Ward position previously held by Sue Kedgley
Sue Kedgley
Susan Jane Kedgley , BA , TTC , MA , is a New Zealand politician, food campaigner and author.-Early career and Wellington City Council:...
, who was elected to parliament as a Green MP. He was elected again in 2001 and 2004. Mana News Service reported that in 2001 he was one of 20 Maoris, out of a total of over a thousand New Zealanders, to win office in local elections that October. He is only the second Maori to be elected to the Wellington City Council and the first Maori to be elected since 1962.
He is currently Cultural and Arts Portfolio Leader on the Wellington City Council, a member of the Council Controlled Organisations, Strategy and Policy and Grants Committee. He is a director of Wellington Waterfront Ltd, a member of the Wellington Conversation Board, and a trustee of the Joe Aspill Trust.
Initially regarded as part of the “left” group on Council, Ahipene-Mercer has avoided alignment with any faction, preferring to work across all groups. He has fielded some criticism from supporters for his willingness to work cooperatively with right-wing Mayor Kerry Prendergast
Kerry Prendergast
Kerry Leigh Prendergast, CNZM was the 33rd Mayor of Wellington . She was the second woman to serve as Mayor of Wellington, succeeding Mark Blumsky.-Before politics:...
, but announced in early 2007 his intention to oppose Prendergast in the elections to be held later that year. He told reporters he was “in to win”, and if elected would continue to work with all councillors.He was runner-up in the election http://wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/elections/results/2007/final/2007results.html
Ahipene-Mercer attributed his 2001 council win to votes from Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
(non-Māori) as well as Māori voters who recognized that he worked for everyone, not just for Māori interests. He does not believe in designated Māori seats on either the national and local level, and hence emphasizes the importance of Treaty
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
education so that Pākehā are well-informed about and responsive to Māori issues.
External links
- http://www.Ray4mayor.co.nz Website of Ray Ahipene-Mercer's Mayoral campaign 2007
- http://wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/elections/results/2007/final/2007results.html Wellington Election Results