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Richard Wallace (bishop)

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Richard Wallace

Te Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu
Wallace in 2009
ProvinceAnglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
DioceseTe Pīhopatanga o Te Waipounamu
Installed21 January 2017
Term ended6 January 2024
PredecessorJohn Gray
Personal details
Born
Richard Rangi Wallace

1945 (1945)
Little River, New Zealand
Died6 January 2024(2024-01-06) (aged 78–79)
Wairoa, New Zealand
DenominationAnglicanism
SpouseMere Wallace
Children5

Richard Rangi Wallace QSM (1945 – 6 January 2024) was a New Zealand Māori Anglican bishop. He served as the second Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu (Bishop of Te Waipounamu), from 2017 until his death in 2024.

Biography

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Born in Little River in 1945 and bapisted at Ōnuku Church near Akaroa, Wallace was of Ngāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe and Waitaha descent.[1][2][3] He was raised by his grandparents in an Anglican and Rātana household, and was educated at Motueka High School.[4] Aged 17, he joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), and served as an aircraft technician for 11 years.[1][4] During his time in the air force, Wallace met his wife, Mere, and the couple went on to have three daughters and a whāngai son.[4]

After leaving the RNZAF, Wallace lived in Christchurch, and worshipped at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown.[4] In 1987, he was ordained a deacon and later that year made a priest, before being appointed the first Māori missioner in Nelson in 1989.[4][5] He spent 12 years in Nelson, becoming a canon in 1997, before moving to Hokitika when he was appointed archdeacon of Te Tai Poutini.[1][2]

In the 2009 New Year Honours, Wallace was awarded the Queen's Service Medal, for services to Māori.[6]

Following the death of John Gray in 2015, Wallace was nominated at the electoral college of 23–25 September 2016 to be the second Pīhopa o Te Waipounamu.[2] He was duly consecrated at Ōnuku Marae on the shores of Akaroa Harbour on 21 January 2017, and installed at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Phillipstown the following day.[5][7]

Wallace also served as upoko of Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio.[2] He died at Wairoa on 6 January 2024.[1][8] Wallace was one of the kaumātua for the RNZAF, and his body was returned to Christchurch on an air force Hercules aircraft.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lynch, Chris (6 January 2024). "Anglican Bishop Richard Wallace has died". Chris Lynch Christchurch's Newsroom. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Clarke-Morris, Julanne (8 October 2016). "Kāi Tahu bishop for the south". Anglican Taonga. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b MacDuff, Keiller (8 January 2024). "Right Rev Richard Wallace, Anglican Māori bishop for Te Waipounamu, dies". The Press. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Brankin, Anna (3 July 2017). "The good bishop". Te Karaka. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b "New Maori bishop for the South Island". The Press. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  6. ^ "New Year honours list 2009". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Bishop Richard, installed". Anglican Taonga. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  8. ^ MacDuff, Keiller (7 January 2024). "Right Rev Richard Wallace, Anglican Māori bishop for Te Waipounamu, dies". The Press. Retrieved 8 January 2024.