E ai ki te kōrero a ōna whakahekenga, i whānau a Hēnare Te Raumoa Huatahi Balneavis i te 26 o Maehe i te tau 1880, i Muriwai, i Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Poverty Bay). Ko ia te huatahi a John Henry Balneavis, he kairūri, rāua ko tana wahine, ko Rina Matewai Wilson. Nā tōna kotahi, ka huaina ko Te Huatahi, ā, ā muri ake nei kitea ai te hua. Ki te taha ki tōna ūkaipō ko Ngāi Tāmanuhiri tōna hapū, ā, ko tōna ure tārewa nō Te Whakatōhea. He pānga anō ōna ki a Ngāti Kahungunu rāua ko Ngāti Porou. Ki te taha ki tōna pāpā, i ū mai tana tipuna, a Henry Colin Balneavis, ki Aotearoa nei i te tau 1845, ko ia rā tētahi o te puni hōia, arā, te 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot. I muri o ngā whawhai i Te Tai Tokerau, ka meinga ia hei rūtene kānara mō tētahi ope taua o te koroni, ā, nō te tau 1859 ka moe i a Meri Makarina Hineahua (Hineiahua rānei) o Te Whakatōhea.
I te tau 1895, ka uru a Te Raumoa ki te Kāreti o Te Aute. I 1897, i Pēpuere, ka haere rāua ko Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck), he hoa tauira nōna, ki te hui tuatahi a te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association). I taua hui e kauhautia ana e Apirana Ngata āna pepa e whā mō ōna whakaaro ki te para ake i tētahi huarahi hou mō te iwi Māori. Ka riro te ngākau o Te Raumoa i a Apirana, ā, pau noa tōna kaha e whakatutuki ana i taua moemoeā ā mate noa ia.
I te mutunga o te kura, ka haere a Te Raumoa hei karaka ā-ture mā te tari a William Rees i Tūranga (Gisborne). I te tau 1903 ka eke ia ki te taumata tuatahi o te whakamātautau hei kaiwhakamārama reo. I te tau 1906 ka meatia ia hei karaka, hei kaiwhakamāori hoki i te Kōti Whenua Māori i Tūranga, ēngari kitea tonutia ana ōna pūmanawa, taro ake eke ai ia ki ngā tūranga teitei. Arā e piki rā te whetū hou o te ao tōrangapū, a Apirana Ngata, hei whakapoapoa i a Te Raumoa, ā, ko te mutunga mai whakanōhia ana a ia e Apirana hei hēkeretari māna ake i te tau 1909. Nā te noho a Apirana hei kaitohutohu i te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, mea rawa ake, kua riro kē a Te Raumoa hei hēkeretari tūmataiti mā taua Minita rā i te tau 1912. Rua tekau mā waru ngā tau a ia ki tēnei tūnga i raro i ngā Minita Māori tokorima o te wā, arā, i a Te Hērihi (W. H. Herries), i a Te Kōti (Gordon Coates), i a Apirana, i a Te Whōpi (George Forbes) me Te Hāwiti (Michael Joseph Savage).
Nā te pai o tōna āhua, i roa ai ia e noho hēkeretari ana. He tau a Te Raumoa ki te mau kākahu i ngā wā katoa, he tangata āta whakaaro, he tangata whakatepe ki te mahi mai i āna pepa, me tana matatau hoki ki te kite i te kiko o ngā take hei kōrero māna ki tana Minita. I waimarie ai ērā o ngā Minita Māori Pākehā, he reorua nō Te Raumoa me tana mōhio hoki ki ngā tikanga kākano rua. I te nuinga o ngā hui whenua a te Minita ki ngā rohe Māori, haere ai a Te Raumoa hei kaiwhakamārama reo, hei pae ārahi atu hoki i te Minita ki te iwi.
Nā tēnei mahi, puta ana tōna rongo ki te motu, puta ana hoki te ngākaunui o ōna rangatira ki a ia, āta whakarongo ana ngā Minita Māori ki ngā māharahara o te iwi Māori. Nā tōna tautōhito ki ngā mahi a te kaiwawao, ka whakatūria a ia e te kāwanatanga hei kaiwherawhera i te kaupapa whakatōpū i ngā whenua o Te Urewera (Urewera Lands Consolidation Scheme) i te tau 1921. Tū kē mai ana ko tana kaitohutohu, ko Apirana i tērā taha, hei māngai mō ngā pānga o ēnei o Tūhoe kāore e hiahia ana ki te hoko i ō rātau whenua. I te tau 1926 ka āwhina a Te Raumoa ki te whakakaupapa i ngā rārangi tohutohu mō te Poari Kaitiaki o Tūwharetoa (Tūwharetoa Trust Board), he mea whakatū hei whakahaere i ngā utu whakatau a te Karauna. I te hurahuratanga o te tau 1934 i te Tari Māori ka rīhaina rā a Apirana, i puta anō hoki ngā kōrero taunu i a Te Raumoa, ēngari i puta pai, paku noa nei te whara.
Kitea ana tōna kaingākau ki tana taha Māori i te nui o ngā whakataukī nāna i kohi mai, he mea āta tuhi ā-ringa tonu e ia ki runga kāri. I tāia ētahi o ēnei whakataukī ki roto i te pukapuka, i Te Wānanga. Tuhia ana e ia ngā whakapapa o ōna tīpuna Pākehā, tīpuna Māori hoki, whakaemi anō hoki i ngā pukapuka Māori e pā ana ki āna mahi. He pērā anō tana mahi whakamau i ngā waiata Māori ki runga tēpa; nāna hoki i tuhi ētahi o ngā waiata me ngā whakamārama o te tahua waiata, o Ngā mōteatea i kohikohia rā e Apirana. Nā tōna hiahia ki te kaupapa ako i ngā tikanga a ngā iwi o te ao, i uru atu ai ia ki ngā mahi a te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society), ā, ka noho hei mema whakahaere mai i te tau 1925 ki te tau 1940.
Mai i tōna tīmatanga ki te mahi, pūmau tonu a Te Raumoa ki a Apirana me tana kaupapa whakaora ake i te iwi Māori, me te pono anō hoki o Apirana ki a ia. I te tau 1923 ka ara i a Apirana te Poari Whakapapa (Board of Māori Ethnological Research) hei whakaputa i ngā tuhinga ā-ringa mō ngā tikanga Māori a Te Peehi (Elsdon Best) me ngā tuhituhi a te hunga tuku mai i ā rātau mahi ki te pukapuka o te Rōpū Poronihiana. Ko Te Raumoa te hēkeretari tuatahi a tēnei poari. Arā anō tētahi o ngā kaupapa a Apirana i whai wāhi ai a Te Raumoa, ko te poari mō ngā mahi toi Māori (Board of Māori Arts). I muri iho ka karangatia ko te poari mō te toi me ngā mahi pūkenga Māori (Māori Arts and Crafts Board).
I te whakatūranga o te Poari Whakamana i te Tahua Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Control Board) i te tau 1924 ki 1925, ka tū ko Te Raumoa hei hēkeretari. Ko ngā moni a te poari i whakapaua ki te tautāwhi, ki te hāpai i te mātauranga, ki te āwhina i te Rōpū Poronihiana, i ngā mahi rangahau mātauranga mō ngā iwi katoa o te ao, i ngā mahi toi tuku iho, ki te whakatika i ngā whare nui tae atu ki ngā whare karakia, me te whakatū hoki i ngā hui nui. Ko Apirana te pae tawhiti o ngā mahi a te poari, ko Te Raumoa ki te whakatina i ngā mokamoka whakahaere. I te tau 1935 ka whakakotahitia te Poari Whakapapa rāua ko te poari toi mō ngā mahi pūkenga Māori ki roto i te Poari o te Tahua mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board).
Ka kitea te kaha o te whakawhirinaki a Apirana ki a Te Raumoa i roto i ngā whakahaere o ngā kaupapa nui a te iwi, pērā i te mahinga o te whare, o Te Ikaroa-a-Māui e tū mai rā i Waitara. Nā te Poari o te Tahua mō ngā Take Māori tēnei whare i whakatū. I te whakataunga kia mahia ngā whakairo i te whakamutunga o te tau 1935, e iwa marama noa iho te wā e toe ana ka tae atu ai ki te rā whakatuwhera i te 27 o Hune 1936. Me kōrero te tangata pukumahi a Te Raumoa ki te kōkiri kaupapa, māmā noa te oti pai. He mōhio nōna ki te whakahaere i ngā hui nui whakaharahara ā-iwi, ka whakamahia a ia e Hapi Love ki te whakahaere i te whakatuwheratanga o te whare.
Ko ētahi atu o ngā hui whakaharahara nāna i whakahaere ko te pōhiri mō te Piriniha o Wēra i Rotorua i te tau 1920; i te tau 1927, ko te pōhiri mo te Tiuka o Ioka (York) rāua ko tōna hoa wahine i Rotorua anō; i te tau 1929, ko te whakatuwheratanga o te whare, o Māhinārangi i Ngāruawāhia; i te tau 1934, ko ngā whakanui o Waitangi; i taua tau anō, ko te pōhiri ki te Tiuka o Koroheta (Gloucester) i Rotorua anō; i te tau 1936, ko te whakatuwheratanga o te whare o Raukawa i Ōtaki. Ko ia te pae ārahi, te kaiwhakamāori, whakapākehā, o te Tiuka o Ioka rāua ko tana hoa wahine i a rāua i Aotearoa nei i te tau 1927. Mō ēnei mahi āna, ka whakawhiwhia ki te tohu hōnore MVO.
Ko 'Bal' tonu te īngoa karanga a te Pākehā i a ia, ā, ko 'Rau', ko 'Te Raumoa' kē hoki ki te Māori. He pai ki a ia ngā mahi hākinakina, arā, te korowha me te whutupaoro nei hoki. I runga ia i te kaunihera o te Rōpū Korowha o Niu Tireni (New Zealand Golf Association) me te poari tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Board) o te uniana whutupaoro rakapī o Aotearoa (New Zealand Rugby Football Union).
Nō te 8 o Oketopa o te tau 1927 tō rāua moenga ko Irma Leah Wallace ki Pōneke (Wellington). Kāore i puta he hua. Whāiti katoa ana ngā pānga whenua Māori o Te Raumoa ki tana wahine i tōna matenga. Ahakoa te roa o muri, te poto o mua, inā te nui o āna mahi āwhina i a Apirana ki te whakahaere i ngā whakanui mō te rau tau o te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi i te tau 1940. I mate ohorere a Te Raumoa i te kūaha o tana tari tonu i te Whare Pāremata i te 13 o Mei o te tau 1940. Kei te urupā Māori i Whāhorehore-te-kai, e pātata atu rā ki Muriwai, e tāpuke ana.