Violet and Hemi Pou

Violet and Jim Pou wearing Maori feather cloaks aka Korowai. Born Violet Pitman (Ngati Whatua/Ngati Hine/Ngati Wa) in 1826 she was the youngest of 4 children. By the time she was of school age her parents were farming at Otaika, Whangarei. She attended the Queen Victoria School in Auckland before attending business college. Through her job with the Public Works Department she met her husband Hemi (Jim) Pou and they married in 1948. Both Violet and Jim were involved with community service including IHC, Blomfield School, the Hora Hora Kindergarten, and the Tertiary Selection Panel of the Maori Education Foundation. Violet Pou was a past president of the Maori Womens' Welfare League from 1980 to 1983 and in 1985 she was awarded the CBE.

Photo from the Florence Keene Photography Collections, Information from the Whangarei District Libraries Heritage Collections.

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