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Eketone, Pēpene

by Angela Ballara

Biography

Tērā pea, ko Mōkau, i te whaitua whaka-te-raki o Taranaki te wāhi i whānau ai a Pēpene Eketone; nō te tau 1855, 1856 kē rānei ia i whānau ai. Ko Hōne Eketone rāua ko Hera Mahina ōna mātua, ā, ngātahi rāua nō Ngāti Maniapoto. Nō Ngāti Uekaha me ētehi atu o ngā hapū o Ngāti Maniapoto a Pēpene. I ētehi wā, i whai tonu ia i tōna īngoa Pākehā, a Fairburn Eggleston (Eccleston rānei), he īngoa i pū mai i ētehi mihinare Pākehā. Nō te 21 o Maehe i te tau 1878, i moe ai rāua ko Mere Pātene (Mary Barton), arā, ko tōna īngoa noa ko Mamae; tērā pea nō Ngāti Pou mai ia. Tokotoru ā rāua tamariki i ora; ko Ānaru te mea mātāmua me ā rāua tamāhine tokorua, me Merepaea rāua ko Hana. E rua ngā moenga anō a Pēpene i muri mai, arā, ki a Te Aorangi Wētere rāua ko Te Waiata Wētere, ēngari kāore i tipu te pā harakeke.

Kāore e kore, i whakaakona a Pēpene ki ngā reo e rua i te mea, i waenganui rawa ake i te tekau tau mai i 1880, kua mārō kē te haere o tana mahi kaiwhakamāori whai raihana, me tana mahi kaiwhakahaere Māori whai raihana anō hoki. I noho ia ki Ōtorohanga i te tuatahi, kātahi ka nuku atu ki Te Kūiti i te wā e mahi ana ia i ngā kōti huri haere i te rohe o Waikato–Maniapoto. Ko te tuatahi o ana pakanga nui i pā ki te poraka whenua nui whakaharahara, ki te Rohe Pōtae, e kokorahotia ana e ngā iwi o Ngāti Maniapoto, o Ngāti Raukawa, o Ngāti Hikairo, o Ngāti Tūwharetoa, me ngā hapū anō o Whanganui. Ko ngā rohe o te poraka nei, he mea tautohe anō e Tainui, e Te Arawa me ētehi atu hoki. I tīmata te mahi a te kōti ki te whiriwhiri i ngā kerēme nei i te tau 1886, ā, taka rawa ki Āperira o te tau 1888 kātahi anō ka mutu. Heoi anō, he maha tonu ngā tau e mahi ana, kātahi anō ka taea te whakarite ngā wāhangahanga rahi me ngā wāhangahanga paku o aua whenua nei. Auau tonu te tū mai o Pēpene hei kanohi mō ōna whanaunga. I ētehi atu wā ko ia anō te kanohi mō ngā hapū o Ngāti Maniapoto e iwa, nuku atu rānei. Nā Pēpene tonu ā rātou kerēme i whakahaere, ā, he nui tonu ngā mea i tutuki i a ia. Kitea ake ana tōna īngoa, me ērā o āna tamariki i runga i te rārangi īngoa o ētehi o aua whenua.

I te tau 1889, e ai ki te kōrero mō Pēpene, kātahi te kaiwhakahaere tino ngaio ko tērā, i riro nāna rā i whakahaere te kēhi o Hitiri Te Paerata mō te poraka whenua kūraruraru rā, mō Taupōnui-a-Tia. Ko tētehi o ōna kaha, he mōhio nōna ki te whakarite i ngā take i waho i te whare Kōti. Ahakoa anō te takeo o te mahi, e hia marama kē i pau i a Pēpene e nana ana kia whakaae i a ia ngā rangatira nui pērā i a Wahanui Huatare, i a Tangitehau Te Kanawa, me Taonui Hīkaka hoki. Hoi anō, mōhio tonu ana a Pēpene kua kore e ū te mahi nei i te pūkaha noa; ka noho ka āta whakamārama rawa a Pēpene i te pūtake o ngā taupatupatu, ā, ki te āhua nei e waihotia kētia ana e ia te take nei mā te Kōti kē e whakatau – inarā he whiringa taupaepae kē tēnei nāna kia whiwhi i tāna i hiahia ai.

Tautokona ana ngā mākohakoha o Pēpene, i te whakatūnga i a ia hei āteha mō te Kōti Whenua Māori; i ngā tau 1891–1892 koinei tāna mahi i ngā whakawātanga anō o te Kōti Whenua Māori i Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay) mō te kerēme o Ōmāhu, ka roa kē nei e taupatupatua ana. I te Maehe o 1891, nōna te reo pōwhiri i te whakatuwheratanga o te hui ki Horotiu (Cambridge) i waenganui i ngā Māori o Waikato–Maniapoto, rātou ko te Kōmihana mō ngā Ture Whenua Māori (Native Land Laws Commission), me te Kōti Whenua Māori hoki. Ahakoa i mihia e ia te kāwanatanga mō te whakatūnga o te Kōmihana nei, i whakahē anō hoki a ia i te kaupapa taunaha i whakanōhia e te Karauna, arā, ko tōna mana anake ki te hoko mai i te whenua i te poraka o te Rohe Pōtae, hei hanga i te rerewē matua whai i te motu. Ko te mate o te whakamanatanga o te Karauna i tōna mana anake ki te hoko i te whenua, kua kore e whiwhi ngā tāngata nō rātou aua whenua i te wāriu mākete mō ō rātou whenua. I te rironga o Pēpene hei māngai kōrero mō ngā rangatira, ka whakahē ia i ngā ture e patu anake ana i te Māori, arā, nuku kē atu te utu a te Māori i ngā utu mō te hoko atu i te whenua i ā te Pākehā, hei utu i ngā nama o te Kōti Whenua Māori. I whakahē anō a Pēpene i ētehi wāhi o te Ture Whakatika 1888 i te Ture Kōti Whenua Māori 1886 (Native Land Court Act 1886 Amendment Act 1888) e whakamana ana i te Kōti ki te whakawawae i ngā poraka whenua rahi, aua hoki te tono atu ki ngā kaiwhiwhi o te whenua, riro kē ana te nui o ngā moni ki te utu i te whakawawaetanga, mahue paku noa mai mā ngā kaihoko o te whenua. Ko tāna anō i tono ai, me āta whakamōhio anō te Māori ki ngā tikanga o te utu rēti kia kore ai e ohorere i te nui o te nama e puta ake ana. Atu i tēnā me whai tūranga anō te Māori i runga i ngā kaunihera ā-rohe. Kāore a ia i mōhio he aha atu he rōpū whakahaere i kō atu i te Kōti Whenua Māori, ēngari ki tāna, nā te nui o te utu ki te whakahaere i ngā whakawā, kāre e tika tēnei; ahakoa pēhea te tika o te kerēme, menā he pōhara te tangata, kāore ia e whai wāhi ki te whakahaere i tana kēhi.

Ko tētehi o ngā tino whāinga a Pēpene Eketone, ko te mahi tōrangapū Māori, ko te tautoko i te mana Māori motuhake me te whakanui anō i te Kīngi Māori. Nō te tau 1887 tana tūnga tuatahi mō te tūru Pāremata mō Te Tai Hauāuru, engari ngāwari noa iho te pupuru tonu a Hoani Taipua i te tūnga. I ngā tau i muri mai, he auau tonu tana tū mō taua tūru, ēngari i te ngaronga i a Ngāti Raukawa riro kē ana i tētehi o ngā tautapa a te Kīngi Māori. Ko te take hoki he rāwaho kē a Pēpene, riro noa ana ko Ngāti Maniapoto anake te iwi i te tautoko i a ia.

I ngā whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro a te Māori i te tau 1898 mō te kaupapa a Te Hētana (Richard Seddon), te pirimia, ki te whakatū i ētehi kaunihera Māori me ngā poari whenua Māori, mārō tonu te tū mai o Pēpene i te taha o te hunga e whakaparahako ana i ngā mahi whakamatua nei a Te Hētana. Ko tā ngā Māori kē e hiahia ana ko te mana motuhake. Heoi anō rā, pērā i te tini o ngā pononga a te Kīngitanga, e whakaaro ana ki te whakamātautau i te take nei, nō te tau 1902 i whakaae a Pēpene ki te tūranga i meinga mōna i runga i te Kaunihera Takiwā Māori o Hikairo–Maniapoto–Tūwharetoa (Hikairo–Maniapoto–Tūwharetoa District Māori Land Council). Ēngari, i te tau 1905 kua wenewene kē ia i te uaua o ngā tauhere a te kāwanatanga i ngā kaunihera nei. I te tau 1904, i a rātou e takatū ana ki te whakatū i tētehi petihana hei whakarerekē i ngā ture whakahaere i ngā whenua Māori, tāia ana e Pēpene rāua ko Hōne Ōmipi (John Ormsby) Ko te Kawenata o Ngāti Maniapoto me ōna hapū maha. Riro ana hoki nā Wahanui Huatare me ērā atu anō o Ngāti Maniapoto rāua i āwhina ki te mahi i te tānga nei. He kohikohinga whakapapa, he rārangi īngoa tāngata, he īngoa hapū, he īngoa kāinga nō Ngāti Maniapoto ngā kaupapa o te mahi nei. He kaupapa āta whakarārangi pea tōna tikanga i te katoa o ngā tāngata e noho ake ana i raro i te kaunihera. I ngā marama o Āperira me Mei 1905, i whakahaerea e Ngāti Maniapoto ētehi hui, ā, i tauiratia hoki e Pēpene mā tētehi petihana, kātahi ka tukua ki te kāwanatanga. He wā roa tonu nei a Pēpene rāua ko Tūreiti Te Heuheu e patapataitia ana e te Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori (Native Affairs Committee). Ko te inoi matua a Pēpene, me mutu te whakapūhouhou a te kāwanatanga, inarā, he iwi tūtika tonu te iwi Māori.

I taua wā e haere tonu ana tana mahi kaiwhakahaere Māori. I te tau 1907 ko te kanohi ia o te iwi Māori mō te rohe o Mōkau ki te kōmihana uiui o Taute (Stout) rāua ko Ngata, he kōmihana e tiro ana i ngā whenua Māori. He mea whakamōhio atu e ia te kōmihana ki ngā rīhi i Mōkau–Mōhakatino a Hōhua Tione (Joshua Jones), e 56 ngā tau atu i te tau 1882 i rīhitia aua whenua rā (he take tautohea rawatia, ā, ko te mutunga iho whakatūria ana he kōmihana roera i te tau 1888), kāore anō kia mahia te whenua. I kīia e ia, mehemea i raro i te whakahaere a te Māori, he maha ngā tono kia whakamahia aua whenua rā; e ai ki te whakaaro o te kōmihana, kātahi te kerēme kūare ko tēnā.

Nā tōna kore i pai ki te mahi whakamatua a te kāwanatanga i ngā whakahaere i ngā whenua Māori, i anga tautoko ai a Pēpene i a Tupu Taingākawa me tōna wāhanga o te Kīngitanga. Ko Taingākawa te rangatira o rātou kāore e whakaae noa ana ki ngā mahi tūhonohono a ētehi ki te kāwanatanga koroni. Ki tō rātou whakaaro, me noho mana motuhake tonu te Kīngitanga Māori, ēngari me noho ake i raro i te mana o te Karauna o Peretānia anō hoki. I whai wāhi anō a Pēpene hei mema mō te Kotahitanga hou a Taingākawa, arā, ko te Kotahitanga o ngā Iwi Māori o Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu. Otirā, nō te tau 1909 i tū ai a Pēpene hei kaiwhakauru mō te Te Tai Hauāuru, ēngari kāore i toa. Nō te tau 1910, i haere tahi rāua ko tana tamaiti, ko Ānaru, e whai nei i ngā mahi tōrangapū, kaiwhakamāori a tana pāpā, ki te hui a te Kotahitanga a Taingākawa i Waharoa; e ū mārika ai te whakahaere o te hui, he whakatakoto kaupapa whai kiko kē te mahi a Pēpene i taua hui.

He wā nei anō e whakahaere ana a Ngāti Maniapoto i ētehi hui tōrangapū ā-tau ki Te Kūiti. I tae a Pēpene ki aua hui katoa, ā, tērā pea ko ia tonu i te whakahaere. Nō te hui o te marama o Hepetema 1911, i whakatūria a Pēpene ki tētehi komiti Māori mō te motu i te taha o Āpirana Ngata, o Māui Pōmare, o Hoani Parāone Tūnuiārangi me ētehi atu hoki. I whakatūria tēnei rōpū ki te whakarite i tētehi kaupapa hei tuku atu ki te Kīngi Māori, ki a Mahuta Te Wherowhero, me te Minita Māori, me Timi Kara (James Carroll). Ko tōna tikanga ake he kimi huarahi hei hāpai, hei whakawhirinaki i te mana o te iwi Māori. Nō muri mai i taua marama anō, i tae atu a Pēpene ki tētehi hui a te takatūnga Iharaira i Kaiwhaiki, i te awa o Whanganui. I pānuitia i reira ngā īngoa o ngā kaiwhakauru mō Te Tai Hauāuru mō taua tau, arā, a Pēpene, a Hēnare Kaihau me ētehi atu. Heoi anō, e tautoko kē ana ngā Iharaira i a Māui Pōmare. Kia mau tonu ai te paihere, he mea inoi rawa a Waikato–Maniapoto, kia whakakotahi mai ki muri i a Pēpene, i a Kaihau kē rānei.

I te mutunga mai kore rawa rātou i noho kotahi. I Tīhema, i whakahaeretia e Pēpene tana kaupapa pōti i roto i te nūpepa Māori Te Māreikura. Ko tāna i whai ai, kia whiwhi te Māori i te mana motuhake me te tautoko hoki i te Kīngi Māori. Hei tāna, ko te tikanga o te tūranga mema Pāremata Māori, hei kaitiaki i te Māoritanga, hei pare hoki i ngā ture whenua e patu nei i te Māori, me te tautiaki anō hoki i ngā takahanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi. He tino roa te rārangi rangatira o Ngāti Maniapoto e tautoko ana i a ia. Menā kāore a Waikato i tautoko i a Pōmare, kātahi te mahi mā Kaihau rāua ko Pēpene ki te whawhai mō te tūnga, ina koa taurite ana te tautoko a te iwi i a rāua tahi. I te mutunga mai kāore i riro i a ia te tūru, noho tuatoru kē ana a Pēpene i ngā kaute o te pōti.

I Noema o te tau 1912, ka mahue ake i a Pēpene ngā mahi tōrangapū, kia wātea a ia ki te whakahaere i te tangihanga o Mahuta Te Wherowhero. Noho ana ko Ānaru i te āwhina i a ia. I taua wā, he kaha nō te tautoko i a ia i ngā pōtitanga, ka tū mai ko ia hei tino rangatira mō Ngāti Maniapoto. I whai wāhi tonu ia ki ngā mahi a te Kotahitanga a Taingākawa, ā, atu i te tau 1920, ka huri tahi rāua ko Taingākawa ki a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, ki te tautoko i āna kaupapa. I te tau 1924, ko ia tētehi o ngā rangatira 12 i haere i te taha o Taingākawa rāua ko Rātana ki Ingarangi, e mau ana i tētehi petihana hei tuku atu ki te Karauna.

Ko te tino mahi a Pēpene i te tau 1925 mō ngā kaupapa e rua nei, arā, ko ia nei te ūpoko mō te taha kaipakihi o Rātana ka tahi, tae atu ki tana mahi whakahaere i te Pēke a Rātana ka rua. I oti i te rōpū whakahaere o te kaupapa Rātana te whakatū tētehi rōpū haumi, he mea whakaīngoa ko te Pēke Tiaki Moni a Te Kotahitanga o Te Mōrehu Rapu Ora mō te Iwi Māori o Aotearoa, Te Waipounamu me Whare-Kauri (Savings Bank of the United Māori Welfare League of the Northern, Southern and Chatham Islands), hei akiaki i te kāwanatanga ki te tiaki i te oranga o te iwi Māori. Hinga ana ngā kaupapa nei i te wā poto. Ko te whenua e tū ana te temepara o Rātana e pokea ana e te mōkete, ā, kāore anō kia utua te itareti. Nō Oketopa o te tau 1927, i tūtaki a Pēpene me ētehi atu ki te pirimia, ki a Te Kōti (Gordon Coates) ki te inoi āwhina atu i te Poari o te Tahua mō ngā Take Māori (Maori Purposes Fund Control Board), kia taea ai te whakapai te pā o Rātana, me te whakatū kura noa nei, kura hangarau hoki. Kāore te pirimia i whakaae.

Nāwai rā pakaru noa ana te pēke. Ka taka mai ki Pēpuere o te tau 1928, kua whakawareware noa a Pēpene mā, he pēke anō tā rātou, he aha rānei, me te kī anō hoki ko ngā moni tāpui he mea koha kē ki te pā o Rātana. Hei aha koa ko te hiahia tonu o Ngata, ko te whakauru mai i a Pēpene ki roto ki āna mahi ahu whenua, kia mahue atu i a ia te rōpū whakahaere o te kaupapa Rātana me te Kotahitanga, kia hinga ai. Ka taka mai ki te tau 1930, ka whakaaro a Ngata kei te tauārai kē a Pēpene i āna mahi ahu whenua i Māhoenui, tana wāhi noho i taua wā. Ēngari nō muri i te tau 1931, ka huri anō ngā whakaaro o Ngata nā te mea ko Pēpene te tangata whai mana ki te whakahaere i te mahi i reira.

Ko Pēpene te tangata nāna i whakahoki mai te punga pōhatu o te waka o Tainui i Nū Pāremata (New Plymouth) ki te awa o Mōkau. Ahakoa kua koroheketia, e kakama tonu ana a ia. Hei mahi whakamutunga māna ka whakataetaetia anō e ia te tūranga mō te mema Pāremata o Te Tai Hauāuru i te tau 1931. Inarā ko ia te kaiwhakauru a Rātana, ā, tautokona ana a ia e Piupiu Te Wherowhero; ko ia te tuahine o Mahuta. Nā tēnei mahi āna i noho ai hei take whakatautohetohe i te kāhui ariki o te Kīngi Māori. Nō te 9 o Noema o te tau 1933, i mate a Pēpene Eketone i Māhoenui. Tokorua āna tamāhine i te ora tonu.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    Ngata, A. & P. Buck. Na to hoa aroha: from your dear friend. Ed. M. P. K. Sorrenson. 3 vols. Auckland, 1986–88

    Williams, J. A. Politics of the New Zealand Maori. Seattle, 1969


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara. 'Eketone, Pēpene', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996, updated o Māehe, 2014. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3e3/eketone-pepene (accessed 29 March 2024)