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Kōrero: Solomon, Tommy

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Solomon, Tommy

1884–1933

He Moriori,he kaingārahu, he tangata ahuwhenua

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Michael King, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1993. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

E ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho o tōna ngare, i whānau a Tame Horomona Rehe ki Waikaripi ki Rēkohu (Chatham Island) i te 7 o Mei 1884. Nō muri iho ka mōhio whānuitia ia ko Tommy Solomon. Ko ia anake te tamaiti a Rangitapua Horomona Rehe rāua ko Ihimaera Te Teira i ora. Nō Ōwenga me Ōtonga ngā iwi Moriori o ōna mātua. I whakatipuria a Tame i waenga i ōna whanaunga – e rua tekau mā whā nei pea rātou – i te whenua tāpui o ngā Moriori i Manukau, i te takutai paeroa o Rēkohu.

I akona ia ki te kura tuatahi o Te One. Haere atu ai ia mā runga hōiho i Waikaripi (te wāhi hopuni o ōna mātua i te wā mahi manu) me Manukau ki Te One. Hei āwhina i tana matua ki te ahu whenua i Manukau, me te tiaki anō hoki i tōna kōkā – kua ukauka te mate i taua wā – ka whakarērea e ia te haere ki te kura i te tīmatanga o te tau 1897. He tangata hihiri, he tangata marohi hoki a Tame: ko ia te tuarā ringa kaha o te tīma whutupaoro o Ōwenga. Tekau mā rima atu ōna tau, ka kuhu a ia ki te tira mahi manu o ngā taipakeke, tāne, wāhine mai. He whakataki manu anō te haere o Ākuhata o 1900, ahakoa te tohutohu a ngā kaumātua kia kaua e haere. Kātahi ka pā iho te aituā nui. Nō te hokinga pūhoretanga mai o te hunga nei i Rangitatahi (The Sisters) e rua ngā waka i tūpokina i te tuaone o Tupuangi. Tokoiwa ngā taitāhae i toromi. Ko tētahi o ngā makorea tokotoru ko Tame.

I ō rāua haerenga ko tōna pāpā ki Te Waipounamu i ngā tau 1901, 1902, he kaha tonu nō te hauora o Tame, ka uru a ia ki te hē ka raru i te ture. Nā tōna āhua hurori ka whakatakaroatia tōna āheitanga ki ngā whenua o tōna kōkā i te matenga o tērā i te tau 1903. Hoatu kētia ana ngā pānga ki tōna pāpā, ki a Rangitapua puri ai mō te wā o te koiora o te pāpā.

Nō te 30 o Hepetema 1903 ka moea e Tame a Ada Fowler ki Waitangi i Rēkohu rā. Nō Ngāi Tahu ki Arowhenua e tātata atu rā ki Te Umukaha (Temuka) te wahine nei. Ka neke rāua ki tētahi whenua rīhi i Whareama, ā, i reira ka noho tauira a Tame hei ākonga mahi pāmu hipi. Nō te mea ka heke haere te maha o te Moriori tūturu ake, mai i te 32 i te tau 1883 ki te 12 i te tau 1900, koirā anō te wā i piki ai te rahi o te whenua i nōhia e ngā Rehe ki Manukau ki te 1,800 eka. Tae rawa ki te tau 1910 kua oti i a Rangitapua te whakawātea, te whakapai ake taua poraka whenua hei pāmu hipi tino momoho, ā, kua oti anō hoki i a ia te hanga he kāinga korahi nei ki reira. I te tau 1915 ka mate ngātahi a Rangitapua rāua ko Ada. I tēnei wā kua hoki kē a Tame ki te pāmu a te whānau i Manukau, kua riro kē i a ia te kāinga me ngā kararehe a tōna pāpā, ā, eke atu ana ki te 7,000 ngā hipi me te māpu kau paku nei i reira e taka ana.

Kāore a Tame rāua ko Ada i whai tamariki. Nō te 21 o Oketopa 1916 ka moe wahine anō a Tame i Te Umukaha. Ko Whakarawa (Rene) Fowler te īngoa o tana wahine tuarua, he irāmutu ki a Ada. Tokorima ā rāua tamariki, tokorua ngā tamāhine, tokotoru ngā tama. Ko Charles Te Teira rātou ko Thomas Tūtānekai, ko Ngāmare, ko Eric Rangitapua, ā, ko Flora hoki. E taiohi tonu ana a Flora ka mate.

I te tekau tau atu i 1920 ka tupu tōna rongo puta noa i Aotearoa, arā, ko ia tonu tētahi o te hunga e tino pūkenga ana ki te mahi pāmu i Rēkohu, ā, nō te matenga o Paranihia Heta, te tuahine o tōna pāpā, ka pōhēhē te tini ko ia te hurumutunga o ngā Moriori. I tōna wā i tū a ia hei mema mō te komiti o te kura o Ōwenga, mō te Kaunihera tuatahi o Rēkohu i 1925, mō te Kaunihera Māori o Wharekauri me te Karapu o Ngā Tioke o Rēkohu. He tangata whakaihuwaka mō te pupuhi pītara. Ka riro nāna i whakaako te tīma whutupaoro o Ōwenga, ā, nāna anō hoki i whakatipu ētahi hōiho momoho ki te rērehi. Nō te tau 1924 i tono atu a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana ki a ia, kia karangatia he hui hei whakatū i te kaupapa Rātana ki Rēkohu. Mai i taua wā ā mate noa i noho tonu ia hei kaitautīnei mō te Hāhi Rātana ki Rēkohu. Ia tau, ia tau ka rere atu ia ki Ōtautahi (Christchurch), ki te whakahaere i ngā mahi pāmu me te hoko taputapu hou. E ai ki ngā rongo kīhai e warewaretia te hangatū mai o tō tangata. Ka tau kē hoki ki te mau i te hūtu pango me te pōtae momo homburg. Ko ngā manuhiri e tau ana ki Rēkohu ki te tirotiro i ngā tikanga a te iwi Moriori i tonoa katoatia atu ki a ia. Ā, ko ērā o ngā kāwai Moriori i tahuri ki a Tame hei kaihautū mō rātou.

Tāpiri atu ki te hangatū o tōna tinana (i ōna tau whakamutunga eke noa tōna taumahatanga ki te 30 tōne), ki āna mahi tiaki i tōna iwi me te hau o tōna mana tūranga Moriori, i kauanuanutia whānuitia a Tame Horomona mō tōna āhua whakamārie, mō tōna ngākau ohaoha me tōna wairua whakangahau. Nō te 19 o Maehe 1933 ka mate a Tame ki tōna kāinga ake i Manukau. Nā te mate kohi, mate manawa hoki i mate ai.

Ahakoa te whakamīharo tonu o Tame ki tana taha Moriori, i mau kē a ia ki ngā tikanga noho a te Māori. I riro nā ngā uri o Tame rāua ko Rīwai Te Rōpiha (nō te wā o tōna pāpā tēnei tangata) i whakaū te iwi Moriori ki Rēkohu, ā, e 50 tau i muri mai, nā aua uri anō i kōkiri kia whakahokia mai te hauoratanga o te mauri ora ki ngā tikanga a te iwi Moriori.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Michael King. 'Solomon, Tommy', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/2s35/solomon-tommy (accessed 29 March 2024)