Ko Ōhinemutu kāinga i te tapa o Rotorua Moana te wāhi i whānau ai a Frederick Augustus Bennett (Pererika Ākuhata Pēneti) i te 15 o Noema 1871. Ko Raiha Ratete (Eliza Rogers) tōna whaea. He wahine nō te kāhui ariki o tērā manawapū o Te Arawa, nō Ngāti Whakaue. Ko tāna i tuku ai ki tana tama ko ngā tikanga me ngā whakapapa o tōna iwi. He toa hokohoko nei te mahi a tana matua, a Thomas Jackson Bennett. I heke mai ia i Airana ki Aotearoa i te tau 1849. He tino pai rawa atu tōna mōhio ki te reo Pākehā, ā, he kaimahi mātātoa nō te hāhi. Nā te mea he karanga rua nō Pererika, i whakataka ia kia tū pakari i roto i āna mahi i a ia e ora ana.
Arā a ia i Maketū e noho ana i ngā tau tōmua o tōna whanaketanga, ā, he mea iriiri i reira e Peneha (S. M. Spencer). I haere ia ki te Kura Māori o Maketū, ā, nō te hokinga atu o te whānau ki Rotorua, ka haere ia ki te Kura Māori o Ōhinemutu. Nō te tau 1883, ka riro mai i a ia tētehi karahipi hei tuku i a ia ki te Kura o Tīpene (St Stephen's School) i Ākarana (Auckland), ā, nō te tau 1884 e haere tonu ana āna mahi ako i te Kura Māori o Te Wairoa i te moana o Tarawera. Ko reira tonu te wāhi i pū mārika ai ngā mahi tāpoi, arā, ko ngā puia o Ō-tū-kapua-rangi me Te Tarata; ina koa ko te tupunga ake he hokohoko pokanoa i te waipiro te papa, ka hangā he rōpū hei whakatapu i te inu nei. Ahakoa 14 noa iho ōna tau ka noho ko Pererika te hēkeretari o taua rōpū nei me te kaiwhiringa reo mō ngā manuhiri. Ko konei tonu te wāhi i tūtaki ai a Pīhopa A. B. Suter o Whakatū (Nelson) ki a ia. Nā ōna mātua i whakaae kia heria atu e Suter a Pererika ki te Kura a te Pīhopa (Bishop's School) i Whakatū, kia haere tonu ai āna mahi ako, ā, nō muri ki te Kāreti o Whakatū (Nelson College). I konei ka whakatūria ia hei tauira tuakana, ā, hei mema hoki mō te tīma tākaro whutupaoro tuatahi. Ko āna mahi anō i taua wā, he mema waiata nō te koaea o te whare karakia nui o Whakatū, he kaiwhakaako ki te kura Rātapu, ā, he kaiāwhina anō hoki i ngā karakia ki a rātau o ngā wāhi tūhāhā.
Nō te tau 1893, ka whakaae a Pēneti ki te tūranga hei minita reimana i raro i a A. O. Williams i te mīhana Māori i Pūtiki kāinga kei Whanganui. Nā tana rika kia whiwhi ētehi atu ki ngā painga o te mātauranga, ka tīmata ia i taua wā tonu ki te kohi moni hei hanga i tētehi kura. Tau rawa ki te mutunga o te tau 1895, kua hoki anō a ia ki Whakatū ki reira whai anō ai i te mātauranga. He mea whakawahi ia hei rīkona i te tau 1896, ā, i whakaoti hoki i tana tohu paetahi mō te taha atua (LTh). Nō muri, whakawahia ana ia hei pirihi i te tau 1897. I te wā i a ia i te tūranga pirihi kaiāwhina tuarua o te Whare Karakia o te Hunga Tapu Katoa (All Saints' Church), nāna i whakahaere te koaea. Heoti, hora whānui ana te rohe o tana minitatanga ki ngā wāhi tūhāhā. Nā te awe o Pēneti i taea ai tētehi whare karakia te hanga ki Motueka, me tētehi kura ki te kokoru o Whangarae i Kaiaua (Croisilles Harbour).
I whai wāhi atu a Pēneti ki te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Student's Association), arā, te kawainga o te Rōpū Taitamariki Māori (Young Māori Party) i te tekau tau atu i 1890. I haere ia ki ā rātau hui me tana whakarite anō ki te whakapau i ōna kaha haere ake nei ki te mahi mā te mīhana, ki te tautoko i ngā whāinga a te Kotahitanga ki te whakapai ake i te taha kikokiko, i te taha pūkenga, i te taha noho ā-iwi me te taha wairua o te iwi Māori.
Ko te 11 o Mei 1899 te rā i mārenatia e ia a Hana Te Unuhī Mere Paaka (Hannah Mary Park) i Motueka. He wahine nō Te Āti Awa, i kuraina i Hukarere Kura mō ngā Kōtiro Māori (Hukarere Native Girls' School). I rongo ngātahi rāua i te karanga a te Hāhi kia haere rāua ki Hua, arā ki Mangatī (Bell Block), ki roto ki Taranaki. Ko te tuatahi tonu o āna mahi he whakahaere i ētehi kōnohete hei kohi moni kia taea ai te hanga o tētehi hōro hei pokapū mō ngā mahi a te mīhana. Ko ia tētehi i whai wāhi atu i te whakatuwheratanga o te kura Māori tuatahi i Pūniho, i Taranaki, i te tau 1903. He mea whakaatu e Pēneti tana tino māia ki te haere hei kaikawe i te whakapono Pākehā ki te rohe i reira nei e taunutia ana, e mauāharatia ana te Pākehā, i muri mai i ngā whawhai o te tekau tau atu i 1860. He mea tino whakahē e ia ngā mahi hokohoko pokanoa i te waipiro, ā, ka inoi atu ki a Timi Kara (James Carroll), te minita mō ngā take Māori, kia kōkuhua he ture hei whakamutu i ngā hokonga waipiro ki te Māori hei inumanga i waho mai i ngā wāhi i raihanatia ki te hokohoko. Ko te mutunga iho o tēnei, ko Te Ture Whakatikatika i ngā Ture Raihana (Licensing Acts Amendment Act) 1904. Nā te wā me te ngoi i whakapaua e ia ki te kaupapa nei nāna i whakatū te riri i waenganui i a ia me ngā rangatira o te pīhopatanga. Nō muri tonu mai ka tukua e Pēneti tōna tūranga, ahakoa rā te tautoko mai a ngā Māori me ngā Pākehā o reira i a ia.
Ko te nekehanga tēnā o Pēneti ki Rotorua i te tau 1905, hei kaiwhakahaere mō te mīhana Māori. Mai i Rotorua ki Taupō, ā, whaka-te-tonga atu ki Tokaanu te hōrapa o tana rohe. He kohi moni anō hei hangahanga whare tana mahi tuatahi. Ka whakatūria tētehi rōpū kōnohete motuhake, ā, nā ngā moni i kohia mai i ā rātau mahi hāereere i te motu, i tū ai te whare karakia i Te Whakarewarewa me te hōro i Ōhinemutu. He mea whakaaraara haere ētehi whare karakia anō puta noa i te rohe o te mīhana. I kimihia tonutia ētehi tauira hou hei minita, ā, i te wā o te pupuritanga o Pēneti, i tonoa ētehi ki Tūranga (Gisborne) kia whakangungua ki te Kāreti o Te Rau Kahikatea (Te Rau Theological College).
Ko tētehi o aua tauira nei te kipa mō te kēhi rongonui e pā ana ki ngā moana o Rotorua. Nō te hokinga atu o Mānihera Tūmātahi ki te kāinga hararei ai i te tau 1907, ka mau ia i te kaitiaki o te rōpū kumanu, he hī ika mai nōna i te tuaone o te whenua o ōna mātua. I te whainatanga i a Mānihera ka puta ngā kōrero māia, ngā kōrero tōkeke a Pēneti ki te whakahē i te mahi tūkino a te ture, e whaina nei i tētehi tangata mō te hī ika mai i tōna ake tuaone, hopu ai i ngā ika i tukua pokanoatia ki ngā moana, kīhai hoki i whakaaetia e te hunga nō rātau aua moana. Ka uru mai ētehi atu ki te tautoko i te whakahēnga, ā, i te tau 1908, ka haria te take nei ki te Kōmihana a Taute (Stout) rāua ko Ngata. Ko te pūtake o te kēhi ko te rangatiratanga o te papa o te moana, ā, whakahauhautia ana a Te Arawa e te kōmihana kia kawea taua kēhi ki te Kōti Matua (Supreme Court). Nāwai rā, ka whakataua te take nei i runga i te whakaaro kotahi i te tau 1922, ā, whakaae noa ana te kāwanatanga kia utua ā-tautia £6,000 ki ngā kaiwhiwhi Māori mō ake tonu atu. He mea tuku te moni nei mā te Poari Kaitiaki ā-Rohe o Te Arawa (Arawa District Trust Board) e whakahaere. Ko te īngoa o tēnei poari i nāianei ko te Poari Kaitiaki Māori o Te Arawa (Te Arawa Māori Trust Board). E haere tonu nei tā rātau whakamahi i taua whiwhinga nei hei painga mō ngā iwi o Te Arawa.
Nō te Ākuhata o 1909 a Hana Bennett ka mate. O ā rāua tamariki ko Pererika Pēneti, tokotoru ngā mea tāne, tokorua ngā mea wāhine. I Tūranga, i te 14 o Tīhema 1911, ka moe wahine anō a Pēneti. He kaiāwhina pūmau tana wahine a Arihia Rangioue Pōkiha, te tamāhine a Hēmana Pōkiha o Ngāti Pikiao.
Ka pau te 13 tau i a Pēneti i Rotorua, ka hiki ki Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawkes Bay) ki te whakatutuki i ngā mahi mō te mīhana Māori. He mea whakanoho ia hei minita i Waipatu i te tau 1917. Mai i Nūhaka ki Waipāwa te nuku o tana rohe mīhana. He mea whakatū ia hei mema mō te komiti tumuaki o te pīhopatanga o Waiapu, ā, i noho hoki hei mema mō te Poari Kaitiaki o Te Aute. Puta noa i tana minitatanga he roa tonu te wā i whakapaua e Pēneti ki te whakapukapuka i ētehi pānui whakamārama me ētehi pukapuka putaputa. I tīmata mai tēnei tū mahi i Whakatū. Ko He Kupu Whakamārama me Te Pīpīwharauroa ērā. Ka whai i muri mai ko Te Kōpara, ko Te Toa Takitini, ā, taihoa ake ko Te Reo o Aotearoa. Ko tā ngā whakapukapukatanga nei he whakarato i te taura here mā reira tuku ai i ngā whakaaro, i ngā tirohanga me ngā rongo kōrero o te wā, ki ngā Māori o te Hāhi Mihingare.
Ko te kahanga mai o te awe o T. W. Rātana nō te tau 1918, te take i puta ai tētehi uauatanga mō te Hāhi Mihingare me ngā mahi anō hoki a Pēneti. I mau ia i waenganui i te matekiritanga o te Māori – nā reira nei i whanake ai te kaupapa Rātana – me te whakatoatoa o ngā tāngata whai me tō rātau Hāhi, he wāhanga nei nō taua Hāhi tana minitatanga. He mea tautāwhi nā te Hāhi Mihingare a Rātana i te tīmatanga, ēngari, nō tana pānuitanga i tōna Hāhi ake i te tau 1925, puta ana te pukuriri ki a ia me tana apataki. He mahi uaua te noho ngākau pono ki ngā kī taurangi pirihi, ā, koia tēnā te mea e tino whakamamae ana i a Pēneti me te nui noa atu o rātau.
Nō te tau 1925, ka whakatakotoria te whakaaro i te Hīnota Whānui kia whakatūria tētehi pīhopatanga Māori me tōna ake pīhopa. Koinei tētehi wāhi o te whakautu ki te whakatūranga i te Hāhi Rātana. Ko te mea nāna i pāpuni ai te nekehanga whakamua ko te take me Māori, me Pākehā kē rānei hei pīhopa. I totohe tonu te hāhi Pākehā me ōna pīhopa kia noho hei Pākehā te pīhopa tuatahi, ēngari, ko te wāhanga Māori i raro i a Apirana Ngata, e ōrite ana ki tā ērā te kaha o te totohe, i kī rātau me noho kē hei Māori te pīhopa. Ko te hua o tēnei take ko te noho weheruatanga o ngā whakaaro i waenganui i a Ngata rāua ko Pēneti, nō te mea e pai ana a Pēneti kia tukua ko tētehi Pākehā, e mārama ana ki te reo Māori, hei pīhopa. Ka pūmau tonu taua komutu rā ā tae noa ki te Hīnota Whānui o 1928. Nā taua hīnota i whakamana tētehi ture tau hei hanga i te pīhopatanga i whakaīngoatia ko te pīhopatanga o Aotearoa, ēngari, kāre ia i whakawhiwhia ki tētehi rohe pīhopatanga māna ake e whakahaere. Ko te tikanga ka meatia taua pīhopa hei kaiāwhina i te pīhopa o Waiapu.
Ko Pererika Pēneti tonu te mea i tohua. Nō te 2 o Tīhema 1928 ia ka whakatapua ko te pīhopa o Aotearoa. Ko ia te Māori tuatahi i whakatapua hei pīhopa Mihingare i Aotearoa nei. Ko tāna mahi he taute ki ngā Māori o ngā pīhopatanga katoa o Niu Tīreni i raro i te raihana whakaaetanga mai a ngā pīhopa o ia pīhopatanga. Heoti, he maha ngā pīhopa kīhai i whakaae ki te raihana i a ia. Ko tō rātau hiahia kē mā rātau tonu e whakahaere ngā mahi a te Hāhi i waenganui i te iwi Māori. He whakaepaepatanga tēnei i te whakaaro o Pēneti kia whakarerekētia ngā whakahaere o te mīhana Māori. (I noho pēnei tonu tēnei tū āhuatanga ā tae noa ki te tau 1978. Koinei te tau i raihanatia te pīhopa o Aotearoa e te pīhopa matua.)
Āpiti atu ki tana tiaki i te taha wairua, he tino tākare te urunga atu o Pēneti ki ngā mahi ā-iwi. Nāna i whakahauhau te mahi kia whakapakaritia ngā kapa haka Māori. I te tau o 1938, ka pōtitia ia hei perehitini mō te Kotahitanga o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Alliance), te rōpū e kaha tonu ana te haere o tā rātau whawhai kia whakahoungia te ture waipiro. He mema ia nō te Rōpū Reo Irirangi o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay Radio Society) me te Karapu Rotari (Rotary Club). Ko 1938 te tau i haere ai a Pēneti ki Īnia ki tētehi hui mihingare, ā, ko reira te wāhi i āhei ai ia ki te tūtaki ki ngā mihingare Karaitiana o ngā wāhi katoa o te ao.
I Ākuhata o 1946 ka whakanuia e Pēneti te huritau 50 o tana whakawahinga. Arā a ia i te Hui o Lambeth i Rānana (London) i te tau 1948, ā, i kauwhau rawa ia i te whare monaki nui o Wehiminita (Westminster Abbey) i taua haerenga ōna. Mai i konei, ka haere atu ia ki Amsterdam, ki te whakaminenga tuatahi a te Rūnanga o ngā Hāhi o te Ao (World Council of Churches). Āpiti atu ki ēnei here o rāwāhi i runga i a ia, ko ia tētehi o te rōpū e whakatikatika haere ana i te Paipera Māori. I ūwhia ia ki te tohu CMG i ngā whakahōnoretanga o te Tau Hou o 1948. E whakatautetia ana āna mahi whīwhiwhi e te raruraru, ā, e whakahau ana kia hoatu e ia ōna pūmanawa, tōna manawanui mutunga kore, me te whakawhere i tana tāima i runga i te ngākau oha noa. Kore rawa te ngākau pono o Pēneti ki tōna Hāhi i whakarūhia, ā, i tiakina e ia te noho pūmau o tana whakapono, te hora ao whānui o ōna whakaaro, me tōna wairua āio, wairua taumauri.
O ngā tamariki 19 a Pēneti, kotahi noa te mea kīhai i tupu kia pakeke. Tokowhitu o āna tama i haina mō ngā ope taua o te Pakanga Tuarua, ā, he mea kōmihana katoa hei āpiha. He tino taiea rawa atu ngā mahi a Tāre (Charles) i a ia i te Ope Taua Māori 28 o Aotearoa (28th (Māori) Battalion). I tino pūkeke rawa atu a Pēneti kia whakawhiwhia e ia ana tamariki ki ngā tino painga ahakoa pakupaku noa ana rawa. Ko te nuinga o rātau i puta i ngā whare wānanga, ā, i whiwhi hoki i ngā tohu mātauranga. I mātātoa katoa rātau i roto i te ao tūmatanui, ā, i whakawhiwhia te nuinga ki ētehi hōnore, me ētehi tohu hoki. Ko tana tama, ko Manuhuia te pīhopa Māori tuatoru o Aotearoa.
Nō te 16 o Hepetema 1950 ka mate a Frederick Augustus Bennett i tōna kāinga i Kohupātiki, i Te Matau-a-Māui. Ka mahue mai ko tana wahine tuarua me ngā tamariki 18 te nui. He mea nehu ia ki raro ki te wāhi tapu o te Whare Karakia o Faith (St Faith's Church), i Ōhinemutu, i kō paku mai i te wāhi i whānau ai ia.