Name Rota Waitoa | Died 1866 | |
Rota Waitoa (? – 22 July 1866) was a notable New Zealand Anglican clergyman, of Māori descent, he identified with the Ngati Raukawa iwi. He was born in Waitoa, Waikato, New Zealand. Waitoa's ordination as deacon at St Paul's, Auckland, on 22 May 1853 was the first ordination of a Māori into the Anglican church.
In 1848 he was stationed at Te Kawakawa (Te Araroa), East Cape. Iharaira Te Houkamau opposed his appointment because he considered it an insult to his dignity to have a Māori deacon whose people he looked upon as bitter enemies. However Te Houkamau eventually accepted Waitoa and Te Houkamau offered himself as a candidate for baptism.
Waitoa was at Te Kawakawa in 1860. Waitoa died in 1866 and was buried at St. Stephen's cemetery, Judges Bay, Auckland.