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Kōrero: Buck, Peter Henry

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Buck, Peter Henry

1877?–1951

Nō Ngāti Mutunga; he tākuta, he ngārahu taua, he kaiwhakahaere hauora, he kaitōrangapū, he tohunga tikanga tangata, he tumuaki whare taonga

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e M. P. K. Sorrenson, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1996. I whakahoutia i te o Mei, 2002. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

Nā Peter (Pita) Buck tonu i kī ko 1880 te tau i whānau ia, ēngari, kei te rēhita o tana kura tuatahi e mau ana, ko te āhua nei ko tētehi o ngā rā o Oketopa 1877 kē te wā tika. Ko tōna whakapono mō te nuinga o ōna rā, ko Ngārongo-ki-tua tonu tōna whaea. I moea e Ngārongo te pāpā o Pita, a William Henry Buck, i Urenui kāinga o Taranaki i ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau atu i 1870. Erangi, he huatea tō rāua mārena. I runga anō i te tikanga Māori, ka heria mai tana tahu, a Rina, ki tō rāua kāinga noho ai, kia puta ai he uri mō William Buck. Nō muri tata mai i te whānautanga o Pita, ka mate a Rina, ā, riro ana nā Ngārongo ia i whakatipu.

Mō te roanga ake o tōna koiora he mea nui ngātahi ki a Pita Buck tōna taha Māori, taha Pākehā hoki. I heke mai tana taha Māori i Ngāti Mutunga, ina noa nei i hoki mai ai ki Taranaki i Wharekauri, arā, ko te īngoa Moriori ko Rēkohu (Chatham Islands). I a ia ka pakeke ka tapaina e ōna kaumātua ko Te Rangi Hīroa. Koia tēnei te īngoa o te matua kēkē o Ngārongo me te īngoa anō o tētehi o ōna tūpuna hau; i whakamahia rā e ia hei īngoa tito mōna, ā, koinei tōna īngoa e mōhio whānuitia ana e te iwi Māori. I ētehi wā, whakaatu mai ai a Pita he Airihi ōna tūpuna Pākehā; heoi, he uri kē ia nō ētehi kaiheke Porotehana nō Ingarangi ki Airana. Ko te rohe whakahaere o Galway te wāhi whānau o tana matua. I peka tērā ki ngā raorao keri kōura o Ahitereiria i mua i tana hekenga mai ki Aotearoa nei i te tau 1862. Nō muri mai ka nuku atu ia ki ngā keringa kōura ki Te Tai Poutini, ā, ki Pārāwai (Thames) me kore noa e tūpono ka waimarie. He pirihimana mau pū anō tētehi o āna mahi i taua wā. He mea whakawātea a ia i tana tūranga pirihimana i te tau 1871, ā, noho tūturu ana ki Urenui.

Hira ake ana te awe o Ngārongo ki runga ki a Te Rangi Hīroa. Nāna a ia i whakaako ki ngā kōrero kīwaha o te reo Māori me ētehi o ngā tikanga a tōna iwi. He nui anō hoki ngā mea i akona ki a ia e tōna tupuna matakēkē, e Kapuakore. Otirā, he Pākehā kē te āhua o tōna whakatipu, kāore i pērā rawa te Māori. He tangata matatau tana matua, ā, nāna i tohutohu a Te Rangi Hīroa kia aroha ki te reo me te whiti waiata. I noho kē mai te whānau i te wāhi noho o ngā Pākehā i Urenui, tēnā i te kāinga o ngā Māori i kō tata atu. Ko te kura kāwanatanga o te wā kāinga te wāhi i kuraina tuatahitia ai a Te Rangi Hīroa. Nō muri tata mai i te matenga o Ngārongo i te tau 1892, ka heria a ia e tōna matua ki Te Wairarapa, ki te teihana hipi a J. C. Andrew, mahi ake ai rāua. Nā runga i te whakahauhau a Andrew, ka tutuki te tūmanako o Te Rangi Hīroa kia kuraina ia i te Kāreti o Te Aute, i Heretaunga i Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay). Ko 1896 te tau i rēhitatia ai ia i reira.

He kura tuarua a Te Aute nā te Hāhi Mihinare mō ngā taitama Māori. Ko te minita, ko Te Tātana (John Thornton) te kaiwhakahaere i taua wā. Ka noho ngā tama tāne ki reira, ā, kuraina ai mō ngā marama 10 o ia tau. Ka kaha kē nei te raupapa i ngā tamariki e tino whakawaia ana ki te puna akoranga o te mātauranga, tae atu ki te reo Rātina, Kariki hoki, hei whakataka i a rātou mō te tiwhikete hei uru ki te whare wānanga me ngā mahi ā-umanga. I tino whai hua rawa atu a Te Rangi Hīroa i ōna tau e toru i Te Aute: i riro mai i a ia i tana tau whakamutunga te tohu tumuaki me te whakamātautau tuatahi hei tākuta, nā reira nei i whakatuwhera mai ngā kūaha o te kura tākuta o te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou (University of Otago Medical School) ki a ia. I toa ia i ngā whakataetae tākaro, ā, i riro i a ia te tūranga kāpene mō te kapa kaiaka me te tīma whutupaoro tuatahi (First IV). Ko ia he mema nō te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association). I tā rātou hui o 1897, ka pānuitia e ia tētehi pepa e whakahē ana i ngā āhuatanga o te rerenga parukore me te āhua o te whanonga o te iwi o Te Whiti, arā i Parihaka e noho ana. Ko ia anō hoki te hēkeretari a te Uniana Karaitiana.

I mua i tana rēhitatanga i te kura tākuta, ka haere a Te Rangi Hīroa rāua ko tētehi o ōna hoa ākonga ki Te Tai Rāwhiti toro haere ai. I reira ka wewehe a ia. Ko te tau o tana ate ko te wāhine pūwhero rā, ko Materoa Ngārimu. Ko te mea whakahinapōuri kē, ko te whakaparahakotanga o Ngāti Porou i a ia. Ki a rātou, ehara ia i te tangata tika mā Materoa. Pai ana te kura a Pita i a ia i te Kura Tākuta o Ōtākou. Ko ia tonu tētehi o ngā tino tauira o tana akomanga, ā, whakapaua ana e ia ōna kaha ki ngā mahi tākaro me ngā mahi whakahoahoa. I te tau 1900 me te tau 1903 koia te whakaihuwaka o te motu mō te peke roa, ā, i ngā tau 1902, 1903 me 1904, koia te toa o ngā whare wananga mo te peke roa. Kua taitama tāroaroa ia i taua wā, he tangata ātaahua, he tangata ngahau tonu, ā, i ētahi wā tē taea e ia te pēhi i te mahi hīanga. He wā anō, ka hangarau, ā, whāia tāwaitia ana e ia tētahi moa, he mea puru, i tangohia mai i te whare pupuri taonga. I te tau 1904, ka puta a Te Rangi Hīroa i ana whakamātautau mō te tohu mātauranga tākuta MB me te ChB. Nō te tau 1910, ka whiwhi ia i te tohu mātauranga tākuta MD. Ko te kaupapa o tana tuhinga whakapae ko 'Medicine amongst the Maoris in ancient and modern times'.

Nō tana putanga i ana whakamātautau tākuta, kotahi tau a ia i te hōhipera o Ōtepoti (Dunedin Hospital) e mahi ana, ā, mō ngā marama ruarua nei arā ia i te hōhipera mō ngā mate hinengaro o Sunnyside (Sunnyside Mental Hospital). Nō te 4 o Oketopa 1905, ka moea e ia a Margaret (Mākare) Wilson, he wahine i whānau i Airana, e noho ana i Māwhera (Greymouth). Ahakoa te urikore o tō rāua mārena, i noho pūmau tonu taua moenga. He tino kaha rawa atu te piri pono o Mākare ki a Te Rangi Hīroa; ka āwhina i a ia i roto i āna mahi, ka haere hei hoa mōna i ana mahi tūwaenga, kīhai hoki ia i takaroa ki te akiaki i tana hoa tāne ngākau ngāwari, ki te whiriwhiri i ngā whakaritenga e hira ana mō tana tino mahi. He wā i muri mai, ka noho ko Mākare te kaitaraiwa o tētehi motukā nā rāua i hoko mai. I te tata paunga o te tekau tau atu i 1930, ka pā te mate kai waipiro ki a Mākare. Ahakoa tini ana te wā i tutū ai te puehu, kīhai i matara te here.

Me i hiahiatia e ia he mahi ngāwari māna kua noho noa iho a Te Rangi Hīroa ki tāna mahi tākuta, ēngari e pū tonu ake ana i a ia te akiakitanga i Te Aute kia puta i a ia he painga mō tōna iwi. Nō te marama o Noema 1905, ka whakatūria a ia hei āpiha hauora mō te Māori. I whakamahia ia hei kaitiriwā mā tētehi tākuta o Taranaki anō, mā Māui Pōmare, ina noa nei a Māui i hoki mai ai i āna mahi rangahau hauora i Amerika. I te tīmatanga, ko Te Rangi Hīroa te rangatira o ngā rohe ki te tonga me te puku o Te Ika-a-Māui, erangi, nō 1907, ka noho kē mai ia hei rangatira mō Te Tai Tokerau. Nā Pōmare rāua ko Te Rangi Hīroa i whakakotahi ō rāua kaha ki te whawhai ki te whakapai ake i te āhua o te rerenga paru o ngā kāinga Māori tae atu ki te hauora o te iwi. Nā rāua i āwhina te whakahohoro ake i te whakaoranga o ngā Māori kia tini, kia hua anō ai. Ko te huringa o tēnei rau tau te tīmatanga o taua whakaoranga.

He tini ngā momo mahi a te tākuta i mahia e Te Rangi Hīroa i roto i Te Tai Tokerau, ā, nō tēnei wā i hau ai tōna rongo. I ētehi wā ka pokaina e ia te tūroro i te wā nei i waho ia e mahi ana i waenganui i te iwi Māori. Heoi rā, ohorere katoa ana i a ia te tauhou o te āhua o te mahi i utaina ki runga ki a ia i te wā tōmua o 1909. I te matenga ohoreretanga o Hōne Heke Ngāpua, te mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Tokerau, ka tae atu a Te Rangi Hīroa ki te tangihanga i Kaikohe. Ka tū ake a Timi Kara (James Carroll), te minita Māori, ka whakaīngoa i a Te Rangi Hīroa hei whakakapinga mō Hōne Heke. He wāhi tēnei nō te kaupapa a Timi Kara kia pōtitia āna 'taitama ihupuku' – arā, ngā paetahi Māori, nō muri mai ka tapaina ko te 'Rōpū Taitamariki Māori' (Young Māori Party) – ki te Pāremata. I te whakaaetanga a Te Rangi Hīroa, pōtitia ana a ia, ahakoa te whakararuraru mai a ētehi o ngā kaiwhakauru o te wā kāinga. Ko ia tētehi o ngā mema o te Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori (Native Affairs Committee), ā, mō tētehi wā poto i tū hei māngai mō te iwi Māori, arā, he tūnga ā-rūnanga kāwanatanga, i runga i te Kaunihera Whiriwhiri o te minitatanga ora poto a Makenēhi (Mackenzie) o 1912. Heoi anō, i te tau 1914, kīhai ia i pīrangi ki te tū anō hei mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Tokerau, otirā, ka tū kē mō te tūru whānui o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands); nā ngā pōti ruarua nei ia i raru ai. I muri mai i tēnei kore rawa ia i tū anō hei mema Pāremata.

He uaua ka tū a Te Rangi Hīroa ki te kōrero i te wā e whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro ana te Pāremata, erangi me ka kite ia e karawhiua ana te Māori, ka riro mā tana riri ia e wero kia tū. Kua kaha haere tana whakapau i ōna kaha ki ētehi atu take, arā, ko tana kaingākautanga hou mō ngā iwi Māori o Poronihia o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa tētehi o aua take. I te hikinga o te Pāremata i 1910, ka haere ia ki Rarotonga hei āpiha hauora mō ngā moutere o te Kuki Airani. Nō te hikinga o 1912–13, ko Niue tana wāhi haere, hei āpiha hauora anō. Nāna i tā ētehi tuhinga poto e pā ana ki ngā taonga ā-iwi o Niue, o ngā Kuki Airani, me ngā Māori o Aotearoa. Kei te reta pānui a te Whare Taonga o Aotearoa (Dominion Museum) ētehi, ā, ko te toenga kei te Journal of the Polynesian Society. Ko 1907 te tau i uru atu ai a Te Rangi Hīroa ki taua rōpū, ā, he tauira kaikaha ia nā Te Mete (S. Percy Smith), te kaiwhakaū o taua rōpū, he roa tonu a ia e ētita ana i taua tānga. He tino tohunga a ia ki ngā kōrero e pā ana ki te ahunga me ngā hekenga mai o te Māori me ngā iwi Māori o Poronihia – he kaupapa, taro ake nei, i tirohia ai e Te Rangi Hīroa.

Nō muri iho i te whakapuakitanga o te pakanga i te marama o Ākuhata 1914, nā rātou ko ngā mema Pāremata Māori i āwhina te mahi ki te haina i ētahi ika hou mō te ope tūao Māori. Ko Te Rangi Hīroa te āpiha hauora i haere i te taha o te ope nei ki Īhipa i Pēpuere o 1915. Kāore ngā hōia Māori i pai ki te noho he kaitiaki noa te mahi i Merita (Malta), ā, i runga i tā rātou inoi, ka tonoa rātou me te taua matua ki te raenga kūiti o Karipori (Gallipoli). Kātahi te nui o te tangata i mate ki konei – e rua tekau ōrau o rātou i hinga, i taotū rānei. Tino māia ana a Te Rangi Hīroa i te mura o te ahi. E rua rawa ngā wā i whakaīngoatia ia i ngā rīpoata ki ōna āpiha teitei, ā, ko te tukunga iho, i whakawhiwhia a ia ki te tohu toa DSO. Nō muri i te whakawāteatanga mai o te taua Māori i Karipori, ā, whakariteritea anō rātou ko te Rōpū Paionia o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Pioneer Battalion), kātahi ka tonoa ki Parani. Ka whakamahia i reira ki te keri, ki te hanga rānei i ngā rua-pū, i ngā kōruarua, i ngā tāwharau hei maru, me te whakatakoto i ngā taputapu kawe kōrero. I tukua a Te Rangi Hīroa kia whakawhiti hei kairiri, hikitia ana tana tūnga ki te meiha, ā, whakatūria ana hei kaiārahi tuarua mō te hokowhitu. I tae rawa ia ki Parani me Peretiama pakanga ai, erangi, nō te taenga ki te tau 1917, ka whakawhitia atu ia ki te teihana Nama 4 o ngā waka tūroro pārae (No 4 New Zealand Field Ambulance). Nō te marama o Mei 1918, ka whakatūria ia ki tētehi tūnga i Peretānia, ā, i Hepetema, ka tonoa ki te hōhipera whānui Nama 3 o Niu Tīreni (No 3 New Zealand General Hospital) i Godford.

Ka haere tonu ngā mahi a Te Rangi Hīroa ki te whai i te kaupapa i kaingākautia nei e ia, arā, te mātauranga tikanga tangata. I tūtaki ia ki ētehi o ngā tohunga tikanga tangata o Peretānia, ā, i inoia e ia he taputapu mai i a rātou hei whātau i ngā āhuatanga ā-tinana o ngā hōia o te Rōpū Paionia, i a rātou e hoki mai ana i te whawhai ki te kāinga. He mea pānui ki te Journal of the Polynesian Society o 1922–23, tētehi tuhinga roa āna e pā ana ki ngā mahi i oti i a ia.

I riro i a Te Rangi Hīroa te mahi ake a Pōmare i tōna hokinga mai ki Aotearoa nei, ā, nō te tau 1921 ka noho ko ia te kaiwhakahaere mō te Wāhanga Whai Hauora Māori (Māori Hygiene Division) o te tari hou nei, o te Tari o te Ora (Department of Health). I mahi ia i Ākarana (Auckland), ā, hokona mai ana e ia he whare i Panēra (Parnell). Ko te maha o te Māori i hinga ki te urutā rewharewha puta noa i te motu i te tau 1918, te mea nāna i whakaatu e hiahiatia ana kia whakapaitia ake te rerenga paru. He mea āta whakawhere e Te Rangi Hīroa ngā kaiārahi Māori kia mahi tahi rātou ko ngā nēhi me ngā āpiha hauora, ki te ārai i te hora o ngā mate hopuhopu.

Kua kaha haere rawa atu te uru atu o Te Rangi Hīroa i nāianei ki te kaupapa mātauranga tikanga tangata. He maha ōna haerenga waerenga i te taha o Tarāwhai (Johannes Andersen) rāua ko Te Peehi (Elsdon Best), ki te tuhi kōrero e pā ana ki ngā tikanga me ngā puoru a ngā wāhi nohoanga tāngata Māori. Nāna ētehi tuhinga kōrero anō i tā ki te Journal of the Polynesian Society, ā, ko tētehi pepa whakamārama, ko The evolution of Maori clothing te īngoa, i tā hei tuhinga kōrero tūturu mā te Rōpū Poronihia i te tau 1926. Koirā anō te tau i hoki anō ai ia ki ngā motu o te Kuki Airani, mō te 10 wiki. He mea whakapukapuka nāna ana tukunga iho, ko The material culture of the Cook Islands (Aitutaki) te īngoa, i te tau 1927. Nā aua rangahau whakautiuti a Te Rangi Hīroa, me te tohungatanga o ana whakaahua tuhi ā-ringa i pou, ko ia tonu tētehi o ngā tohunga matua e pā ana ki ngā taonga ā-iwi a te iwi Māori.

Kua kaha haere te hau o te rongo o Te Rangi Hīroa huri haere ki te kauwhau, tēnā rawa ia, mō tana kauwhau, 'The coming of the Māori.' Koinei tana kauwhau o 1922 mō te kaupapa Cawthron i Whakatū (Nelson) me tērā o 1923 ki te Rūnanga Pūtaiao o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa (Pacific Science Congress), i Poipiripi (Melbourne). Nō te tau 1925 i tāia e ia tana kauwhau Cawthron, ā, i tāia anō i te tau 1929 e te Poari Whakapapa (Board of Ethnological Research). Nō te tau 1949, ka whakapukapukatia anō e te Poari o te Tahua mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board), erangi, he maha ngā whakatikatikanga o tēnei tānga, ā, i whakawhānuitia ake āna kōrero. Mai i taua tau, e hia kē nei ōna tānga.

Ko te rūnanga pūtaiao i Poipiripi (Melbourne) te wāhi i tūtaki ai a Te Rangi Hīroa ki te ahorangi, ki a Herbert E. Gregory, te kaiwhakahaere o te whare taonga o Honoruru (Honolulu), arā, o te Bernice P. Bishop Museum, i Hawaii. I tūtaki anō rāua i te haerenga mai o Gregory ki Ākarana i te tōmuritanga o taua tau. I taua wā, e utua ana e te whare taonga o Honoruru ētehi haerenga rapunga i ngā tikanga ā-iwi ki ngā moutere o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Nā Gregory i utu te haere waerenga o Te Rangi Hīroa ki ngā motu o te Kuki Airani i 1926, kātahi ka tāpaea e ia tētehi karahipi rangahau i te whare taonga o Honoruru mō ngā tau e rima. I mua i tana whakaaetanga ki taua tāpae, ka akoako a Te Rangi Hīroa ki tana takatāpui o mai rā anō, ki a Āpirana Ngata. Ā muri ake nei te pia a Te Rangi Hīroa ka tū hei tohunga ngāio.

Ko ia te kairangahau i te whare taonga o Honoruru, i hora whānui ai ngā haere tūwaenga a Te Rangi Hīroa puta noa i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. I tīmata mai aua mahi waerenga nei i Hāmoa ki te Uru, kātahi, i nga tau o muri mai, ka peka haere atu ki te nuinga o ērā o ngā moutere o Poronihia. Ka oti tēnā mahi tūwaenga, hohoro ana te tuhinga, kātahi ka tāia hei reta pānui mā te whare taonga o Honoruru. Nō te tau 1957, arā, nō muri i te matenga o Te Rangi Hīroa, te tānga o te reta pānui whakamutunga. Hei tāpiringa atu ki ērā, ko ngā tuhituhinga maha, ngā pitopito kōrero me ngā tātaritanga nā Te Rangi Hīroa i tuku kia tāia e ngā pukapuka putaputa. He mahi tonu nāna te whakapā atu ki te ētita o te Journal of the Polynesian Society, me te hoatu i ētehi tohutohu whakaaro nui e pā ana ki ngā tuhinga e tukua ana e ētehi atu. He wā anō ka noho ko ia hei kaiwawao i ngā kōwhetewhete i waenganui i ana hoamahi. Nā Te Rangi Hīroa anō i tā ētehi kaupapa tirohanga whānui; ko Anthropology and religion (1939) me An introduction to Polynesian anthropology (1945) ētehi o aua tānga. Hei aha koa, ko tana mahi i tino paingia rawatia ko Vikings of the sunrise (1938). He tuapa whakakatakata, whakakoakoa tana heri haere i a tātou i roto i ngā kōrero tuku iho ā-waha, i te whanaungatanga me te anga pāpori o tēnā, o tēnā ngare nui o ngā moutere o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. He pukapuka i tino kaingākautia i roto i Amerika, ā, horo ana te tono kia tāia anō. E hia kē nei ngā tānga i whakaputaina.

Otirā, ahakoa tana rongonui me te hau o te rongo o tōna taha mātauranga, kotahi te pātai kōhukihuki e whakaāwangawanga ana i a Te Rangi Hīroa mō tētehi wā roa tonu: arā, ko te hoki mai ki Aotearoa nei, kāore rānei. Nō te mutunga o ana mahi tūwaenga i ngā motu o te Kuki Airani, i te tau 1930, ka hoki mai ia ki konei mō te kotahi marama. Nō tana hokinga atu ki Hawaii, ka tae ake tana reta ki a Ngata, e kī ana mō te takunetanga nui whakaharahara kāore nei ōna ritenga, i tūpono ki a ia i te kotahi marama i a ia i tōna whenua tupu. Hei tāna, tata ana te rite o te maioha ngākau aroha a ōna hoa rātou ko ōna hoamahi i tōna taenga atu ki Hawaii ki tērā o tana hokinga mai ki tōna whenua tupu. Ko tana hiahia kia whakamutua e ia tana mahi pūmau, te tohunga tikanga tangata ā-umanga i Aotearoa, heoi anō, kīhai he tūranga mōna i konei, nā te whakatohetohe o ngā whare wānanga o Niu Tīreni ki te whakatū i ētehi kaiwhakaako mō te kaupapa nei. Ko tana huringa atu tēnā ki te whai i ngā mahi e wātea mai ana ki a ia i te whare taonga o Honoruru me te tuawhenua anō o Amerika.

Ka tae ki te mutunga o tana karahipi rangahau i te Hune o 1932, ka whakatūria a Te Rangi Hīroa hei ahorangi torotoro mō te take tikanga tangata ki te whare wānanga o Yale. He mea kaingākau rawa atu ki a ia taua tūranga. Tuatahi, nā taua tūranga a ia i whakawātea ki te whakaako i ngā kaupapa e whārikitia ana e ana rangahautanga i Aotearoa me Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. Tuarua, nā taua tūranga anō ia i whakaāhei ki te whakawhānui ake i te rārangi īngoa o te hunga mātauranga hei whakapānga atu māna; ki te torotoro haere i ngā wāhi maha o Amerika me Kānata. I te wā o ana hararei roa, haere rawa ia ki Peretānia me Uropi, ki reira āta tirotiro ai ki ngā whakaeminga o ngā taonga o mua o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. I mutu te wā o Te Rangi Hīroa i Yale i te 30 o Hune 1933, erangi, ahakoa tana koroingo ki te hoki mai ki Aotearoa, kua tūturu kē te wāhi mōna i te whare wānanga o Honoruru: arā, kua kōwhiria kētia hoki ia hei kaiwhakahaere piki tūranga mō Gregory i taua whare wānanga ina makere mai ana tērā i taua tūnga i te 30 o Hune 1936. Ko te mahi kē i nāianei he rapu mahi māna ā tae noa ki taua wā. Ko te whakaroanga ake o tana ahorangitanga i Yale mō tētehi tau anō te tukunga iho. Ka mutu, ka hoki ia ki te whare wānanga o Honoruru, erangi, i haere kē ki te mahi tūwaenga i Mangaréva, i runga i te mōhio he ruarua ngā ara pēnei ka wātea mai ki a ia, ina herea ana ia e ngā mahi a te kaiwhakahaere. I taea e ia te toro mai a Aotearoa nei mō ngā wiki e ono i te tōmuatanga o 1935, ki te kauwhau haere, ki te toro atu i ngā kaupapa ahu whenua Māori, ā, i runga i te mōhio kua tūturu tana noho hei toi ki tāwāhi, ka hokona atu e ia tōna whare i Panēra.

I riro i a Pita Te Rangi Hīroa Buck tana tūranga kaiwhakahaere o te whare taonga o Honoruru i te 1 o Hūrae 1936. Kīhai ia i āraia e te taimahatanga o ana herenga whakahaere, ki te tā auau i ana tuhinga, ki te mahi tūwaenga rānei i ētehi wā, erangi, i whakarērea e ia aua mahi tūwaenga rā i te wā o te pakanga i Te Moananui-a-Kiwa. He auau te whakahoutanga i tōna tūranga kaiwhakahaere, ā, ahakoa kua tae rawa ia ki te wā e tika ana kia makere mai ia i taua tūranga nō te kaumātuatanga ōna, erangi, kua whakahoua anō. I tua atu i tēnā, ko ia tētehi o ngā kaitiaki, ā, taro ake, te perehitini o te poari o ngā kaitiaki o te whare wānanga o Honoruru. Na, i nāianei kua tino kaha rawa atu te hau o ōna rongo, ā, manakohia ana i ngā wā katoa hei kaikauwhau i ngā rūnanga, i ngā hui tūmatanui i Hawaii, i te tuawhenua o Amerika rānei. He maha ngā paraihe taha mātauranga i whiwhi ia: arā, ko te Mētara whakamaharatanga me te paraihe a Hector (Hector Memorial Medal and Prize) i 1932, ko te mētara whakamaharatanga a Rivers (Rivers Memorial Medal) i 1936, ko te mētara a Te Mete (S. Percy Smith Medal) i 1951, me te mētara a Huxley (Huxley Medal) i 1952, arā, i te tau i muri iho o tōna matenga. I whakawhiwhia ki a ia te tohu tākuta hōnore e ngā whare wānanga o Niu Tīreni (1937), o Rochester (1939), o Hawaii (1948) me Yale (1951). Erangi, ko te hōnore e tino hiahiatia rawatia ana e ia ko te taitara Tā o Niu Tīreni. He roa e tāria ana e ia, nā runga i te pōhēhē kua oatitia kētia a ia hei tangata whenua i Amerika. Ko te mutunga iho, ka whakawhiwhia ki a ia te taitara Tā (KCMG) i te tau 1946. Nō taua tau anō, ka whakawhiwhia ki a ia te Ota Wītana o te Whetū o Raro (Swedish Order of the North Star).

Ahakoa, kua noho ko Te Rangi Hīroa tētehi o ngā toi tino rongonui o Aotearoa, mau tonu tana whakapāpā mai ki tōna whenua tupu, ki ōna hoa o ngā tau o mua, ki ōna hoamahi, tēnā rawa ia ki a Āpirana Ngata. E whakaatu ana ngā reta tāroa i tuhia e tētehi ki tētehi i ngā tau atu i 1925 ki 1950, e ū tonu ana te aro mai o Te Rangi Hīroa ki te āhua o ngā mahi e ahu whakamua ana i Niu Tīreni nei, me ōna āwangawanga e pā ana ki te oranga o te Māori. I āhei a Ngata ki te rīpoata atu i aua ahunga whakamua rā ki a ia, nā te mea i roto a Ngata ia rā, ia rā i te hōhonutanga o aua mahi. I tirohia mai i tawhiti aua ahunga whakamua rā e Te Rangi Hīroa – mai i te tihi o Mauna Loa – ā, ki ngā tirohanga anō hoki a te tohunga mātauranga tikanga tangata me āna mahi tūwaenga i roto i ērā atu o ngā iwi Māori o Poronihia. Ehara te mātauranga tikanga tangata i te hākinakina taha mātauranga noa iho nei, ēngari he ara e hiahiatia ana hei whakahauhau i ngā mahi tūwaenga, i ngā mahi ahu whenua me te whakahoki ake anō i te waiora ki ngā tikanga Māori.

Ko 1949 te tau o te hokinga whakamutunga mai o Te Rangi Hīroa ki Aotearoa nei. E kainga kinotia ana e te mate pukupuku. I haere iho ki te Rūnanga Pūtaiao o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, ā, kia whakawhiwhia e tana hoa hōia o ngā tau o mua, e te Kāwana Tianara, e Tā Bernard Freyberg ki te tohu Tā. E hia kē nei ngā kauwhau i tonoa i a ia i ngā hui tūmatanui, ā, i haere tahi rāua ko te tauheke nei, ko Ngata i tō rāua haerenga whakamutunga ki ngā marae o ētehi o ngā takiwā o te whenua nei, tae atu hoki ki tōna ake i Urenui. Nō te 1 o Tīhema 1951, ka hinga mai a Pita Te Rangi Hīroa Buck i Honoruru. Nō te tau 1953 rā anō ōna pungarehu ka whakahokia mai ki tōna kāinga tupu. I whakahaeretia tētehi tikanga whakamīharo i te whakatakotoranga i ōna pungarehu kia okioki i Ōkoki, he urupā e pātata ana ki Urenui, i te 8 o Ākuhata i te tau 1954. Ka mahue pouaru mai a Mākare. Nō tōna matenga ake, ka heria mai ōna pungarehu kia takoto ki te taha o ērā o tana hoa tāne.

Ko te whanaketanga kākano rua o Pita Te Rangi Hīroa Buck te tauira pai nāna a ia i whakataka mō ngā tūmomo mahi i tohua e ia hei mahinga māna. Nā te whakaakoranga i a ia hei tākuta i hira ai te wāhi i tukua e ia ki te hiki i te taha hauora o te Māori ki ngā taumata o te pai, ā, nā ōna toi e pā ana ki ngā tikanga Māori me ngā tikanga a ngā iwi Māori o Poronihia, te mea whakahirahira nāna i angitu ai te whakatohunga tikanga tangatatanga i a ia. Nā tōna wairua hūmārika, wairua āhuareka i ngāwari ai ki a ia te whakawhiti i waenganui i ngā ao e rua tino rerekē nei, ki te āwhina whai kiko i tōna iwi me te kore i ārikarika o ana takohanga ki te toi o ngā whakamōhiotanga o te mātauranga tikanga tangata. Ko tōna mana i roto i te ao Māori, pērā i tōna mana hei tino tohunga tikanga tangata rā, e pā ana ki ngā taonga ā-iwi o Poronihia, ka tū tonu, ka tū tonu.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

M. P. K. Sorrenson. 'Buck, Peter Henry', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated o Mei, 2002. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3b54/buck-peter-henry (accessed 29 March 2024)