Ko Ngāti Ōtautahi, he rōpū Māori

He tini ngā kapa haka i whakatūria i roto i ngā tāone i te wā pakanga; i ētahi wā e te whare-noho, e te rōpū hākinakina, e te wāhi-mahi rānei.  I te nuinga o te wā, he rangatahi, he pakeke, he kaumātua ngā mema. Ko te tino kaupapa he whakanui, he whakatītina i ngā tikanga Māori, me te whakawhanaungatanga, i roto i ngā tāone.  Ko te Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club ki Whanganui-a-Tara tētahi o ngā kapa rongonui rawa atu, he mea whakatū i te tau 1937.

I tūtūtia hoki he rōpū i ngā tāone nunui o Te Wai Pounamu i te wā pakanga.  Ko te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Association tētahi.  Ka puta mai tēnei i “a small group of Maori residents in Christchurch [who] met at the Y.M.C.A. and formed the Otautahi Maori Club [in 1940]. On December 9th, 1942, it was re-organised under the name of the Christchurch (Ngati Otautahi) Maori Association, with the patronage of the well-known South Island rangatira Mr R. Te Mairaki Taiaroa. The organisation has been operating in many directions for the wellbeing of the Maori population of Christchurch.”[1]

I whakatūria a Ngāti Ōtautahi ki Ōtautahi hei kanohi Māori mō te Huri Rau Tau o Aotearoa.  Engari, ka kipaina hoki te putanga mai o te rōpū e te whakapuakanga o te pakanga i Hepetema 1939, arā, nā te hiahia o Ngāi Māori ki te tautoko i ngā mahi pakanga.  I Hānuere 1940, ka tū he “Comforts for Māori Soldiers Committee”; ko Arthur Manawatū te tumuaki, ko John Heketā te hekeretari/kaitiaki-pūtea.  I taua hui, ka meatia, “It is probable that this committee will be added to at a general meeting to be held shortly, when it is hoped to form a Maori social club and concert party.”[2]  Nā, ka puta mai te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Club.[3]  Ko te whāinga o te karapu he kohi moni mō ngā mahi pakanga, rā ngā whakangahau kapa haka, hei tauira ko te whakanuinga o te Hui Rau Tau ki Akaroa.[4]

I te tau 1940, ka uru he tāngata nō Rāpaki, nō Tuahiwi hoki, hei mema o te rōpū, i runga i te whanaungatanga ā-mārenatanga, i te hira hoki o Te Ari Pītama ki te hāpai i te ahurea Māori ki Ōtautahi.[5]  Tērā hoki he Pākehā kōhure e mahi ana i roto i te karapu.  Koinei nei ngā āpiha i pōtitia i taua tau:

• Tumuaki: John Henry Kīngi
• Tumuaki-tuarua: John Morgan (Mōkena) rātou ko Henare Pōhio, ko Te Ari Pītama, ko D. Phillips, ko Wera Couch, ko John Charles Tīkao, ko Dr. ILG Sutherland, ko Dr. RA Falla, ko Roger S. Duff ko George Anstice
• Tiamana: Frank Lewis
• Kāpene o te Karapu: Miss Ruiha Royal
• Hekeretari: John Heketā
• Komiti: Miss Kia Riwai, Miss K. Parata, Miss Tui Pannell, Mr G. Gilles, Mr D. Wehipeihana, Mr T. Wesley.[6]

I whakamahi a John Henry Kīngi (1876-1942, nō Ngāti Kahungungu) i tōna noho tata ki te Hāhi Mihingare kia whakarahitia te tokomaha o te karapu, kia tautokona hoki te rōpū. Hei tauira he kaikauhau-reimana ia nō te Hāhi o Ingarangi; i mahi tahi hoki rāua ko Rev. Fraer nāna i whakatū te kura tuarua anake o te Wai Pounamu mō ngā kōtiro Māori, ko Te Waipounamu Māori Girls’ College te ingoa.[7]  I haere ngā tauira mai i Pōneke ki te Tai Tonga, tae atu ki Wharekauri, ā, ka uru hoki rātou ki roto i te rōpū konohete o te karapu.  He mema whakahirahira ētahi o ngā wāhine i puta mai i te kura nō ētahi atu rōpū haka o te motu i te wā pakanga nei, hei tauira, nō te Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club.  I mua, ka kaha haere te hononga nei i a Hinekura (Kura) Tāhiwi (nō Ngāti Raukawa); he kaiako ia nō te Kura Kōtiro o Te Waipounamu e whakaako ana i ngā kaupapa Māori.[8]  He mema hoki tōna tungāne nō te Karapu o Ngāti Pōneke i te orokoputanga mai o taua rōpū.

Hei painga hoki ngā mahi hōia o mua a John Henry Kīngi mō tāna rapurapu i ngā mema hou o te karapu. Nō Papawai a Kīngi, engari, i heke mai ia ki Ōtautahi i mua i te Pakanga Tuatahi. Ka puta taua whawhai, ka haere ia ki Karipori, ki Wīwī hoki hei hōia o te Hokowhitu a Tū [Pioneer Māori Battalion].[9]  Ka tae te Pakanga Tuarua, ka mahi kaha ia ki te tautoko i ngā mahi pakanga ki Ōtautahi; he āpiha ia nō te komiti o te RSA o Ōtautahi, ā, he matangareka āna mahi hei āpiha kimi hōia mō te Ope Kāinga [Home Guards] me te Taua Territorial o Katapere, mō te Ope Taua Māori (28th) i Katapere-ki-te-Raki, i Te Tai Poutini hoki.[10]

Nā ngā mahi kimi hōia a Kīngi mō te Ope Kāinga me te Rōpū Territorial me āna toronga atu ki ngā tini kāinga Māori, i uru ai  a Ngāi Tahi ki roto i te karapu.  Hei tauira, he maha ngā mema o te Ope Kāinga o Rāpaki i roto i a Ngāti Otautahi.[11]  Pērā me Kīngi, tokomaha he pāraeroa.   He hōia a Hēnare Pōhio nō te Pakanga Tuatahi, ā, he āpiha kimi hōia ia mō te Ope Taua Māori i Te Wai Pounamu i te Pakanga Tuarua.[12]  He mema a John Morgan (Mōkena) nō Ngāti Ōtautahi mai i te tīmatanga, ā, ko te hekeretari hoki ia o te  Māori Returned Soldiers’ Association.[13]   Nā wai rā, ka uru tētahi atu pāraeroa o te Pakanga Tuatahi, a Arthur Paahi, ki roto i te karapu.

Te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Association

I Hūrae 1942 a John Henry Kingi i hemo ai. I te mutunga o taua tau, kua tapaina te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Club hei Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Association.  I tautokona te rōpū nei e te Mea o Ōtautahi, e Ernest Andrew, ā, ko Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa te kairangi [patron]. Ko Arthur Manawatū te tumuaki tuatahi.   I te hui tuatahi o te Association, ka pōtitia a Vernon Thomas hei tiamana o te Komiti Whakahaere; ko Kura Tāhiwi rātou ko Hāriata Baker, ko Hoani Pōhio, ko John Heketā, ko Mr R. Phillips, ko Kitchener Hopa ko Poihipi Weretā ngā mema.[14]  I pūmau tonu te hononga o te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Association ki Te Waipounamu Māori Girls’ College.  Hei tauira, ko Hāriata Baker (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Porou), ko te tamāhine o te rangatira o Ngāti Porou, o Matutaera (Tuta) Nihoniho rāua ko tāna wahine turarua, ko Ria Horomona, te tumuaki o te Old Girls’ Association o te kura, ā, ko te kaihautū o te Rangimārie Ladies’ Club.[15]  I mahi tahi a Ngāti Ōtautahi me taua karapu wāhine, “an organisation that arranged farewell gatherings to men proceeding overseas.”[16]

I Tīhema 1942, ka whakatūria hoki he Komiti ā-Iwi nō Katapere i raro i te mana o te Māori War Effort Organisation, kia mahi tahi me te āpiha kimi hōia Māori, ā, kia whakarite i ngā kaimahi Māori.[17] I Pēpuere 1943, ko ngā mema o taua Komiti Whakahaere:

• Vernon Thomas (Tiamana)
• Mr W. Couch (Hekeretari, Rāpaki)
• Mrs Hāriata Baker rāua ko Mr R. Phillips (Ōtautahi)
• Mr M. Waaka rāua ko Mr W. Mihaka (Temuka-Arowhenua-Tīmaru)
• Tarata rāua ko S. Ruru (Koukourarata)
• Miss T.T. Meihana rāua ko Mr I. Weepu (Rūrū)
• Robinson rāua ko J. Mōkena (Akaroa)
• Manihera rāua ko G.M. Tīkao (Rāpaki)
• D. Barrett rāua ko H.J. Pītama (Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi)
• Te Mairaki Taiaroa rāua ko A.K. Hopa (Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi)
• M. Tekahuariki rāua ko W. Poharama (Kaikōura).[18]

Tua atu i ā rātou mahi e tautoko ana i ngā take o te pakanga, ko tētahi o ngā whāinga tuatahi o Ngāti Ōtautahi he kimi i tētahi whare mō te rōpū.   I te tīmatanga, i Mei 1941, ka tonoa e Kīngi kia hui mai ngā kaumātua kia wānangatia te kaupapa nei.[19]  Tae atu ki te tau 1943, kāore anō kia tutuki; i pīrangi te tumuaki, a Vernon Thomas, ki tētahi whare e āhei ai ngā tāne me ngā wāhine o ngā puni tauā e tata ana ki Ōtautahi te whakamine mai.[20]  Ka inoi a Thomas i te Mea, i a Andrews, kia āwhina mai, ā, ka tautoko ia i tā rātou tono pūtea, e kī ana, e 300, e 400 pea ngā Māori e noho ana ki te tāone i Ākuhata 1943.[21]  Whiwhi rawa rātou ki tētahi whare karapu i te 153 Worcester Street, e tata ana ki Latimer Square. Ko te Māori Association Hall te ingoa, ā, ka tū ngā tini momo mahi ki reira.  Hei tauira, ka whakaako a Hāriata Baker rāua ko Kura Tahiwi i ngā karaihe reo Māori ki reira.[22]

Ka arotahi hoki a Ngāti Ōtautahi ki te tautoko i ngā tāne me ngā wāhine o ngā puni tauā e tata ana ki Ōtautahi. Nā te taha pāraeroa o Kīngi, i whakahirahira ai te tautoko i ngā hōia i roto i ngā mahi a te karapu; i whakakahatia te hononga nei e te urunga o ētahi mema o te karapu ki roto i te Ope Taua Māori (28), ko John Heketā tētahi.  Tū ai ngā kanikani i ngā Rāhoroi, koinā “no Maori soldier while in camp is without a friend and a home during weekend leave.”[23]

I kohi moni hoki te rōpu ki te hoko tītī kia tukuna atu ki ngā hōia Māori i tāwāhi.  I te tau 1942, ka kaha uru rātou ki roto i tētahi rā kohi-pūtea mō te Ope Taua Māori ki ngā tiriti o Ōtautahi; he mea tautoko te mahi nei e te Mea, e Andrews, kia hokona he kai reka mā ngā hōia.  Ka āhua £600 i kohia.   I whakakakao hoki rātou i ngā pēke kuku e rua tekau i paeratia, i hīratia ki roto i ngā kāho waikawa, kia tukuna atu ki ngā hōia Māori i Ingarangi.[24]   I poroporoaki rātou i ngā hōia e wehe ana ki tāwāhi, ā, ka pōwhiri i ngā mea e hoki mai ana.[25] Ka toro hoki te kapa konohete o Kia Riwai (he mea tūhono ki a Ngāti Ōtautahi) i ngā hōia Māori ki te Hōhipera o Burwood, e mau ana i ngā tītī me ngā hikareti.[26]

He mahi kē hoki ā Ngāti Ōtautahi.  I āwhinatia te whakangahau ā-tau o Te Wai Pounamu Kāreti, e whakarato ana i ngā kai, i te hāngī, ā, ka waiata tō rātou kapa.  Ka tae atu ki te tau 1944, ka nui atu tō rātou arotahi ki te tamariki me te rangatahi.  I taua tau, ka manaaki rātou i ngā tamariki Māori e 2000 o Ōtautahi, o Lyttelton me Rāpaki, ki te Hōro Jellicoe.  Tokomaha ngā tamariki mai i te Nazareth Home, mai i te Sumner School for the Deaf, me te Te Waipounamu Kāreti mō ngā kōtiro Māori.[27]  I te anga hoki rātou ki te arataki-ki-te-mahi (vocational guidance).  I te tau 1944, ka tautoko rātou i tētahi uiuinga i ngā rangatahi Māori o te rohe nā te Poari Kura me te Christchurch Vocational Guidance Centre; ko te whāinga, “the talents of the younger members of the community would receive full opportunity for development.”[28] I te tau ki mua, kua tū he komiti-ki-raro kia tūhurahia kia whakatūria hoki he ratonga arataki-ki-te-mahi mō ngā rangatahi Māori i te taha o te Christchurch Youth Centre.[29]

I te mutunga o te tekautau, koinei ngā āpiha o te rōpū.

• Kairangi: Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa
• Kairangi-tuarua: E.T. Tirakatene, M.P.
• Tumuaki: Vernon Thomas
• Tumuaki-tuarua: J. Te Rangi rātou ko Ngatiki Piripi (Phillips), ko John Stewart, ko Roger Duff, ko Frederick G. Briggs, ko George Anstice, ko D. Tini, ko J. Daniels, ko Ruru (Lou) Wātene, ko W.A. Taylor, ko Joseph Moss, ko James Wiwi Norton, ko Dr. ILG Sutherland, ko Hāriata Baker, ko Mrs D. Tini, ko Mrs J. Daniels, ko Mrs Mae Wātene, ko Mrs G Briggs, ko Mrs A Paahi, ko Mrs J. Moss.
• Tiamana o te Komiti Whakahaere: Mr Anaru Phillips
• Hōnore Hekeretari: Mrs A. Paahi
• Hōnore Kaitiaki Pūtea: Mr G Anstice
• Kaitaki o te Kapa Haka: Mrs Rima Bell
• Komiti Whakahaere: Mr Arthur Kitchener Hopa rātou ko Mr A. Annis, ko Mr Wi Tauwhare, ko Mrs Briggs, ko Mrs Daniels, ko Mrs A. Annis, ko Mrs Phillips, ko Mrs Bell, ko Miss Ashton.[30]

I muri i te mutunga o te pakanga, ka anga tonu ō rātou whakaaro ki te toko i te ora o te iwi, ki ngā rangatahi Māori hoki.  Ka kitea tēnei i roto te rārangi mema o Ngāti Ōtautahi. Hei tauira a Mae Wātene (née Bannister).  He hekeretari ia nō te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Association.  He nēhi tōna mahi o mua, ā, ka whakatūria ia hei āpiha toko i te ora Māori.  I muri i te pakanga, ko ia te tumuaki o te Rāpaki Ladies’ Welfare League.[31]   Ko Erina Paahi (née Momo) te kaiwhakahaere o te Ladies’ Christchurch Māori Association i te tau 1948, i arotahi ki ngā kaupapa toko i te ora Māori.[32]  He mea tūhono hoki a Ngāti Ōtautahi ki te Peka o Ōtautahi o te National Council of Women; ko Mae Wātene te māngai.[33]

Ko tētahi o ngā tino whāinga o Ngāti Ōtautahi i te wā i muri tata nei i te pakanga he whakatū i tētahi pokapū hapori mō ngā Māori e noho ana i roto i te tāone.  I tō rātou reta ki te Pirimia, ki a Fraser, ka horahia tō rātou pīrangi ki tētahi whare pai ake, nā te mea “[their] present room is far too small and has none of the necessary facilities.”[34] Ko tā rātou i hiahia ai he pokapū hapori i waenga i te tāone, me te hōro nui whai atamira “suitable for meetings of the whole community”, me tētahi rūma mō ngā hui komiti, mō ngā karaihe reo, hītori hoki, me tētahi rūma mō ngā karaihe rāranga, me te kīhini e taea nei te tumu kai, “as no really big function would be considered complete unless the tangata whenua were able to offer their guests some food.” I te tau 1952, ka hono atu rātou ki te Christchurch Maori Community Centre Committee kia hāpai ngātahi ai rātou i te take nei.[35]

Nā te wawata hoki o Ngāti Ōtautahi e pā ana ki ngā rangatahi Māori e noho ana ki te tāone, i puta mai ai i tēnei mahi tahi te whare noho o Rehua Marae, he mea whakatuwhera i te tau 1952 mō ngā kōhine Māori.  Nā wai rā,  ka whakaurua ngā taitama Māori e whai ana i ngā akoranga mahi ā-rehe ki Ōtautahi.[36]  Engari, i tipu a Rehua mai i te Pakanga Tuarua me te matakite o John Henry Kīngi mā i whakatūria ai te Ngāti Ōtautahi Māori Club i te tau 1940.  He mea rāranga ā rātou mahi pakanga ki roto i te kōrero mō Rehua, me te noho o te iwi Māori ki Ōtautahi i muri i te pakanga.

[1] W.A. Taylor, Lore and History of the South Island Maori (Christchurch, 1952), 55. I te Press, 5 Tīhema 1942: 1 he pānuitanga kia hui te iwi ki te whakatū he rōpū i 136 Worcester Street.

[2] Press, 22 Hānuere 1940, 8.

[3] Press, 19 Ākuhata 1950, 6.

[4] Press, 31 Ākuhata 1940, 15.

[5] Te Maire Tau, “Ngāi Tahu – From ‘Better Be Dead and Out of the Way’ to ‘To Be Seen and Belong’,” J. Cookson and G. Dunstall, ētita, Southern Capital: Towards a City Biography, 1850-2000 (Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2000), wh.236.

[6] Press, 22 Hūrae 1940, 10.

[7] “Obituary”, Press, 6 Hūrae 1942, 6.

[8] Press, 12 Hūrae 1946, 2.  I ū kaha he mema Pākehā nō Ngāti Ōtautahi, hei tauira, ko Dr. ILG Sutherland rāua ko John Stewart, ki te Te Waipounamu Māori Girls College. Oliver Sutherland, Paikea: The Life of I.L.G. Sutherland (Christchurch: Canterbury University Press, 2013), wh.346.

[9] Tirohia ōna pepa ā-Taua, kei Archives New Zealand, Pōneke.

[10] Press, 11 Oketopa 1939, 7; Press, 21 Mei 1942, 4; Press, 7 Hūrae 1941, 4; Press, 9 Hepetema 1941, 8.

[11] Press, 7 Hūrae 1941, 4.

[12] Obituary, Press, 8 Ākuhata 1949, 3.

[13] Press, 7 Noema 1939, 10.

[14] Mō Poihipi Weretā tirohia: http://www.heraumahara.nz/memoirs/poihipi-wereta-lasting-effects-remembered

[15] Steven Oliver, ‘Nihoniho, Matutaera’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, ko te orokoputanga mai i 1990, He mea whakahou i Hānuere, 2002. Te Ara- the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1n14/nihoniho-matutaera (he mea tītiro i te 7 Oketopa 2021). I mate te māmā o Hāriata ki te whare o tōna mokopuna, ki 279 Worcester Street, i Ākuhata 1951: Press, 17 Ākuhata 1951, 1.  E ai ki tētahi ātikara niupepa o 1945, ka whakatūria te Old Girls’ Association i te tau 1940: Press, 23 Ākuhata 1945, 2.

[16] Press, 19 Āperira 1945, 3.

[17] Press, 10 Tīhema 1942, 3.

[18] Press, 25 Pēpuere 1943, 4.

[19] Pānuitanga (i roto i te reo Māori), Press, 17 Mei 1941, 1.

[20] Press, 11 Hune 1943.

[21] Press, 24 Ākuhata 1943, 5.

[22] Press, 20 Māehe 1944, 6.

[23] J. Morgan ki te Press, 12 Ākuhata 1941, 5.

[24] Press, 9 Oketopa 1940, 8.

[25] Press, 16 Hūrae 1943, 4; Press, 27 Mei 1944, 2.

[26] Press, 1 Hepetema 1944, 2. I pōwhititia te rōpū nei e  Second-Lieut  E.S. Jackson (Ngāti Kahungungu). I reira a  Vernon Thomas, me Hariata Baker hei kanohi o te Rangimārie Ladies’ Club.

[27] Press, 11 Oketopa 1944, 2.

[28] Press, 20 Māehe 1944, 6.

[29] Press, 30 Hune 1943, 2.

[30] Press, 22 Māehe 1949, 3.

[31] “Obituary”, Press, 9 Āperira 1952, 2. E mōhiotia ana hoki tōna ingoa hei Mae Denny.

[32] Press, 4 Noema 1948, 1.

[33] Press, 7 Ākuhata 1945, 2.

[34] John Stewart ki a Fraser, 21 Pēpuere 1947, Meeting Houses and Community Centres – Ngāti Otautahi Hall – Christchurch (1947-1974), Record No: 34/3/66, Archives NZ, Wellington.

[35] Press, 19 Pēpuere 1952, 9.

[36] Claire Kaahu White Te Pou Herenga Waka o Rehua: The Story of Rehua Hostel and Marae (Christchurch: Te Whatumanawa Māoritanga o Rehua Trust Board, 2021).