A man with a heart to serve the most vulnerable: Tame Tame Ngarangi Katatia Broughton (1936-2026)

Saturday, 18 July 2026

Tame Tame Broughton was a man of deep and sincere Christian belief. His faith was lived and breathed everyday. He sought to help others in need in a myriad of ways, be it through his calming, reassuring presence, strong singing voice or propensity for humour and laughter. In a more practical sense, he volunteered for and managed the St Vincent de Paul in Hamilton. He was a man who filled awkward silences where ever he encountered them, be it private homes, marae, retirement facilities, hospitals or prisons. He prayed, he sang, he talked, he told 'dad jokes', he loved doing what he saw as 'God's work'.

From humble but loving beginnings, Tame was many things in his life: a husband, a father, a koro, a farm hand, a locomotive stoker, a small businessman, a truck driver, a taxi driver, a school caretaker, a church volunteer and a kaumātua. His philosophy was one of positivity: he believed that circumstances could always be improved, no matter how dire, through love, forgiveness, hard work, faith and with the assistance and support of others.

Tame Tame Ngarangi Katatia Broughton was born 7 September, 1936 in Pātea, the fifth of the ten children of Tame Tame Ngarangi Katatia Broughton (Ngā Rauru Kītahi) and Putiputi Broughton (nee Okeroa) (Pakakohi). He had six sisters - Tunga (Pat), Ngaiwi (Eileen), Tarere (Shirley), Julia, Elizabeth (Mandy), and Judith (June) - and three brothers: Jock, the eldest, and the twins, Reweti (Dave) and Te Hore.

Tame had a close relationship with his parents and would extol their virtues until the end of his days, often singing the song 'Oh My Papa” for his father and the M-O-T-H-E-R song, 'M is for the million things she gave me” to his mother. His father followed the Rātana faith, whilst his mother was a Catholic. Tame Tame and Putiputi were both fluent in te reo Māori, but they did not speak te reo Māori to their children and nor was the language spoken in the schools of the 1940s where Tame would receive his initial education.

Wai-o-Turi Pā (Pātea) had a special significance to Tame's father, who had assisted in the building of the meeting house. Tame's early years saw many family gatherings on the marae and he retained fond memories of singing and dancing there with brothers Hore and Dave during the rugby season.

Life in Pātea, growing up in a three bedroom whare with dirt floors, did not lack for challenges. Most of the family slept on the floor. Tame's father was a builder and a farmer who also found work in the local freezing works; he and Putiputi maintained a large garden and extensive orchard. Tame's youthful chores included the chopping of wood and the lighting of the stove. The whare had a coal range in the kitchen area.

Tame attended Pātea's Whenuakura School. It became part of the daily ritual for him and brother Hore to stop at a cheese factory en route where workers would allow them to sample curd from the cream cans, sustenance that would often serve as breakfast. If the school bus was missed neighbouring farmers could be relied upon for horse and cart rides. On cold mornings one's feet could always be warmed through immersion in cow pats.

Leaving school after Standard Six, Tame found his first paid employment working on a farm with Hore. Their employer, Dot McCarthy, resident in Gisborne, would issue instructions over the phone. Tasks included feeding, dagging, baling and droving sheep. On occasion Tame and Hore would be required to pick up stock purchased in Wairoa from the railway station then drive the sheep back to Pātea on foot.

Other periods saw the brothers working in the back-blocks, 32km distance from any other settlement, for up to a month at a time. With narrow roads and sheep tracks, transportation was mainly via pack-horses.

In 1953 Tame was called up for Compulsory Military Training and attended the mandatory 10-week training camp the following year. He was to remember his army number for the rest of his life.

When Tame's father died of kidney failure in 1956, Dot McCarthy told Tame he would lend him the money to pay for the funeral. Tame spent the next two years working to pay the loan back.

Rugby union was Tame's sport of choice. Although modest about his talents, describing himself as no more than an 'average' player, he was selected for Māori representative team, Ngā Rauru Kītahi. Playing prop, head injuries were to curtail his career but he retained a lifelong enthusiasm for the code, not least for its social aspects. Post-match meals and singing sessions remained treasured memories.

Tame left Pātea around 1960, arriving in Hamilton via bus and securing initial accommodation in London St. He began working for New Zealand Railways and was soon transferred to Kawerau. It was here, through the introduction of a work colleague, his future brother-in-law, John Savage, that he was to meet Nancy Dunn, who was visiting from Whangārei. Smitten from the first, Tame asked Nancy to the movies. Three days later he proposed.

Tame and Nancy were married six months later, on 23 December, 1961 at St Frances Xavier Catholic Church in Whangārei. A loving union that endured for over six decades, it was to produce five children: Doug, Pat, Theresa, Annette and Tame Tame Jr.

Having transferred back to Hamilton prior to their wedding, Tame and Nancy settled in Frankton, a house in Weka St welcoming the arrival of their first two offspring. Tame's job was that of a locomotive assistant, stoking the steam train engines on nocturnal trips to Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Taumarunui and Cambridge. If the work necessarily reduced his evening social life, he began playing rugby again for a New Zealand Railways team, only for injuries to once more compromise his participation.

Purchasing a house in Stewart Place, Melville in 1969, Tame and Nancy then bought the Bader St Dairy, employing two staff. It was a time of long hours and hard work. Selling the business in 1972, the family moved to Tauranga in an attempt to improve the bronchial condition of Annette. Tame and Nancy took ownership of the Gate Pa Food Market. Again, the lifestyle was labour intensive but enjoyable. The shop was a beacon in the small Gate Pa community, Tame displaying his entrepreneurial side by driving to Kāwhia once a week, ensuring that the shop sold the only fresh bread available in all of Tauranga.

In 1974 a return to Hamilton proved permanent. Tame and Nancy purchased property in Vardon Road which would remain the seat of the Broughton family for over four decades.

Tame provided for his family, employed in a wide range of jobs in the following years. He was a truck driver for Griffins, worked for Hurricane Wire, was a skilled taxi driver working for the Knox family, later a taxi dispatcher and served as the caretaker of St Andrew's Intermediate School.

The Vardon Road relocation saw the beginning of Tame's long association with the St Peter Chanel Parish. Although intrigued by his father's faith, as a young man he had Catechism lessons and converted to Catholicism, influenced in part by Catholic missionaries who were fluent in te reo Māori. At St Peter Chanel he became the Sacristan, responsible for preparing the sacred vessels, liturgical books, and vestments needed for worship, and ensuring services ran smoothly. He also maintained church grounds and that of the associated school community, spending countless hours weeding the garden and aggressively pruning the hedges, the latter a cause for great humour amongst parishioners. With a love of reading with tamariki, singing waiata, and sharing jokes, he would eventually become the school's beloved kaumātua.

An enthusiastic member of the parish choir, Tame would, in conjunction with others and later on in life, by himself, entertain at retirement villages. A microphone, a small CD player and an innate capacity to hold a tune, could make a significant difference to residents.

Tame's contribution to St Vincent de Paul spanned two decades, initially as a volunteer as store manager, later as the president of the Hamilton Conference. He was central to initiatives around food vans, delivering hot meals into poorer communities. In 2009, together with good friend Rei Morunga, he established a community vegetable garden on Kay Road, his involvement continuing for three years. He was part of the leadership team which resolved to purchase the building that eventually became the Vinnies Centre. Tame’s heart was to serve the most vulnerable.

Tame and Nancy spent much time at Hamilton's Hui Te Rangiora Marae and were associated with the establishment of the urban marae. Tame assisted Pā (Father) Hemi Hekiera with the Catholic service of Miha Māori, Māori Mass. In 2007 he trained to be a Tohunga Katorika Māori — a Māori spiritual leader within the Catholic faith.

In late 2000s Tame took a proactive step to become fluent in teo reo Māori, beginning formal study to that end at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, the University of Waikato. It gave him enormous pleasure and satisfaction to speak the language of his ancestors with his whānau.

Tame had a reflective side to his nature, writing prolifically about his life in diaries that date back to 1996. Recording everything from day-to-day life to financial transactions to Holy scripture, he catalogued both the minutiae and the milestones, including favourite jokes and hymns, utilising different coloured or texture pens and highlighters and inventing his own, idiosyncratic colour coding system.

A man of complete and unquestioned integrity, secure in his faith and content with the simple things, Tame loved selflessly and was loved in return.

Tame Tame Ngarangi Katatia Broughton died 25 May, 2026 in Hamilton. He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 64 years, children Doug, Pat, Theresa, Annette and Tame Tame Jr, and their spouses, 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.