Ngāti Hauiti kaumātua Neville Franze Te Ngahoa Lomax was born in Taihape and raised on the farm at Utiku by his great-grandparents, Ripeka Utanga (née Potaka) and Wirihana (Wilson) Winiata Te Whaaro.
Neville is a Ngā Puna Rau o Rangitīkei Representative and holds positions on Te Maru o Ruahine Trust and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti. His childhood memories of Lake Oporoa in the 1950s and knowledge of whakapapa and mātauranga Māori are invaluable to enhancing the mana of Ngāti Hauiti and their taonga tuku iho.
Following a career in the public service, in 1994 Neville was appointed to the inaugural position of Convenor/Chairman of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti. In 1997, he graduated with a degree in Mātauranga Māori from Te Wānanga o Raukawa, and subsequently tutored in the Iwi and Hapū Studies department.