I whānau a Rēweti Tūhorouta Kōhere i te 11 o Āperira i te tau 1871 i Orutua, i Horoera e pātata atu rā ki Whanga-o-keno (East Cape). Ko ia te mātāmua o ngā tamariki tokorima a Hōne Hiki Kōhere rāua ko Henarata Peretō. He tamāhine tēnei nā Umutahi rāua ko Peretō (David Bristow), he kaipatu tohorā, he kaihokohoko takutai moana. Nō Te Whānau-a-Tarahauiti o Ngāti Porou a Henarata, ā, ko ia hoki te mokopuna mātāmua a Mōkena Kōhere rāua ko tana wahine, ko Mārara Hinekukurangi. Nā konei a Rēweti i whai pānga atu ai ki ngā kāwai o Ngāti Piritai o Te Whānau-a-Tūwhakairiora me Ngāi Tūitimatua.
I pau ōna tau tōmua e tipu ake ana i Horoera, ā, nō muri iho ka nuku tōna whānau ki Te Araroa. I reira ka whakatūria e Hōne Hiki he toa me tētahi hōtēra, hai tuatahi ki tēnei takiwā. I te whare nui, i Hinerupe he pānui karakia te mahi ia rā, ia rā, i te ata me te ahiahi. Hai ngā ahiahi o te Rātapu ka whakahaerea he kura ako i te Paipera. Pūmau kaha tonu a Rēweti ki te mau ki te whakapono, ā mate noa.
I haere a Rēweti ki tētahi kura i Te Araroa, nō te tau 1878 i tuwhera ai. Nā te itiiti o ngā tamariki i haere ki taua kura, ā, taro tonu ake ka katia. Ka tahuri a Hōne Hiki ki te whakanoho i a Rēweti ki Te Horo i te riu o Waiapu, kia kuraina tonutia a ia ki te Kura Māori o Waiomatatini. Nā te kaha o tana kōingo ki te wā kāinga, i tīkina mai a ia e tōna matua, ka whakahokia ki Te Araroa.
I te tau 1885 ka mauria a Rēweti e tōna matua ki Pukehou, ki Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke's Bay), kia whakaurua a ia ki te Kāreti o Te Aute. Hihiko ana tōna wairua i tēnei haere, ēngari nā te kore i nui o tana kuratanga me tana kūare ki te reo Pākehā, koia rā hoki te reo whakaakoranga i Te Aute, kāore tana tono i whakaaetia. Ka tahuri atu a Hōne Hiki ki te whakauru i a ia ki te Kura o Tūranga (Gisborne) me te whakarite hoki kia noho a ia i te taha o te rangatira rā, o Pāora Parau, he whanaunga piri ki a ia. Kotahi tau me te ono marama a Rēweti i taua kura, ā, i te tau 1887 kua eke nei ōna tau ki te 16, ka whakaaetia tana tono ki te haere ki Te Aute. I ngā tau e rima i a ia i reira, ko ia tonu te tuatahi o tōna karaehe, ā, i tana tau whakamutunga i riro i a ia te tūnga tuatahi o te kāreti. Puta ana hoki a ia i te whakamātautau hai whakauru atu ki ngā whare wānanga.
I te tau 1889 ka hīkoi haere tō rātau tokotoru a Timutimu Tāwhai o Te Whānau-ā-Apanui me Māui Pōmare ki ngā takiwā nohanga Māori i Te Mātau-a-Māui, ki te akiaki haere i ngā hua pai e puta mai ana i ngā mahi whakahou, whakatikatika i te taha pāpori. Kua tino māharahara kē rātau ki te kaha heke o te hauora me te oranga o te Māori, tae atu ki te heke haere o te nuinga o tō rātau iwi. Inarā te tūmanako, he whakamōhio haere ki tēnā iwi, ki tēnā iwi i ngā āhuatanga kino o te motu. He mea tuhi e Rēweti te tino pai o te manaaki a ngā iwi i a rātau. Ka tae rātau ki Mōteo, ka mauria rātau hai manuhiri mā Pāora Kurupō, te rangatira o taua takiwā, ā, ahakoa tō rātau tamarikitanga, i pukuaroha a ia ki te tikanga o tā rātau kaupapa.
Kia haere tonu ai te mahi, ka whakatūria e Rēweti mā tētahi rōpū hai whakaara i te iwi Māori, arā, ko te rōpū whakapai i te iwi Māori (Association for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Māori Race). Ko ngā tikanga a taua rōpū he whakatū kaupapa hai whakaora i te iwi me te whai i ngā tohutohu o te Rongopai. Ahakoa he wā poto noa te tūranga o taua rōpū, noho kē ana ko āna kaupapa rangatira hai tauira mō te mahi a Rēweti i whakaritea e ia hai mahi māna. Waihoki, nā ngā mahi a taua rōpū i hinga atu rā, i ngā tau 1896–97 rātau i whakatūpato i te whakatūnga i te Kotahitanga o Ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association), e hia kē nei te tōtika ake. Ko tā Rēweti he whakapuaki i ana pepa ki ngā hui a te rōpū hou nei, ā, i noho hoki a ia i ētahi o ngā komiti o taua rōpū. Nō te tūranga o taua rōpū hai peka mō te tonga o Te Rōpū Taitamariki Māori (Young Māori Party) i Āperira 1909, ka meatia a ia hai tumuaki tuarua.
Nō te tau 1891 i whakaae ai a Rēweti ki te tono a te tumuaki o Te Aute, a Te Tātana (John Thornton) ki te kuhu atu ki te kāhui kaiwhakaako o te kāreti. Pārekareka ana ki a ia te mahi nei, ā, pai ana hoki te haere whakamua o ana karaehe. Otirā, nā te ngau o te hiahia kia haere tonu tana kura i a ia, i whakauru ia i a ia ki te whare wānanga o Waitaha (Canterbury College) i te tau 1895. E toru ōna tau i reira ēngari kīhai i oti i a ia tana tohu paetahi (BA); ahakoa i taea ngāwaritia noatia e ia te nuinga o ngā mahi, nā te uaua rawa o ngā mahi e pā ana ki te pāngarau whakature i kore ai i taea e ia. Ka mahue i a ia tēnei wāhi, kātahi ka whakawhiwhia a ia ki te tūranga kaiwhakaako i te Kāreti o Te Rau Kahikatea (Te Rau Theological College) i Tūranga.
I a ia i Te Rau ka whai a ia i ngā mahi whakamātautau ā-taumata a te poari mō te whakaakoranga atua (Board of Theological Studies), ā, nō te tau 1911 ka ūhia a ia ki te tohu paetahi mō te whakaakoranga atua (Licentiate in Theology). Ko ia te kaiwhakaako āwhina i te tumuaki, i a Ātirīkona Wiremu (H W. Williams), ā, ko ia hoki te kaiwhakahaere i roto i ngā whare karakia taiwhenua i ngā mutunga wiki. He maha ngā minita Māori nāna i ako, ā, i ngā tau o muri mai, i te wā e whakatūria ana he pīhopa Māori, ka tono te katoa o ngā minita o te pāriha o Ākarana (Auckland) ki a ia mō taua tūranga. Kīhai i whakaaetia e ia te whakaīngoatanga ōna mō taua tūnga.
I te wā i a ia i Te Rau ka tahuri a ia ki te mahi tuhituhi ā-nūpepa. Nō te tau 1899 ka tohua ko ia hai ētita i te pepa Mihinare, Te Pīpīwharauroa. I tīmata mai te tā i taua nūpepa i Whakatū (Nelson), kātahi ka nekehia ki Tūranga. Nā Rēweti tonu i whakawhānui te kaupapa tuhituhi o taua nūpepa. I tāia Te Pīpīwharauroa i roto i te reo Māori, ā, noho ana ko taua pepa hai tino ara whakaputa i ngā whakaaro o te iwi, me ngā taupatupatu e hāngai ana ki te taha pāpori, ki te taha tōrangapū me te taha wairua hoki. Neke atu i tēnā, he whakaatu anō tāna mahi i ngā mea nui e hāngai ana ki te hunga Māori. Ko Rēweti tonu te tino kaituhi reta, tuhituhinga hoki. Tinitini tonu tana whakatakoto i āna kupu wero hai whakaohooho i te tangata, kia taupatupatutia ai ngā take, arā, te hangahanga hou i te hauora, te whakatūpato ki te mahi kai waipiro, te whakahaere o ngā whenua Māori, tae atu ki te whakahauhau i te mātauranga o te iwi Māori.
He taupatupatu, he tautohetohe te mahi a Rēweti i a ia e kairīpoata ana. I te tau 1906 i tino kaha tāna whakahē i te whakarerenga o te reo i ngā kura Māori me ērā o te poari whakaako. Ina hoki i kaha anō tana kōkiri i ngā whakaharatau me ngā mahi mātātoa a ngā tohunga. Tautāwhi ana ia i a Māui Pōmare i te whakakaupapatanga a tērā i te Ture Whakamutu Tohunga (Tohunga Suppression Act) o 1907. I te tau 1908 ka whakahētia e ia te mahi kaikiri i roto i te Hāhi Mihinare, ā, e ai ki tāna i te tau 1919 he takitahi rawa ngā tohu whakahōnore i riro mai i ngā hōia Māori i te pae o te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao. Ēngari ngā Pākehā, pūkahu ana te whiwhi. I te tau 1921–22 ka kōkiritia e ia a T. W. Rātana, whakaritea ana e ia ngā tohutohu a tērā ki wā te tohunga. I ētahi wā, ka whakahētia a ia mō tāna hahanitanga i ngā whakapono wairua o te iwi Māori.
I tuhia e ia ana kupu whakahē i te marau mātauranga o Te Aute ki Te Pīpīwharauroa. Ko tāna hoki me kaha tonu te Māori ki te ako i ngā mahi mātauranga ahu whenua kia mau tonu i a rātau ō rātau whenua. I te tau 1906 ka whakatūria tētahi Kōmihana Roera hai tirotiro i ngā Poari Kaitiaki mō ngā Kura o Te Aute me Whanganui (Te Aute and Whanganui School Trusts) ki te wānanga menā me tāpiri atu ki ngā marau mātauranga i ēnei kura ngā mahi momo toi rānei, ngā mahi momo ā-ringa rānei. I runga i te tono a Apirana Ngata, tētahi o ngā mema o te kōmihana, ka whakatakotoria e Rēweti ōna whakaaro i te hui i Ahuriri (Napier). Ko tā Rēweti kōrero me whai anō ēnei kura i ngā marautanga mō ngā tauira kāore e haere ki ngā whare wānanga, ēngari ka āhei ki te whakapau i ōna kaha ki te ahu whenua, me te whakaara hoki i te ohanga. Kāore ia i whakaae ki te whakaaro i whakapuakina e George Hogben, te kaitirotiro matua i ngā kura, kia wetea rawatia atu i Te Aute te whakamātautau whakauru atu ki ngā whare wānanga.
I te 14 o Tīhema 1904, i Tūranga, ka moea e Rēweti a Keita Kaikiri Paratene, te tamāhine a Paratene Tatae rāua ko Hera Halbert. He uri a Keita nō te hapū o Ngāti Maru o Rongowhakaata, nō Ngāti Kahungunu me Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki. I mau tonu te mahi ētita a Rēweti i Te Pīpīwharauroa tae noa ki te tau 1908, ēngari, i taua wā ka whakatūria a ia ki te pāriha ki Te Kawakawa. Ka whakarērea e ia te kāreti o Te Rau, ka hoki te tokorua nei ki te whenua o te whānau i Rangiata i te takiwā o Whanga-o-keno i te pito whaka-te-rāwhiti rawa o te pāriha. He maha ngā hāora, i ruha tōna tinana i tana mahi eke hōiho ki te minita haere ki tana pāriha. I haere tonu tana mahi tuhituhi atu i wāhi taratahi ki te nūpepa tae atu ki ngā whakakapi, ki Te Kōpara me Te Toa Takitini hoki. Pūkahu ana ngā tuhinga a Rēweti i te reo Māori me te reo Ingarihi. Ka rima tekau ngā tau a ia e tuhi atu ana ki te Poverty Bay Herald (nō muri nei ka tapaina ko te Gisborne Herald ), me te pukapuka anō, me Te Ao Hou.
Ka tekau tau a Rēweti e ahu whenua ana me te kawe anō hoki i ngā mahi a te pāriha. E 500 te rahi o te māpu hipi nāna i hoko mai i te tau 1899, hai āwhina i te oranga o tōna whaea rāua ko tana tuahine e noho ana i runga i te whenua. Mahi tahi anō hoki rātau ko ana tāina, a Hēnare rāua ko Tāwhai ki te whakaahu i tō rātau whenua hai pāmu. Kātahi ia ka tīmata ki te hanga i tētahi whare kaitā tonu nei. Ko te anga me ngā papa o waho he mea hanga mai i ngā rākau o taua whenua, he mea poro, he mea kani tonu ki reira. Ko te hokinga mai o Tāwhai i te pae o te Pakanga Tuatahi, me te hanganga anō o tētahi whare karakia me te whare minita i Te Araroa, i āhei ai a Rēweti me tōna whānau ki te nuku atu ki reira. I konei ka āhei āna tamariki ki te haere ki te kura, ā, he noho pokapū nōna i tana pāriha ka māmā ake tana torotoro haere. I te tau 1921, kāore i ora tōna whānau i te tahua utu i a ia, e £75 te nui. Tokowaru rawa ā rāua tamariki: ko Hinekukurangi, ko Paratene, ko Kakatarau, ko Oha, ko Rewanga, ko Hēni, ko Oranoa rātau ko Tūrāhiri. Ko tana tukunga mai tēnā i a ia i tana tūranga minita, ā, ka hoki rātau ko tōna whānau ki Rangiata. I reira ka tahuri a ia ki te ahu whenua, ēngari kīhai i mahue i a ia ngā mahi karakia, ngā iriiri, ngā mārena, me ngā tangihanga; kāore a ia e utua ana.
Nā runga i nga kaha o tōna tipuna, o Mōkena Kōhere, nāna rā i kōkiri te Kaunihera Ture (Legislative Council), ki te whakamutu i ngā mahi tinihanga a te hunga kātipa, hokohoko i ngā whenua Māori, i hiwa ai a Rēweti ki te tautohe i ngā kaupapa whenua a te kāwanatanga. I whakahē ia kia āhei te kāwanatanga kia whakanōhia te whenua Māori, kia hokona, kia rīhitia rānei, i raro i te Ture Whakanohonoho Whenua Māori (Māori Land Settlement Act) i whakatakotoria e te kāwanatanga Rīpera (Liberal) i te tau 1905. Nā te whakaaro i puakina e te kōmihana a Taute (Stout) rāua ko Ngata i 1907–08 kia hokona ngā whenua tuhene, ka kaha kē ake te pukuriri o ngā tuhituhinga a Rēweti. Ki tōna whakaaro, kua tae noa mai te māharahara me te wiri o te ngākau ki te taumaha o te rere o te ia Pākehā, ki te whakakore i te iwi Māori me ō rātau uri whakatipu ki te noho, ki te mahi hoki i ō rātau whenua ake.
Nō te tau 1913 i tū ai te hui a te Kōti Whenua Māori ki te whakarongo i ngā kerēme e pā ana ki te poraka whenua, ki Marangairoa 1D i Rangitukia. I reira ka whakatakotoria e Rēweti tana kerēme e pā ana ki Te Whānau-a-Rerewā (e mōhiotia nei i nāianei ko Ngāti Hokopū). Tautāwhitia ana te kerēme a Rēweti e ōna kaumātua, e Mohi Tūrei rātau ko Keeti Ngātai me ētahi atu. Ko tēnei whenua hoki kai roto i te rohe nā Mōkena Kōhere me ērā anō o ngā rangatira i taunaha i te tau 1874 kia pupuritia i raro i ngā tikanga whenua ā-iwi. Kua riro kē mai i a Rēweti te taitara o te whenua o ngā iwi o tōna whaea i Te Pākihi, i te takiwā o Whanga-o-keno. Kāti i nāianei, e kōkiri ana ia i te taitara ki ngā whenua i Te Kautuku ki te taha o tōna matua.
Ko tana take ki aua whenua i whārikitia atu ki raro ki te tikanga o te ahikāroa. Kāore i whakaaetia mai tana tono. Whakaaetia kētia ana te kerēme a ērā atu o ngā whānau, i runga i te whakapapa mai i ngā tīpuna, tāpiri atu ki te kōrero e mea ana, e whai wāhi tonu ana aua tīpuna ki aua whenua. I pīratia anō e Rēweti te whakatau a te kōti, whakatakotoria ana e ia te tini kōrero mō te whenua i ōna tīpuna – mō ngā papa kāinga, mō ngā māra kai, mō ngā urupā me ngā tohu o te mana i mau i ōna tīpuna, e hia kē nei ngā rau tau ki muri. Ka kī a ia, ehara i te kāwai anake te pūtake ki te whenua, ā, tāpiri atu ki tēnā, kīhai i tatū mārika i ōna hoa tauwhāinga, mehemea i mau te pupuri o ō rātau tīpuna i te ahikāroa. Kāti, kīhai anō te tiati, a Tione (R. N. Jones) i whakaae ki te tono tuarua a Rēweti me tōna iwi. Nā konei a ia i tahuri ki te tuku tohenga ā-ture, ā pau noa ōna rā. E toru rawa ana petihana ki te Pāremata, ka whakaaetia anō me tū anō te Kōti Whenua Māori ki te whakarongo anō ki tana take. Ahakoa rā, i ia tūnga o te kōti kore rawa i ahu whakamua paku iti nei tana kēhi. Kāti, taka rawa ki te tau 1953 ka takoto te whakaritenga whakamutunga a te kōmihana motuhake kia mau tonu te whakataunga tuatahi a te kōti. Ā, i tua atu i tēnā, whakakorea katoatia ana ngā hea o tōna whānau, kua 40 tau te roa o tā rātau tautohenga ā-ture i te whiwhinga o rātau i aua hea. Otirā, he itiiti nei ngā mokamoka whenua me te urupā tahito o Aratia i mahue mai ki te whānau.
I te tau 1938 ka whakaae a Rēweti ki te tono a te Rōpū Reipa o Niu Tīreni, kia tū ko ia hai mema mō te tūru o Te Tai Rāwhiti. Ko te kawa o tana tū ko te whakamanatanga tōrangapū, ko te tika pāpori, ko te ahu whakamua o te ohanga, me te whakareinga o te tikanga noho a te iwi, arā, mā te whakaaro tahi o te iwi e taea ai. Ki tōna whakaaro, kāore te iwi Māori e ora i ētahi tākuta, rōia ruarua rānei, me ētahi mana tohunga wāhine, tohunga tāne torutoru rānei; ēngari mā te tapatahi o te haere whakamua a te tini me te mano o te tangata e taea ai. Ahakoa te tōmuri o tana urunga ki ngā mahi tohe pōti, e mīharo ana ki tāna i tarea ai, ahakoa i tuarua ia i tana kōkiritanga ki a Apirana Ngata. Otirā, i mua kē noa atu a ia i a Tiaki Ōmana (Jack Ormond), te tangata a ngā Rātana. Ka mutu i konei tana whakataetaetanga ki te uru ki te Pāremata.
Ahakoa he aha ngā mahi a te iwi kāinga ko Rēweti tonu i te waha. He roa tonu ngā tau i runga a ia i te Komiti ā-Iwi o Te Araroa me tana tū hoki hai kaitiaki mō te marae o Hinerupe. I te tīmatanga mai o te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Matakaoa (Matakaoa County Council) i te tau 1920, ka tū a Rēweti hai māngai mō te takiwā o Whanga-o-keno, ā, e 30 tau hoki a ia e mema ana; he mema hoki ia nō te poari o te wahapū o Wharekahika (Hicks Bay Harbour Board). I tū hoki ko ia hei tiamana mō te Komiti Kura o Whanga-o-keno (East Cape School Committee) me te Komiti Tohutohu o te Kura Tuarua o Te Araroa (Te Araroa High School Advisory Committee) mō ngā tau maha tonu nei. Pūmau tonu tōna ngākau ki te tiketike o te ora o roto o ngā whāinga mātauranga, tukua ana e ia āna tamariki ki Te Aute, me ngā kura mō ngā kōtiro Māori, ki Hukarere me Turakina.
Ko Rēweti tonu tētahi o ngā tāngata tino mātau ki te tuhituhi me te kōrero i te reo Māori; he kaiwhakamāori whai raihana o te karaihe tuatahi a ia. I whakaaro a ia me ako te reo i ngā kura Māori katoa. Hei tāna hoki, mā te reo tonu e ora pūmau ai te Māoritanga, nāna hoki i whakahiato mai āna tuhinga tōtika me wā ērā atu o ngā nūpepa Māori. I te tau 1995, he mea tā ēnei kōrero ki te pukapuka Ngā kōrero a Rēweti Kōhere mā. I te tau 1949, nā te āwhina a te Pūtea Āwhina Kaituhi o Aotearoa (New Zealand Literary Fund) i āhei ia ki te tā i te pukapuka The story of a Māori chief, te pānui koioranga mō Mōkena Kōhere. I te tau 1951 ka tuhia e ia ngā kōrero mōna ake i The autobiography of a Māori. I tuhia e ia ēnei pukapuka i te reo Ingarihi, ā, i whai ake i muri mai ko tana pukapuka mō ētahi whakataukī Māori, He konae aronui. Nā te mea he ngāwari kē ake te huarahi whakapukapuka ki te reo Pākehā i te reo Māori, kāti rā, te mea takahiri ko tēnei, whakapukuriri hoki i a ia. I haere tonu āna mahi tuhituhi me te tā waiata, mōteatea hoki me ngā kōrero tuku iho, ā mate noa ia. Kino katoa a ia ki ngā kupu i tangohia mai i te reo Pākehā, he paku nei te whakamāori, mahue kē ana ngā kupu tōtika ake a te Māori. Ēngari, hai whakangāwari i te kōrerorero a te tangata, ka whakaaetia e ia te whakamahi i ērā kupu, mehemea kāore he kupu tika ake a te Māori.
He mahi rawe ki a ia te whakahua me te pānui haere i ngā whiti o te puāwaitanga Ingarihi, he whāinga i tukua e ia ki tōna whānau. Ko tētahi tino mahi āna he whakamāori i ngā whiti o ngā tuhinga i kaingākautia e ia. He maha tonu ana whakamāoritanga o ētahi whiti mai i a Hakipia (William Shakespeare) me ērā atu kaituhi, tae atu hoki ki te Paipera.
I ōna rā katoa, i pūmau tonu tōna wairua ki te kōkiri kia anga whakamua te iwi Māori. Ko tōna whakapono hoki te tāhuhu o āna mahi katoa. Ko tana whakatau hoki, e kore ia e taea e te tangata karaitiana te wehewehe kia rua ōna wāhanga, arā, te taha whakapono me te taha kikokiko. Ko ngā mahi katoa a te karaitiana me karaitiana tonu te mahi. Ko tana whakapono hoki mā te pēnei o te tangata e tohu te tangata.
He roa tonu a Rēweti rāua ko Keita e ora ana, ā, he nui hoki ngā mahi i tutuki i a rāua. Ahakoa pā iho te aha ki a Rēweti, pā iho anō hoki ki a Keita, arā, te pāpouri, te harakoakoa, tae atu ki ngā piki me ngā heke o ōna rā. Nō te 9 o Ākuhata i te tau 1954 i moe ai ōna kanohi, ka mahue mai ko Keita me ā rāua tamariki tokowhitu me te tini o ngā mokopuna tuatahi, tae atu ki ngā mokopuna tuarua. I nehua hoki a Rēweti i te taha o tana whaea, o Henarata i Rangiata.