Inspirational tycoon 'THE PEOPLE WHO SAVED ME'

Mary’s grateful for the lifeline she was thrown in her tough times

- Kasia De Vydt-Jillings

Lying on a Fiji beach, holidaying with friends this year, transgender Mary champion Haddock-Staniland was unexpectedly overcome with an intense longing - and finally a feeling of readiness to reconnect to her heritage and learn te reo Māori.

"We lay on the beach watching kapa haka videos, me bawling my eyes out, and it was amazing," recalls the global businesswoman.

Just weeks later, she had begun private language lessons and knew it was going to be one of the most healing experiences of her life as she confronted feeling excluded from the Māori world during her traumatic childhood.

"It's been a very powerful journey to date," she reveals. "My father was so horrible to me as a child and told me, 'You are not Māori, you are not a woman and you are not welcome on the marae."

Born a boy named Robert in Matamata, with an identical twin brother, Mary desperately struggled with her identity and sexuality growing up. At 18, her life began as Mary and now 41 years old, she says her past won't hold her back from her Māoritanga any longer.