Skip to main content
Logo: Te Ara - The Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Print all pages now.

Harris, Edward Francis

by R. De Z. Hall

Biography

E ai ki ngā whakaatu mai o tōna ngare, nō te 13 o Mei 1834 i whānau ai a Edward Francis Harris ki Tūranga (Gisborne) i Niu Tīreni neki. Ko tētahi anō o ōna īngoa ko Eruera Paranihi Hārete. Ko ia te mātāmua o ngā tama tokorua a Tukura-ā-rangi rāua ko John William Harris. Nā tana kōkā a ia i hono atu ai ki a Ngāti Oneone o Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti, ki a Ngāi Te Aweawe o Rongowhakaata, me Te Whānau-a-Ngāherehere, ngā whanaunga o Ngāti Kōhatu. Nō te tau 1831 ka tae ake tana pāpā ki te whakatū i tētahi umanga hokohoko mā tētahi kamupene o Poihākena (Sydney). I pōhiritia a ia e te hunga rangatira; ko Rāwiri Te Eke, te whanaunga tata o Tukura neki tētahi. Ka moe ia, ka riro i a ia he whenua, ā, nō muri mai ka tīmata tana mahi pāmu.

He mea whakatau kia whakatipuhia a Eruera i roto i te ao Pākehā, ka tukua ki te Normal Institution i Poihākena ki reira whakaakona ai. I ngā whanaunga o Hārete a ia e noho ana i a ia i reira tae noa ki te mutunga o te tau 1845. Ki ngā kōrero kua mate kē tana kōkā i tēnei wā.

Ka hoki mai naka ki Niu Tīreni ki te pāmu a te whānau i te poraka i Ōpou i kō paku mai o Awapuni. Kāore i tau te noho a Eruera rāua ko tana taina ko Hēnare (Henry), ā, nā tēneki tū āhua kāre i tino mōhiotia me pēhea rāua e whai mahi ai. He paku rawa atu neki ā rāua whakapāpātanga atu ki ngā tamariki o te kāinga Māori pātata mai o Tapatahi.

I te tōmuatanga o 1851 ka puta ake a Te Mākarini (Donald McLean), he kōmihana hoko whenua tāna mahi, ki Tūranganui-a-Rua (Poverty Bay) ki te titiro mehemea he pai, kāre rānei, taua wāhi hei nohoanga mō te Pākehā mahi ahu whenua. E tū tata ana ki Ōpou tana nohoanga, ā, ka whakahoahoa rāua ko John Harris ki a rāua. Nō te tatanga o Te Mākarini ki te hoki, ka inoi atu a John Harris kia mauria e ia a Eruera ki te rapu oranga mōna. Ka whakaae a Te Mākarini ki te āwhina. Ko te tuatahi o wāna mahi i te mihingare i Te Teira (Richard Taylor) i Whanganui. He āwhina i roto i te kura Māori, he mahi pāmu, he kaimahi noa rā wētahi o wāna mahi i a ia i reira. Nō muri mai, araka a ia i Waipukurau e mahi pāmu ana. Ēngari, tau rawa ki Āperira o 1854 e noho kē mai ana ia i te tari o Te Mākarini i Pōneke hai karaka, hai kaiwhakamāori mā tēraka. Ko te āhua neki kua ū pū ia ki te mahi korokororiki noa, heoti he mahi pūmau nō roto i te ao Pākehā.

Ko te āhua neki e ngākau rua ana te titiro a Eruera Hārete ki ōna rā ki muri me ōna rā āmua ake neki. I noho whakapāpā tonu ia ki tōna matua, ā, kātahi, i Tīhema o 1854 ka moe a John Harris i a Jacintha Adelaide Hargraves. Tērā pea, ehara i te mea i heipū noa te whakawāteatanga a Harris i a ia i tana mahi, tahuri tonu atu ki te pātaitai haere ki ngā hononga ā-iwi o tōna kōkā. E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a te whānau, i whakapā atu ia ki a Te Kani-ā-Takirau, te ariki nui o Ngāti Porou, e noho ana i Ūawa, he wāhi kai tua, kai te raki o Tūranganui-a-Rua. Nā tēraka a ia i tono ki tētahi kaumātua hei āwhina i a ia.

Ko te hiahia o Eruera he hoki ki Te Tai Rāwhiti, ā, e rapa mahi ana anō tana taina a Hēnare i reira. Heoti, nā Eruera te whakatau, ehara a Tūranga i te wāhi hei nohoanga mō rāua. Otirā, nō te tata paunga o 1855, ka tono ia i te tūranga hou o te karaka mā te kaiwhakawā takiwā ki Ahuriri (Napier), ā, riro ana i a ia. Ka noho naka ki Ahuriri, ā, taka rawa ki te 9 o Maehe 1857 ka moea e ia a Annie Cheesman i te Whare Karakia o Pita i Pōneke (Wellington). Ko te tamāhine tēneki a tētahi rōia o Pōneke. Tokowhitu ā rāua tamariki; e kōhungahunga tonu ana tētahi ka mate.

Ka pahure haere naka ngā tau, ka uaua rawa atu te āta noho o wōna whakaaro me te ū ki wāna mahi. Nō te tau 1859 ka tuku mai ia i tana tūranga. Ko te kī a tana rīpoata ki a Te Mākarini, nā te whakapae he hē nō āna mahi i pēneki ai. Kātahi ka inoi atu ki tana pāpā kia āwhinatia mai ia. Nā John Harris i hoko mai he whenua kai kō paku atu i Ōpou, e ahu pēraka ana ki Tūranganui-a-Rua, ā, whakanohoia ana e ia tana tama ki reira me ngā take hai whakamahi i te whenua. Kāre i pau te tau ka taka taua mahi ahu whenua neki. I tana kiri wera, ka tuhi a John Harris ki a Te Mākarini ka kī atu, ko te pōharatanga te mutunga mōna mehemea ka haere tonu ngā mahi tuarā i a ia, ā, kore rawa hoki he hua e puta. Ka mataku ia tēraka pea a Eruera ka mahi waimori, pēraka i te nuinga o ngā Pākehā hāwhe kāhe raka.

Kua tino whakapono a Eruera Hārete e kore rawa ia e angitu. Nō te tōmuatanga o 1861 ka tuhi hoki a ia ki a Te Mākarini ki te kī atu, kua whakataua e ia me haere kē ia ki rāwāhi, he wāhi e tino pīrangitia ana te kaimahi Pākehā, ā, e kore te tangata e kōtonga i te kore whai moni. Nā ka kī atu tana hungarei, a R. S. Cheesman, māna mā Cheesman e tiaki tana hoa wahine me ā rāua tamariki mō taua wā, ā, haere atu ana rātau. Ēngari, kāre i mahia tēraka i whakataua raka e ia i te tīmatanga. Ko te kōrero, he kaimahi a ia i tētahi toa a te kaihokohoko aporei o Tūranganui-a-Rua, a G. E. Read, mō ngā tau e whia kē nei.

Ko te mutunga ia, ka haere ngātahi rātau ko wana hoa noho tata tokorua ki ngā karinga kōura i Ōtākou. Ko te haerenga atu tēnaka o tōna whānau ki a ia i reira. Nō ngā tau i muri mai ka hoki ngā mahara o tana mātāmua, o Frank, ki ngā rere tārewa whakaekeke mō te kōura, nā reira raka i kume a Eruera rātau ko tōna whānau ki Te Tai Poutini. I ngā tau pokapū o 1860 ko wētahi o wāna mahi i a ia i reira ko te tūnga kairēhita mārena mō te takiwā o Māwhera (River Grey) me Cobden, me te tūnga karaka i te Kōti Takiwā o Westland i te tāone i te ngutu awa o Kawatiri e mōhiotia ana i nāianei ko Westport.

Kāre i te mōhiotia he aha ngā mahi a Hārete i muri mai i 1870. Ko te kī a tētahi tērā pea i hoki anō a ia ki te Tari Māori mahi ai. I te pokapūtanga o 1869, i riro i a Te Mākarini tētahi tūranga whai mana i te kāwanatanga o Te Pōkiha (William Fox) rāua ko Julius Vogel. Nō te tau 1873 ka whakaturea tētahi ture whenua Māori hou, ā, hai te tīmatanga o 1874 rā anō ka mana. I roto wētahi tikanga here whakahaere e mea ana, me oti pai ngā kerēme whenua i mua i te whakatakotoranga ki te aroaro o te Kōti Whenua Māori. Ko tētahi o ngā whakahau ko te tuhi i ngā whakapapa. Tēraka tētahi whakaaro, nā Te Mākarini i tohu a Hārete kia whakahiato i ngā whakapapa o te rohe o Te Tai Rāwhiti i 1873.

I Oketopa o 1873 kua hoki anō a Eruera rātau ko tōna whānau ki Tūranga noho ai. Koia neki te marama i whakaturea ai te ture hou. Nā Hārete i whakaara he whare ki te poraka o Kaitī, araka, i tēraka tarawāhi o te awa i te tāone o Tūranga, ā, ka noho naka ki reira ā tino kaumātua noa. He hoa noho tata nōna te rangatira kaingārahu raka a Hirini Te Kani, ā, e tū tata mai ana ko te whare nui, ko Te Poho‑o-Rāwiri. Kua tata te Kōti Whenua Māori ki te whiriwhiri i te roherohenga o te poraka o Kaitī i taua wā. Ko te hua i puta i raro i te ture tawhito, ko te karāti whenua herekore kāore anō i wehea, ā, ko ngā īngoa anake o ngā kaikerēme ihorei i whakamaua ki runga, kāre noa ō ngā tāngata whai pānga. Heoti, kua tīmata i nāianei te whakaeke mai a te Pākehā ki te noho, ā, kua tīmata anō hoki ngā Māori whiwhi taitara herekore ki te tono kia roherohea aua taitara kia mau anake ai ko te īngoa kotahi ki tēnaka, ki tēnaka rohenga, kia taea ai te hoko. Kāre i roa kua tū te umanga a Eruera Hārete, ā, raihanatia ana hai kaiwhakamāori. Nā te raihana a ia i whakamana ki te tū ki te aroaro o te Kōti Whenua Māori. I kitea e ia tona pūkenga ki ngā mahi a te kaiwawao; he mātauranga i whakaaturia e ia i ngā tau i muri mai i Heretaunga ki te takiwā tuawhenua o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay) me Tūranga.

Nō ngā tau pokapū o te tekau tau atu i 1880, ka noho hei tangata whai whenua a Eruera Hārete. I tīmata a ia ki te mau i tōna īngoa Māori i te wā e ahu whenuatia ana te poraka o Kaitī. I raro i te maru o te Kamupene Whakanoho Whenua Māori o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Land Settlement Company) ka tautokona e Te Riihi (W. L. Rees) te kaupapa kia motuhia mai i te katoa o taua poraka, tata ana ki te 250 eka. Kātahi ka roherohea te motuhanga hai tēkihana tāone iti neki te rahi. Tapa ana i ēneki ko ngā tēkihana tāone rahi ake, ā, mōwaho atu o ēneki ko wētahi whenua pāmu pakupaku nei. He mea tapa hoki ngā tiriti ki ngā īngoa o ngā tāngata o te poraka i whakawhiwhia rā ki wētahi o ngā tēkihana. O te hunga kōhure nō rātau te poraka i mua, ko Hirini Te Kani rāua ko Hārete wētahi. Ka noho ko rātau ko Wī Pere mā hai kaitiaki mō te whenua o te marae. He marara te noho a te nuinga o ngā tēkihana a Hārete, ēngari, e noho whāiti ana tētahi whenua ōna, 10 eka pea te rahi, i te raki o te tāone o Kaitī. I hangaia e ia tana whare hou, a Mangamutu, ki reira. He wāhi anō tōna i tuawhenua. Tae rawa ki 1890, neke atu i te mano wāna hipi i reira e taka ana.

Mea ake nei, kua tangohia e Eruera Harete te tuhinga o ngā whakapapa hai mahi arotanga māna ake, kua kore e rongona te kī ko te kāwanatanga te rangatira o taua mahi. Nā tana tama nā Frank a ia i āwhina. Mai i 1873 ki 1885 a Frank e ngaro atu ana i te kāinga, he kaimahi i runga pāmu te mahi. Kai te ora tou te tauira tōtika tuatahi o wētahi kohikohinga whakapapa, ā, ka pai kē hoki ngā tohu whakawhiti īngoa o aua whakapapa. Ko Frank te kaituhi, ēngari, tēraka wētahi whakauruurunga nā te ringa o tōna pāpā kē i tuhi. Tata ana pea ki te 2,500 ngā īngoa kai tēneki tauira. Kai tētahi tauira o muri mai kia taurua kē te pikinga ake i nāianei o ngā īngoa kei roto, e takoto ana wētahi putunga kōrero nā Eruera tou i tuhi, heoti, e mārama ana i tētahi wāhi o ngā tuhinga kua noho pūmau nā Frank ngā whakatikatikahanga. I te tau 1920 ka kohaina ngātahitia tēneki me tētahi kohinga rahi tou nā Frank anake i mahi, ki te Kōti Whenua Māori. Nō muri mai i whakawhitia atu ai ki te Whare Pukapuka o Tūranga. Āpiti atu, nā Eruera Hārete i tuhi wētahi pukatuhi mō wāna arotanga Māori. Kei tētahi o aua pukatuhi e mau ana wētahi waiata, wētahi pīoriori me te waiata tangi a tōna kōkā a Tukurua mōna, i te wā i tonoa raka a ia ki te kura.

I tēneki wā katoa, e hau ana te rongo o Eruera i waenga i te hunga Pākehā. I whakahoa a ia ki ngā rōia e tino mātau ana ki ngā take whenua, ā, i uru atu hoki ki ngā mahi pārekareka a te Pākehā me ngā mahi whakahaere o te tāone. Nā wāna mahi hoko tēkihana mā ngā kaihoko Māori ka riro mai he papanga mō te Karapu Maita (Bowling Club) o Tūranga. E mau tou ana wāna maita e rua i te rā neki. I mua i tana matenga ko ia te perehitini o te karapu mai i 1896 rā anō, ā, ka kitea i koneki te roa o tana arotanga. He mema a ia nō te kaunihera ā-rohe o Kuki (Cook County Council), he kaitiaki nō te hōhipera o Kuki (Cook Hospital), ā, he tiamana nō ngā poari huarahi o Pouawa me Kaitī. Ko te mutunga o wāna mahi arotanga ki te whakapapa ko te whakaurunga ki roto ki aua tuhinga o tana whakapapa Pākehā. I mua tata atu i tōna matenga ka tuhia e ia he kōrero poto mō wōna maharatanga mō tōna pāpā, mō John Harris.

Nō te 26 o Hūrae 1898 ka mate i tōna kāinga, i Mangamutu i Kaitī, ā, tāpuketia ana i te urupā o te whare karakia Mihinare Māori o Kaitī. Kua roa kē e pāngia ana e te mate whatumanawa ina mate neki. He pou pōhatu whakamaumaharatanga tapawhā kai runga i tana rua kōiwi e tū ana. Tekau mā rua ngā Māori, ā, pērā anō te rahi o ngā Pākehā, nāna i hāpai atu te kāwhena i te kāinga ki te whare karakia. Nā ngā minita Mihinare nā Hāpata Wiremu (Herbert Williams) rāua ko Mohi Tūrei i whakahaere te karakia. Ko tētahi wāhanga o te karakia tāpuke i te reo Pākehā, ko tētahi i te reo Māori.

Nā wāna mahi kaiwawao i te Kōti Whenua Māori i whakaatu mai te māhorahora o tōna hinengaro. I tuhia e ia tētahi reta, hei mea tirohanga mā te iwi whānui, ki a Timi Kara (James Carroll). E pā ana taua reta ki ngā ture whenua Māori me ngā hārakiraki i puta ake i ngā tini whakahoutanga i aua ture. I whakaputaina te reta neki hei puka i te tau 1889, ā, i īngoatia ko A few short views of the native land laws, as they principally affect the native race. Ka kitea te kaha o wāna kupu ki te whakawhere, me te mārama o te takoto o wōna whakaaro, ā, ki te pai anō hoki o ngā tohutohu i homai e ia. Waihoki, ko tana taonga tuku iho mā ngā whakatipuranga ā muri ake neki, ko ngā whakapapa, he hua nō te hinengaro hihiko ki te tātari me te mōhio ki te whakahaere mahi. He mori i te ao Pākehā o tōna taiohitanga, ā, taihoa ake ka kitea e ia he āhuru mōwai mōna i ngā iwi o tōna kōkā. He whakamīharotanga ia nā te Māori me te Pākehā i wōna tau whakamutunga.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Harris, F. R. 'Looking backwards'. Gisborne Times. 9 May 1927

    Mackay, J. A. Historic Poverty Bay and the East Coast. Gisborne, 1949

    Mackay, J. A. 'Notes on early settlers in Poverty Bay'. MS Papers 1006. WTU

    Mackay, J. A. Papers, c. 1900--1952. MS. Gisborne Museum


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

R. De Z. Hall. 'Harris, Edward Francis', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/2h14/harris-edward-francis (accessed 29 March 2024)