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| The Rev. Barry Olsen with Esther Jessop at Hinemihi, Clandon Park, Surrey |
On a Scout canoe trip down the Whanganui in the early 1950s we stopped to visit Hiruharama. Two ladies sitting on the Post Office verandah greeted Pahura and Tungia, ‘Tena korua. No hea korua?’ My two friends were embarrassed as they confessed, ‘We’re sorry but we don’t speak Maori.’ The ladies graciously said, ‘Don’t worry. We speak English when we’ve got a lot to gossip about!’ At that moment we determined to do something about learning Te Reo.
For me the opportunity came at Victoria University when a group of us prepared for Maori Studies I, tutored by Beth Ranapia from the Correspondence School who was helped by the young Timoti Karetu. (You can read about our group in Barbara Ewing’s novel, ‘A Dangerous Vine’.) In 1960 I completed Maori Studies II with Dr Bruce Biggs and Pat Hohepa at Auckland University. Please don’t hold any of these remarkable scholars responsible for the mistakes in this translation.
Subsequently I was ordained to ministry, eventually spending four learning-packed years as Missioner with the Maori People in the Diocese of Dunedin.
Now retired and living in England I’ve found a new ministry with the New Zealand Society and Ngati Ranana. This has meant refreshing my knowledge of Maori. Translating ‘He Kupu Whakamarama / Te Pipiwharauroa’ and its successor 'Te Kopara,' has proved an excellent way of doing this. The papers gives insight into a crucial phase of Maori history, documenting as they do the activities of the Te Aute College Students' Association, Maori involvement in the First World War, as well as dealing with land and other issues. Church concerns and Christian teaching also fill their pages.
I have now embarked on translating the successor to 'Te Kopara,' 'Te Toa Takitini.'
I can be contacted at revbarryolsen (at) gmail.com and would appreciate your comments and your clarification of word meanings.
The Reverend Barry Olsen
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