Pere Kohu was born in Nuhaka and educated at Bethlehem Native School and Church College of New Zealand in Hamilton. He is a musician, historian and researcher in raupatu and whakapapa issues for the Ngāti Ranginui hapu Ngai Tama Rawaho. He is one of three Treaty negotiators for Ngai Tama Rawaho, his mandate being whakapapa. He is a consultant to Transit New Zealand, Tauranga District Council and Western Bay of Plenty Council. Kohu wrote an article in Te Iwi o Aotearoa assessing the honouring of the Treaty of Waitangi prior to the 1990 commemorations of the signing of the Treaty. He is currently writing the introduction to a Ngai Tama Rawaho evidence case book, Whenua o Te Kupu Whakaari, outlining the origins of his people. He writes political non-fiction articles. His areas of expertise are in whare wananga whakapapa and colour of right.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence and phone conversation with Kohu on 13 Feb. and 12 and 30 July, 1998.
Non-fiction
- Peace Link. Auckland, N.Z.: PPNAC, 1988.
- A collection of indigenous pieces by different writers on the setting up of economic networks between Polynesian peoples.
- "Ngai Tama Ra Waho: First Nation People!" Te Iwi o Aotearoa 32 (1990): 6-7.
- Kohu writes an account of the impact of land confiscations on the Ngai Tama Rawaho and the continued alienation of Ngai Tama Rawaho land and fisheries in the 1950s and the present. Kohu relates the events surrounding the arrest of four Ngai Tama Rawaho members in October 1988 and the resulting legal battles and imprisonment following their protest against the Tauranga District Council’s decision to place a motorway though Ngai Tama Rawaho land.
- "Ngai Tamarawaho Political Prisoners." Treaty Times: Information and Views from People Supporting Māori Independence 9 (1990): n.pag.
- An account of the arrest and subsequent charging of Peri Kohu, Patariki Kuka, Anaru Kohu (Jr), Henare Kuka and Moko Hillman in October 1988 and March 21 1990. The men had occupied a building which was under claim before the Waitangi Tribunal. The article highlights the misjustice afforded them in the subsequent trial and convictions.
- Hawaii Alert. Hawaii, Hilo: 1992.
- In this article Kohu continues his work on network connections between the Polynesian people of the Pacific.