Hine Toa : A Story of Bravery

An extraordinary memoir by a trailblazing voice in women's, queer and Maori liberation movements.

In the 1950s, a young Ngahuia is fostered into a family who believe in hard work and community. Although close to her kuia, she craves more: she wants higher education and refined living. But whanau dismiss her dreams. To them she is just a show-off, always getting into trouble, talking back, experimenting in sexual trespass and running away.

In this fiery and inspiring memoir, Ngahuia te Awekotuku describes what was possible for a restless working-class girl from the pa. After moving to Auckland for university, Ngahuia meets her people among the creatives and outliers. She advocates resistance as a founding member of Nga Tamatoa and the Women's and Gay Liberation movements, becoming a critical voice in protests from Waitangi to the streets of Wellington.

Hine Toa is an extraordinary memoir about identity and belonging: the story of a girl who grew up with the odds stacked against her but who had the resilience and courage to carve a path of her own.