[1][2] She was born Te Kumeroa Ngoingoi Ngāwai on 29 December 1921 at Tokomaru Bay, on New Zealand's East Coast.
Tuini Ngāwai, a prominent composer and promoter of Māori language and culture, was her father's sister.
Her aunt Tuini Ngāwai, who founded the group, trained her in kapa haka performance and groomed her for leadership.
She continued working for the Department as an adviser, and was involved in the preliminary consultations that led to the establishment of the kōhanga reo movement, which saw children receiving their schooling in Māori.
A waiata tangi (lament) composed for her by Tīmoti Kāretu was for a number of years the signature piece of the kapa haka group of the Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago.