Background
Born in 1943, Mane-Wheoki grew up in the Hokianga.
Born in 1943, Mane-Wheoki grew up in the Hokianga.
He was educated at the University of Canterbury and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, gaining a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Fine Arts (with honours in painting) and a Master of Arts.
Of Ngāpuhi, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kurī and English descent, he was a pioneer in the study of contemporary Māori and Pacific art history. He began his academic career at the University of Canterbury in 1975, rising to became dean of music and fine arts In 2004 he became director of art and collection services at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and in 2009 he was appointed professor of fine arts and head of the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland.
He stepped down as the head of Elam in 2012, was an honorary research fellow at Te Papa from 2012, and in 2013 he took on the part-time role of head of arts and visual culture at that institution.
After the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, he supported the retention of ChristChurch Cathedral, arguing that the church was part of the city"s identity and its "heart". He died from pancreatic cancer in Auckland on 10 October 2014, having recently visited the Hokianga to see where he would be buried.