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TE TOA TAKITINI
Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper.
Number 65.
Hastings.
1st January, 1927.
TE TOA TAKITINI
On the advice of our Treasurer in the Napier office, we are removing the names of people who are in debt to Te Toa Takitini for three years or more. Three years will be the longest a person may be in debt to our paper. Two hundred names will be removed this month. Don’t be distressed. The Pakeha press will not wait for its money.
The Secretary wants the Te Toa Takitini year to run from January to December. So, as the new year begins, show your concern for your treasure so that it will arrive at the doorway of your house at New Year, 1927.
CALENDAR.
The Calendar for the Church Year 1927 is ready. They cost 6d each. Send orders to the Diocesan Office, Napier.
The Bishop has asked the
Secretary of the Bishop’s Office to purchase some Maori Prayer Books, Hymn
Books and Bibles which will be kept at the Diocesan Office in Napier for people
to collect if they are nearby.
But the organiser of this is Miss Kate Williams, Hukarere, and people who live at a distance who want a new Prayer Book or Bible should write to
Miss K Williams,
Hukarere,
Napier.
Don’t forget to send the money for the books you want.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Published by the Rev F A Bennett and printed by the Herald Office, Tennyson Street, Napier, HB.
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Te Toa Takitini.
Registered at the GPO as Newspaper.
The Price of th Paper is 10/- a year.
Address letter to ‘Te Toa Takitini, Box 300, Hastings.
Te Toa Takitini, 1st January, 1927.
THE MATTER OF THE MAORI BISHOP.
We send our thoughts about the investigations into this important matter of the Bishop for the Maori People as these are the last days for making a decision about this important matter, this serious matter. There have been many meetings about the matter but no satisfactory settlement has been reached. Looking at the matter we perceive the issue that is splitting the people: some say that the person should be Maori and some say that he should be a Pakeha who speaks Maori. We of Ngati Maru who live here kahore e whakaaro kore atu ana ki to tatou take.
As a result of our investigation we see that it will be easiest to agree to a Pakeha Bishop. The reasons why we think it should be a Pakeha are as follows:
1. It was the Pakeha who brought the faith to us Maori, and it is they who know its workings, its difficulties, and every aspect. The Pakeha has a deeper insight than we Maori. We do not despise or belittle our ministers who have been placed amongst us, an if there is one of them with the understanding of the Pakeha world that Ngata and Pomare have, then our hearts would agree that we Maori can fulfil the role.
2. The position of Bishop is a very demanding one, and it is particularly so in this case because it will be the first. It is a new Bishopric and it is to be established according to Pakeha rules.
3. The discussions make us fearful that if we do not agree to a Pakeha then the idea will be thrown out and will not later be revived.
4. If we agree to a Pakeha Bishop with Maori ministers under him as Archdeacons in each area, within four or five years we may identify the one who has the abilities and has administered his area well and who will be able to take over the important role of Bishop.
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5. In these days our children are avidly seeking Pakeha learning. When they have gained their qualifications they are not returning to work for the Church as our ministers.
We wonder why this is the case with these children? Is it because they do not see any openings for them to advance beyond the role of minister in a parish? Therefore, people, authorities, chiefs, if we agree to have a Pakeha at first and later open the position to Maori, when we and our Pakeha fathers perceive that we can do it, then we will gain the treasure we want.
People of the country, all of us want a Maori as Bishop, but for the reasons given above this will not come about.
Perhaps there is a lesson in Scripture for us, insofar as the Apostles of our Lord worked alongside him for some years before they received this great authority. Timothy and Titus worked for a long time with Paul before being made bishops.
People, let it be the same for us. If we are to have our Bishop, let our Timothy or Titus work with and learn from our Pakeha Bishop before becoming a father to us Maori People.
Be strong people, lay-representatives, and Ministers too, and remember that a little is better than nothing.
From Ngatimaru,
Hauraki.
SIR JAMES CARROLL, KCMG. [TA TIMI KARA]
Tutere Wi Repa.
‘The totara has fallen, New Zealand is grieving.’ This was the lament of the Right Honourable J G Coates, Prime Minister of New Zealand, when the news reached London. ‘Alas, Sir Timi Kara has entered upon the long sleep.’
New Zealand wept, it weeps still, and will continue to weep. And not only New Zealand, but the whole Empire, whose staff has been broken by the strong hand of death.
The grieving began with the King on his throne and was carried on by the Prime Ministers of each part of the Empire. Likewise, we, his small Maori People, grieve for him. He has fallen, he has died, everyone’s Timi Kara.
These are the voices of those who spoke over him when he died and when he was committed to the bosom of the earth.
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Farewell, Sir! Who can praise you enough? May I speak for the little people? Twofold blessings and salutations have been laid upon you, by small and great, by Maori and Pakeha. All our greetings and lamentations have been piled upon your body as befits such a person, the chief, so farewell! farewell! farewell!
Although the Pakeha made much of our father throughout his life, it was in the Maori language that he was called onto the Marae-atea and it was in the Maori language that he was sent beyond, to Paerau, the spirit world. Haerera! Haerera!
When he was elected to be a Maori Member of Parliament he represented only the Tai Rawhiti. Afterwards he stood as a Pakeha member, representing a single electorate. At that time he was appointed Minister of Maori Affairs. He was our father and a mediator between the two peoples.
In Apirana Ngata’s speech he said: ‘This was a great man. He sat in Parliament for around forty years. For thirty years he was in the Lower House and for seven in the Upper House. During these years the two Houses regarded him as one of our country’s select people. On the day of his death the newspapers of the country and of the whole Empire were as one. Those papers said that our father was a man of importance in the Empire. Those newspapers vigorously asserted that he was a great man, a man of stature, and no-one responded or objected to what they said.’
The voice of the newspapers is a voice of the people, a voice of God. We have the saying: ‘A God! A man!’ [He Atua! He tangata!] In the Latin language: ‘Vox populi, vox Dei.’ (The voice of the people is the voice of God.)
I listened with appreciation and with wonder to our friend Apirana Ngata’s declaration of the depth of sadness felt by the leading Parliamentarians. Timi had served during the administrations of Atkinson, Balance, Seddon, Massey and Ward. When it came to ‘the sharpness of brains in his head’ perhaps none of these came close to Timi. There may have been areas in which these surpassed Timi, but not in intelligence. Few of them were of the stature of this kind of man. They said, as did the people in Parliament and the people as a whole, ‘The people in the Upper House are the leading people in our country.’
It was not only those in Parliament who recognised this aspect of Timi. This was clear to our own visionaries [tangata matakite] and to us as well.
When he was still a child he was taken in hand by our leading elders who have passed on – Renata Te Kawepo from Heretaunga, Te Pokiha Taranui from Te Arawa, Wepiha from Ngati Awa, Rapata Wahawaha and his family and grandchildren from Ngati Porou, Wiremu Kiingi
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from Ngaitai, T Tatana from Whanau-a-Apanui, besides his tribal elders of Ngati Kahungunu at Te Wairoa.
We value the personal mana embodied in these names. The mana conveyed to Timi Kara by us of the Tai Rawhiti has been completely fulfilled. Therefore, the Prime Minister, Mr Coates, in London, was right to say of him:
“Ka hinga te totara hae-mata o te Waonui-a-Tane.
The strong-growing totara of the great forest of Tane is fallen. [cf Nga Pepeha 932]
New Zealand is dwelling in the House of Mourning. [cf Williams p.397 tauā]”
The word of farewell also spoken over him was also true – ‘Everyone’s Timi.’
‘The Man for the Time.’ This was also said of him by Apirana Ngata. And this saying is true. The important people of each age are raised up by their age. Each age calls its own people. The ear that listens to the voice of the time will receive blessings and grow into manhood. Each time has different problems and different plans to be dealt with and it is the leaders who grew up in that time who have to match the time to the path of the time. The person is fortunate who is born in a time of peace. He is also fortunate to be born at the same time as the right person to guide him. And Timi was fortunate to have been born at that time. Timi’s time came shortly after the Hauhau battles and the skirmishes with Te Kooti and Titokowaru. Soon afterwards Waikato, Opotiki, Turanga and parts to the south of Te Wairoa were taken. Some areas were confiscated; some were taken in error.
It was a time of dishonest land purchases, of the beginning of the Maori Land Court, of confusion in the Maori mind. Suddenly he had to relate to the informed, strange, different mind of the Pakeha people.
At this time the Pakeha wanted to buy all the Maori land. Maori nostrils were crushed into swift-flowing waters. Te Harawira Huriwai of Ngati Porou truly said, ‘A time of captivity’ [He wa rarau noa.] Troubles of this kind were widespread in parts of the country where Maori and Pakeha were at loggerheads at that time. However the places that were not troubled were those areas far from the main roads such as Ngati Porou, Te Whanau-a-Apanui and Tuhoe.
The Maori side thought that the Pakeha were totally wicked, wicked, wicked. That was the Pakeha way of life. At that time the strange, cunning and deceitful doings of our friends the Pakeha were a cause of discord. The two peoples seemed not to be getting along with each other. The Pakeha had only one view of things – his own. The call at this time was: ‘Who is going to harrow, to set right this situation; who will be the mediator between the two peoples?’ The person called to do this would have to be cunning like the snake, innocent as a dove, and as wise as Solomon.
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At that time there arose, there glowed there, the sun of Timi Kara. For thirty years he cleared the way for the people through the undergrowth at that time, and he carefully led the two ways of thinking, the two peoples, so that they became familiar with each other and appreciated that they belonged to the one land. The people listened, the people saw, then they agreed, even at this late stage. It was a very difficult task and he carried a great weight on his shoulders’ He put his foot down, he had to shout, he shook his head; if the Pakeha slapped him on the left cheek he would give them the right one to slap, and his supporters were familiar with his wry laughter, salted with the words, ‘Sir, wait a bit! By and by!’ [Taihoa] Hence the remarkable few words uttered by Apirana Ngata, ‘He was the man for the time.’
He was one of the unique people of his generation; the outstanding person of the century. It was his authority that initiated the advances of his time. This is confirmed by the remnant of the ‘Old World’ and the myriads of the ‘New World’ who came to the committal of his body to the womb of the earth.
Pakeha people used to tease him saying ‘Timi, by and by,’ but they did not do so out of ill will. It was a game with them and they were familiar with the man. They knew that they didn’t trouble him. They carved a tattooed image and wrote underneath it, ‘By and by.’ This shows that they had become powerless against Timi in the murmurings of Parliament.
Apirana Ngata will tell us, when he is free, the whole story of the laws protecting our interests against the urgent desires of the Pakeha, passed from the time Timi entered Parliament up to this day. People, when you understand, then you will be happy for that teasing: you will weep, you will feel love, you will rejoice, for the stout-heartedness of our father.
Then you of the ‘New World will appreciate that it was those of the ‘Old World’ who were told by Timi to ‘Wait a bit.’ That ‘Wait a bit’ was not for us, the ‘New World.’ The ‘Old World’ is no more. Because of that ‘Wait a bit’ we still have some acres of land in our hands today.’
This is not just a ‘wait a bit’ for us in our day. We are linking up with one another! Although the Pakeha has drawn up his laws about land purchase, laws relating to Maori land, laws about rates on Maori land, laws about settling Maori land, and so on, they were for their own benefit. Timi said, ‘Go carefully! Wait a bit.’ What did these words mean? Wait for what? Until the Court had completed its work on the lands, they had been divided up, the titles had been agreed, and the Maori people understood what was happening, only then could it be said, ‘Now, do what you have to.
That saying was not uttered without effect. No, because of the disputes we [?te tu-ra-uta nei] did not know the raising of the spirits, or about the struggles in the House of Parliament, the deflecting of the blade of the club, the gloom of being despised, the maligning of this saying,
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the turning around of what that saying meant – everything was fought over and when something was born it was baptised, ‘Wait a bit!’ He fought alone against the seventy Pakeha members of the House. He stood solitary on the field of battle, while the people lay around at the front of the houses. He was a man beset by the enemy, breathless, but, although he was provoked by those he contended with he did not cross that fence, ‘Wait a bit,’ because the posts of that fence were the all-encompassing laws of England. The cleverness of our father meant that he was promoted in the courageous Government of that time, a Government that was on the side of the working people and the Maori People. He drew upon the mana of Seddon, Balance and Ward for his protection. For forty years he ‘Waited a bit’ for us. When he finished his work he carried us to the Mountain Peak of the ‘New World,’ and said goodbye to the ‘World of wait a bit’ to go on his beautiful journey.
We weep, you there, I here, for our father, but do not let the tear of the eye that sees and that of the eye of the heart that sees beyond make us insensitive so that we do not see the road ahead of us.
(To be continued.)
THE MAORI WELCOME TO THE DUKE OF YORK AT ROTORUA
Hemana Pokiha and Tiakiawa Tahuriorangi.
(1)Te Arawa and Matatua are the people who will be hosts on the marae, but there will not be sleeping quarters on a single marae as there were when his brother, the Prince of Wales, visited in recent years and the tribes from the three islands gathered at the Rotorua Race Course. The arrangements are as follows:
(a) Those acting as hosts, Matatua and Te Arawa will be accommodated on the following marae: (1) Te Papaioruru (2) Te Whakarewarewa (3) Tarewa (4) Te Roro-o-Te Rangi (5) Tunohopu.
(b) The hapu of Papaiouru are Uenuku-Kopako, Rangiteaorere, N’ Te Rorooterangi, and N’ Tu; these are from Rotorua. The local people are Tapuika, Waitaha, Rangiwewehi, N’ Moko Tuhourangi.
(c) Te Whakarewarewa. The local people are Tuhourangi. Those from outside are Tuwharetoa, N’ Tahu Whaoa, N’ Manawa, N’ Whare, and Patuheuheu.
(d) Tarewa. N’ Pikiao, Rangitihi, N’ Tuara, and Kea.
(e) Te Roro-o-Te Rangi. Rangiwewehi to Te Awahou, all the people of Waiteti and Ngongotaha as far as Te Tarukenga and Te Mamaku.
(f) Tunuhopu. One section of N’ Whakaue, Matatua at Whakatane, Rangitaiki, Ruatoki, Waimana, and N’ Te Rangi at Tauranga.
(2) The Government has invited 200 people from the country’s tribes to that day.
(3) These 200 people will stay at the King George Hospital at Pukeroa and the above marae will see that they are provided with food.
(4) Members of Te Arawa and Matatua coming from a distance along with the 200 selected by the Government will be provided with transport to the venue, likewise the Government will provide all the necessary food.
(5) Each person is to bring their own pillow and blankets for the gatherings and the halls. The elderly men and women should remain at home to look after the grandchildren, and only the able-bodied should attend.
(6) Consideration is being given to when Te Arawa and Matatua come onto the marae but we will be notified when the Matatua Committee and the Te Arawa Marae Committee have informed us of the number assigned to each place, then we can arrange the transport and the appropriate number of tickets can be sent to each committee.
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TE AUTE AND HUKARERE
We are full of praise for the excellent running or these schools of ours over the past year. The schools have improved greatly, and the teachers have cared for and seen to the growth of the children of the Maori people. Congratulations to the Headteachers and the Boards that run the schools. And we especially congratulate you on the event of the opening of the new Te Aute.
This is the list of the pupils who gained honours in the 1926 examinations.
Te Aute
Prize List
Form VI – Dux, Raymond Chapman-Taylor; Special English Prize – Raymond Chapman-Taylor; Proxima Accessit - Selwyn Te Paa; Divinity (first prize), Selwyn Te Paa; Third Prize for Proficiency, Tiwha Bennett; Special for School Service (first prize), Tiwha Bennett; Reading (English), Albert Prebble; Reading (Maori), Walton Haig; Special Prefect’s Prize (first), Charles Chesley; Special Prefect’s Prize (second) Walton Haig.
Form V -First Prize for Proficiency, William Corbett; Divinity (first prize), William Corbett; Special English Prize, William Corbett; Second Prize for Proficiency, Robert Rertemai; Speicla Science Prize, Robert Reremai; Third Prize for Proficiency, Hutton Krogh.
Form IV Remove A – First Prize for Proficiency, Moses Chesley; Second Prize for Proficiency, John Green; Second Prize for Proficiency, Edward King; Third Prize for Proficiency, Charles Cowell; Divinity (first prize), Stone Collier; Special Prize for School Service (second), William Potaka.
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Form IV Remove B – First Prize for Proficiency, Raana Morete; Divinity (first prize), Raana Morete; Second Prize for Proficiency, Ralph Prebble; Third Prize for Proficiency, Whiu Te Purei.
Form IV – First Prize for Proficiency, John Bennett; Divinity (first prize) John Bennett; Special English Prize, John Bennett; Special Mathematics Prize, John Bennett; Second Prize for Proficiency, Willie Mackey; Third Prize for Proficiency, Patukino Newton.
Form III – First Prize for Proficiency, Joe Keretene; Special English Prize, Joe Keretene; Second Prize for Proficiency, Ruhi Pene; Special Science Prize, Ruhi Pene; Special Mathematics Prize, Ruhi Pene; Third Prize for Proficiency, Abraham Waaka; Special History Prize, Taihaere Tamahori.
Hukarere
Prize List
Intermediate – 1 Lucy Reweti (Presented by Miss A I Williams); 2 Mary King (Presented by Miss Elsie Williams).
Class 7 – 1 Annie Tangaere (Presented by Miss Elsie Williams); 2 Daisy Parker (Presented by Miss Edie Williams).
Class 6 – 1 Meiriama Findley; 2 Hine Paul.
Class 5 – 1 Turi Retter; 2 Tina Sciascia.
Class 4 – 1 Mata Koringa; 2 Mary Brown; Special, Millie Nikora.
Scripture – 1 Ahenata Whanga; 2 Rachael Rangi; 3 Polly Hakiwai; 4 Daisy Parker (Presented by Miss Williams); 5 Horiana Haenga.
Conduct – Hawea Koia (Presented by Mrs Ruddock); Constance Hovell; Turi Retter.
Neatness – Oraiti Manuel.
Household Work – Kiwa Haenga.
First Aid – Mary King (Presented by Mrs Henley); Horiana Haenga.
Cooking – Tukura Napa, Te Rau Manuel, Hineahua Paul, Hariata Grace, Daisy Parker, Matekino Te Puni.
Singing – Hana Bennett, Waihopi Ahipene, Atarangi Walters.
Recitation – Annie Tangiere (Presented by Miss E M Williams); Niwa Epareima (Presented by Miss E M Williams).
Music – Annie Tangiere; Mary Maru (Presented by Miss Brabant).
Needlework – Costumes: Nancy Te Whaiti; Dress-making: Waina Ropiha, Oraiti Manuel.
Plain Sewing – Eva Waikara (Presented by Mrs McKinnon); Rachel Rangi (Presented by Miss E M Williams); Notu Pirangi; Mata Koringi.
Special for Sewing – Kuku Pohatu.
Fancy Work – Hariata Grace.
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Knitting – Rangi Hokomau, Kura Haig.
Highest Points in Needlework – Edith Hovell.
For looking after the Chapel – Polly Enoka (Presented by Miss Ormond).
Composition – Ada Ormsby (Presented by Miss E M Bulstrode); Lucy Rewiti (Presented by Miss E M Bulstrode).
Junior Composition – Rea Te Awarau.
Miss Bulstrode’s helper in dressmaking – Atarangi Walters.
Senior Tennis – Mary King.
Junior Tennis – Ema Mohi (Presented by Miss Purchas).
Prefect – Lucy Reweti, Ahenata Whanga, Mary King, Polly Enoka.
Drawing – Kathleen Collier, Rangi Hokaurau, Tewai Tamepo.
FOR TE AUTE COLLEGE AND HUKARERE.
On 29th November, 1926, Te Aute gave a concert. The quality of the performance and the progress made in the performance of such entertainment was much appreciated. The newest feature was gymnastics [?porepore] by Te Paa from Hokianga. We congratulate the pupils and the parents. ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’
During the first days of the New Year the new Te Aute College was completed, and the foundation stone of the Hukarere Chapel was laid. If you are free, come to the opening of your new treasure, Te Aute College, ‘A beautiful building.’
This is a farewell song for the pupils of Hukarere and Te Aute as they go home for their Christmas holidays. Hukarere sang it very well at the Concert on 10th December, 1926.
‘IT IS HUKARERE HERE.’
Maori words by P H Tomoana.
Tune: ‘Land of my sunset dreams.’ (Adapted)
(1) Alas, Hukarere,
My wonderful mother,
We are here distressed
Because we love you.
Do not forget me,
Even though I have gone, although I’m far away.
Your love for me is a great treasure.
Farewell, my love.
Kind words and blessings
You have bestowed upon me.
My heart throbs.
Hukarere, my love, farewell.
Chorus: Repeat from ‘Do not forget me …. etc.’
(2) Shine, sun,
On my love!
O the good schooldays
At my Hukarere.
Do not forget me,
Even though I have gone, although I’m far away.
Your love for me is a great treasure.
Farewell, my love.
Kind words and blessings
You have bestowed upon me.
My heart throbs.
Hukarere, my love, farewell.
Chorus: Repeat from ‘Do not forget me …. etc.’
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TAMATEA COUNCIL
P H Tomoana, Chairman.
Korongata (Bridge Pa)
A major problem has arisen in this part of Hawkes Bay. This what has happened:
The school at Korongata has been closed. The children are being taken to the school known as Hastings West. Nearly thirty Maori children attended Korongata When typhoid fever hit Hawkes Bay it was found there. During the past months the Pakeha children at that school have caught diphtheria. The Pakeha Committee of that school and the parents think that perhaps the disease came from the Maori. Much effort was put into determining the source of that illness. Requests were made to the Health Department here and in Wellington and Inspectors gathered to look into the matter. Eventually, Dr Te Rangihiroa, Head of the Maori Section of the Health Department was aske to complete that enquiry.
Responding to questions, he said that the fever was perhaps not solely brought about by bad conditions there. As for the throat disease, the reports from the Hawkes Bay school doctors showed that not a single Maori child contracted that illness, but it is the case that care needs to be taken, and here he agrees with the committee, because it is the Maori children who are most at risk having not had the disease, and that illness has not been found at Korongata pa, and the committee and the Pakeha folk are both uneasy and concerned lest the disease develops there.
The committee welcomed Te Rangihiroa and their welcome was echoed in the Pakeha papers. However, before the doctor returned to Auckland he instructed the Chairman of the Tamatea Council to order the people of Korongata and all the villages in the Tamatea area to clean up their villages and to remove whatever rubbish there is so that the Pakeha have some peace of mind.
So, following those instructions, the people of Korongata have made great efforts to clean their villages. They are now much better.
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They have been congratulated by the Pakeha newspapers which have said that they have received reports saying, ‘Your villages are now much better than some of those villages of Pakeha who spoke against you.’
Never mind, the doctor said: ‘Do your best to win the respect of the Pakeha. Their problem is disgust at what they see. “What the eye don’t see, the heart don’t grieve over!”’
The committee received some important information. Of the one hundred people infected during the time of the fever, two died, and those two contracted it previously. As the Pakeha say, ninety-eight per cent survived. And of those two, one was a child who was ill when he arrived, and the other was undetected. This is very good news. It is thought that the good fortune of the village stemmed from the actions of the Mormon Church, that is, they were advised by their elders to obey the human rules of the time as laid down for them there by the Government.
The children of that village were assembled before him and he praised the health of the children, then he told them to go and tell their parents to ensure that they were clean, and everything was clean, including the village, so that they would not be subjected to unjustified comments from their schoolmates, and so that they would be caring of one another and their parents be kind to each other.
The old year has set. Soon the new year we hope for, which will bring forth every good thing in due time, will come. Therefore, I greet the many committees in Heretaunga, each cultivating your farm in your area. Whatever ways your thoughts are heading, be strong, be stout-hearted, whatever the divisions may be between our churches in these days. People have with strange hearts separated themselves from the firm practices bequeathed to us by th0se who have departed to the afterlife. Let us learn to live peaceably together. The proverb says:
Ma te ririri o nga kai-mahi ka kitea to reo mana o te ariki.
When the labourers quarrel one hears the authoritative voice of the chief.
It was Mr Seddon, the former Prime Minister, who said at Waimarama:
Ina tai a Ruatapu e papaki nei, whakamoea te waka, e hoe.
? When the tide of Ruatapu is slapping, conceal the canoe and paddle.
As for spiritual matters, let us come together peacefully in the ways bequeathed to us by the Saviour. As for physical well-being, this saying is common to all of us:
Whitiki! Kia kaha!
Gird yourself! Be strong!
It is an extensive cultivation and will demand that we take off our coats – those of our bodies and our hearts. As for Health, the Council Act of 1900 and its subsequent amendments had one objective and it linked the Department of Health and its services for our benefit. But for a long time this was mistakenly put on the back burner and during that time we were given deceptive guidance resulting in our present state.
Let us be strong. Let us keep before each of us here in Heretaunga the great gift bequeathed us by our forebears, and each of us must ask in our hearts what the important things are. And what will you do, in your various bays and inlets, even though Heretaunga has revealed the [mokai] of your forebears, your ancestors, who have passed on. But the sun has shone in the new year. I am planting my patch, as will you, and he, and the other, but the ones who will stir us up are the coming generation and we must speak to them about the path to be taken. Let us concentrate our hearts on the time-honoured salutations: ‘Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’
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LETTERS RECEIVED.
Waipatu,
13th December, 1926.
To the Editor,
Sir, greetings to you who raised up the pa of Te Toa Takitini in days gone by. I express my hopes for the coming days for you and y0ur many followers in the words Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you, the Warriors of the Old Year. This is not my main reason for writing, but I am aware that the Old Year in all its manifestations has reached its end – its sorrows for messages that gave pain and its rejoicings over blessings. Now the New Year is sleeping on the [whaka-te-ruatapu] waves that lap on the long coasts of Aotearoa and Hinengaro. Therefore, I wrote that my thoughts should focus on the old year and be linked to the words and works of that time, but I could not agree.
The names of three of my children have been entered in the book of ‘Life’ following the Ratana practice. Their father and I did not agree that their names could be entered because our children understand the faith left for them by their ancestors, by Nepe Te Apatu and Te Uamairangi, two elders and lay-representatives and lay-readers of the Missionary Church [Church of England]. We and their grandchildren are left holding fast to the gift of their parents and ancestors. These are the names of our children – Wilson (20), Maheakura (19), and Topi (17). They still understand their faith. What I want to say is: I want the children to leave behind these beguiling practices with the old year. This is a new year. Our children have grown up – your relations, your grandchildren. They have all given serious thought to the Christian faith. Therefore, all my friends, let us raise our children and your grandchildren whom we love and lament over, to honour their ancestors who erected the churches in Waipawa and Te Waipatu, and who left us this injunction: ‘Afterwards, hold to the faith.’
God, show us what is right; search out what is wrong!
Show us your love. Bless us all.
Hine-Kato-Rangi-Apatu.
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A NURSE FOR HERETAUNGA.
A gathering of the people of Heretaunga held here in Hastings passed the following motions:
1.
Moved by Bob Tutaki, seconded by Pohe Hemi: ‘In
the light of the explanations given by the President of the Action Group [Ropu
Mataara], Maraki, we ask the President and the Committee of the Action
Group to contribute their remaining funds as a gesture on their part to support
a Nurse who has passed the hospital examinations and who will care for all
Maori in the Heretaunga area under the auspices of the Health Department and
the Tamatea Council.’
2. Moved by Turanga Gillies, seconded by Ratima Hakopa: ‘This meeting sends thanks from the people of Heretaunga to the Government, namely, the Department of Health, for sending a nurse to Heretaunga to care for Maori.’
PARARAKI WIKIRIWHI.
A
On 14th November, Pararaki entered upon the long sleep at the marae of his ancestors at Maketu, the place where the tribe of his elders, Te Arawa, landed, and he lay in the front end of his ancestral house, ‘Te Awhe o te Rangi,’ at the pa. All Te Arawa camw from beyond Mount Otawa to Matata, as did part of Matatua. On one of the days there were the folk from his lakes, Rotoiti and Rotorua, and Matatua from Whakatane to Rangitaiki. The family welcomed the tribes that came to the tangi but they appreciated especially the number from Matatua who came from the length of the country. The body was laid beside that of his father, Hare Ratete and their youngest child, very close to the church, a treasure bequeathed to the people in 1865 by the old men and women and women who have passed on. Two ministers oversaw the burial – Rev E Moihi Eruini and Rv Rewi Wikiriwhi.
(Te Toa Takitini also laments the passing of one of its chiefs. Farewell, father, to Distant Tawhiti, to Te Hono-i-wairua. There will be no end to our gratitude for your strength – strength of body, strength of spirit. We say farewell to a person who was loyal to the Church. You were not shaken by the testings of these days. Farewell, friend. Go to your rest. To the bereaved household – greetings to all of you. Be strong, be stout-hearted. God will help you all.)
DONALD HEMANA PENETI.
On Sunday, 12th December, the child of the Rev F Bennett and Rangione died. He was five-and-a-half years old when he did. The parents and family were greatly distressed at the death of this child, so good in his spirit and so mature in his thinking. He had a sharp mind and his parents wanted him to grow up to be a leader of his people. Now his Father has stripped off his flowers as a beautiful gift to
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those of our village. Amongst the distressing tears the heart called out: ‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord.’ The child was sick for eleven days before he was taken. The distress was even greater because his little sister, aged 2½, was lying in hospital with typhoid fever. She had not come out of hospital when her brother fell ill and was taken. Although four doctors sought ways of saving the child thy were unable to. This illness, meningitis, is a serious sickness and its origins have not yet been found, nor have the means of treating it. The family are very grateful to the leaders of Ngati Kahungunu for the help they gave their child. Rev Hapimana and Peni Hakiwai officiated at the burial at Kohupatiki.
A HEAVY BURDEN.
About the strike by the slaughter-men in the freezing works, J S Jessop, an important man in Te Wairoa said:
‘The farmers of New Zealand are in a dire situation. They have reached the end of their ability to pay their workers. The slaughter-men have asked that their pay be increased by 10 per cent this year, that is, from £100 last year to £110 this year. This request was made after the Arbitration Court increased the pay of shearers. There was no justification for the Court’s decision because most of the shears were content with the old rate of pay while most of the slaughter-men were unhappy with the old rate. The cost of paying the shearers will increase by £70,000; a heavy burden to be carried by the sheep farmers at a time when they are staggering. Most of the workers did not grumble at the former rate of pay. Th sheep farmers are now thinking that they will have to kill their own sheep as a way of showing that there has to be end to putting up pay. This has to be the right way because there has been a fall in the prices received for wool, meat and butter and the amount paid to labourers has to be reduced so that farms will not have to stop working.
The unions are asking for a 44 hour working week, while farmers are working 84 hours a week, and some of their land has been confiscated to pay for all the equipment they have to buy. The workers are protected by the law and high rates of pay have been set for them while the farmers are contending with the whole world; there is no law to set the prices for their goods. If the cost of agricultural labour is not reduced during the coming year then five people will not be able to find work this winter compared with one person last winter because it will not be possible to avoid reducing the amount of work on the stations.’
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ASSIST THE TE AUTE COLLEGE LIBRARY.
We have been asked by the Te Aute Board and the Bishop to point out to the leaders of the Maori People that, while the new library has been built, there are no appropriate books in that library. The Board is asking for gifts of books for the library. There are perhaps former pupils of Te Aute who have old books; if you have such and no longer want them then send them to your college. Maybe there are some who would like to send money to purchase books. Sending money is the best way because then the masters at the school are free to buy the books they want. Please respond favourably to this request from the Bishop and the Board of our college.
UENUKU-MAI-RARATONGO [SIC] CARVED HOUSE.
A carved meeting house is being built in the Rotoiti area. This house is to be opened when the tribes come to Rotorua for the visit of the Duke of York. The people who will perform the opening ceremonies are the Ministers of the Church of England together with the Members of the Te Arawa Board.
Invitations are on their way.
CHRISTMAS HUI.
This is your invitation to come to the Waihirere district of Te Wairoa on the Birthday of our Lord, Christmas, 1926.
The Purposes.
1. To open a carved house at Waihirere, to renovate the marae of our elders who have passed on.
2. An opportunity to remember Timi Kara with the descendants of this elder.
Friday 24th – People gather.
Saturday – Christmas Day 10 a.m, to 2 p.m. Worship on this Day of our Lord. The plate will be available on this day.
Sunday 26th – Services.
Monday 27th – A day for fulfilling the purposes of the hui.
Therefore, all of you who regret that our Maori mana is being overcome by the dust of the Pakeha People busy around us, rise up, redeem the time for the days are evil.
So come together all you who have proposals for us and you who like to listen to speeches. Make available your insights; spread them before the people, so that those who are ignorant will get wisdom.
Te Hata Tipoki,
Turi Kara,
And All Ngati Kahungunu.
1st December, 1926.
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