PPTA Te Wehengarua Farewells Melanie Webber
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Melanie Webber, Senior Vice President of PPTA Te Wehengarua.
E te mareikura, e Melanie, ngā huruhuru o te whare o Te Wehengarua
Nā te ngākau aroha koe i ārahi kia tāea ai e tātou o Te Wehengarua kia eke panuku. Nā tōu rangatiratanga i ea ai te whakatauki “Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua”
Hoki atu koe ki ōu tūpuna, ki ōu maunga, ōu awa, ōu whenua tupuna moe mai ai, okioki mai ai, moe mai rā. Nāia ko ngā roimata e heke ana, nāia ko ngā tangi e rere ana, engari, kei konei tonu koe, kei ngā kūrae tonu o mahara.
Moe mai rā e te mareikura
Melanie, our Senior Vice President, the wings of our PPTA whare. Your loving heart guided us all to rise to any occasion. Your leadership gave sight to us who followed and those who followed provided you with insight and inspiration.
Return to your ancestors, to your ancestral mountains, to your ancestral rivers, to your ancestral lands. For these are our many tears, hear our many cries, but know, you are still with us in the corners of our hearts and minds.
Rest in peace
Kia ora,
It is with deep sadness that I write to let you know that Melanie Webber, PPTA Te Wehengarua Senior Vice President, has died.
Melanie was PPTA Te Wehengarua President in 2021-22, the culmination of many years of branch, regional and national activism and commitment.
In her presidency, Melanie led members through an incredibly difficult period, as COVID-19 set in, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland was placed in what seemed like an endless lockdown, and COVID vaccinations were mandated for teachers.
True to form, Melanie led members through this extremely challenging period with conviction, courage and honesty – and a good dose of her brilliant humour.
These characteristics, along with an amazing grasp of detail and the big strategic picture, endeared her to the many political, educational and union leaders with whom she built very constructive working relationships.
Melanie’s ability to explain complex issues in ways that people could understand easily meant that she was often the first port of call for the media. Whether she was having a robust exchange with Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB, explaining an issue to a Morning Report presenter, or getting just the right sound bite across on the TV news, Melanie always did secondary teachers proud.
Her late entry to secondary teaching – from a very successful career as a television producer for many years – imbued Melanie with a particularly fiery zeal and passion. She absolutely loved secondary teaching and its ability to make a real difference in the lives of rangatahi. She was committed to doing everything she could to improve conditions for teachers and students.
Melanie was incredibly proud of her school Western Springs Ngā Puna o Waiōrea. She absolutely loved its commitment to Te Tiriti and the co-governance role. Melanie was deeply inspired by her colleagues' dedication to upholding these values and often spoke with admiration of the way they embodied partnership and respect.
Melanie played an especially important role in the early stages of the curriculum refresh and the NCEA review, working tirelessly in a range of forums to ensure that teachers’ voices and concerns were heard and acted on.
Melanie’s amazing mahi, political astuteness and razor-sharp intelligence, paved a very smooth path for me as her successor. I will be forever grateful.
She was a true epitome of that saying, ‘It's not so much what life deals, but how you handle it’. The world is a poorer place without Mel and we will miss her so very much.
Memorials for Melanie are being finalised, and we will let you know the details as soon as we can.
Arohanui
Chris Abercrombie
President, PPTA Te Wehengarua
Last modified on Thursday, 10 April 2025 09:14