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Kōrero: Mitchell, Henry Taipōrutu Te Mapu-o-te-rangi

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Mitchell, Henry Taipōrutu Te Mapu-o-te-rangi

1877–1944

Ngati Pikiao leader, farmer, surveyor, land development supervisor, community leader

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e DNZB, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1996. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

I whānau a Hēnare Taipōrutu Te Mapu‑o-te-rangi Mitchell (Mītere) i te 5 o Mei 1877 i Ōhinemutu. Ko ia te mea pakeke o ngā tamariki tokorua a Te Whakarato Rangipāhere Taiehu rāua ko Hēnare Waaka Mītere (Henry Walker Mitchell), he kairūri. Nō Ngāti Te Tākinga, he hapū nō Ngāti Pikiao, a Te Whakarato. He taina tō Taipōrutu (e whakapotoina nei tōna īngoa ko Tai), ko Hēmi Tīreni (James Zealand) Niramona. I haere mai a Hēnare Mītere pakeke i Koterana ki Kopūtai (Port Chalmers) i te tau 1858. Ka tae ki te tau 1867, he mahi rūri tana mahi mō te Kōti Whenua Māori mai i Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands) ki Tongariro. Nō muri ka mahi ia i te Tari Hokohoko Whenua Māori (Native Land Purchase Office). Nā tēnei āhuatanga, he hūnuku haere tonu te mahi a tōna whānau; e hia kē nei ngā kura tuatahi i tae atu a Tai, arā, ko Te Koutu (i Rotorua), ko Maketū, ko Waharoa me Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga (Havelock North). I tae anō hoki ia ki te kura tuarua, ki te Kāreti Wēteriana (Wesley College) i Paerata, i Ākarana (Auckland).

I te mahi pāmu a Tai Mītere i Matatā, i te rāwhiti o Te Moana-a-Toi (Bay of Plenty), mō tētehi tekau mā rua marama mai i 1893. I taua wā, ka kitea tōna māia ki te rūri whenua, ka uru ia hei tauira ākonga ki te Tari Rūri Whenua (Lands and Survey Department) i te tau 1894. E rua tau ia e mahi ana mā te Tari nei, ka whakapiri ia ki a H. D. M. Haszard, he kairūri ā-rohe i Pārāwai (Thames) ki Te Pae o Hauraki (Firth of Thames). Nō muri mai, ka noho ia hei kaiāwhina mā ngā kaimahi a Kenneth Rennie, he kaipūkaha mō ngā huarahi i Rotorua. I te tau 1901 i mahi ia mā te Tari Rūri Whenua; ka whiwhi raihana ia hei kairūri i te tau 1902. I pau te nui o ōna tau e mahi rūri ana i Te Moana-a-Toi.

I te tau 1915, ka whakatuwheratia e ia he mahi umanga ake māna ki Rotorua, e kaha hiahia ngātahi mai ana te Māori me te Pākehā o reira ki āna mahi. He mahi rūri e hiahiatia ana i te motu o Aitutaki i ngā Kuki Airani i te tau 1921, ka karangatia ia e te kāwanatanga kia haere ki te whakarite; i te tau 1930 ka hoki anō ia ki ngā motu o Mangaia, o Rarotonga, o Ātiu me Mauke, rīpoata ai ki te kāwanatanga mō te āhua o ngā putunga wai o reira. Nō muri i tēnei haerenga ōna, ka hoki mai ia ki Aotearoa hei taupaepae mō ngā pungarehu o Māui Pōmare.

Nō te mea ko tētehi o ana waewae ki te taha Māori, ko tētehi ki te taha Pākehā, koira i māmā ai tana tū hei kaiārahi mō ōna iwi e rua. Mai i 1916 ki 1923, ka noho ia hei mema mō te kaunihera ā-rohe o Rotorua (Rotorua County Council); nō ngā tau mai i 1931 ki 1944, he mema anō ia i runga i te Kaunihera Takiwā Tāone o Rotorua (Rotorua Borough Council). Nā ōna kaha mātau i tino tōtika ai tōna iwi a Te Arawa me ētehi iwi atu hoki. I tū rawa ia hei kairūri ā-rohe, hei tumuaki hoki mō ngā mahi rūri Māori ki Te Moana-a-Toi. Hau ana tōna rongo mō te wāhanga i mahia e ia , arā, te whakatōpū i ngā taitara whenua o te Māori me ō te Karauna i Te Urewera, ā, nō reira i mahi ia hei kaiwhakamāori mā Tiati H. H. Carr rāua ko R. J. Knight o te Tari Rūri Whenua. I oti rawa i a ia te whakarite tauira whakaroherohe i te whenua o Whanga-o-keno (East Cape) hei whakanohonoho tāngata. I te tau 1909 ka riro nāna i rūri he whenua nō Ngāti Whakaue hei rīhi hei mahi pāmu, 40,000 eka te rahi. Mai i te tau 1906 ki te tau 1913, ka tū ia hei mema i runga i te Poari Takiwā Whenua Māori o Waiariki (Waiariki District Māori Land Board); ā, nō 1910, i whakatūria ia hei mema mō te komiti kāinga i Ōhinemutu. I te tau 1916, i whakahē ia i te tikanga me whai raihana rawa ngā kaiārahi i Ōhinemutu kāinga, ina hoki, kei riro mā te utu i aua kaiārahi, hei take whakawai i te Māori. Kei tāna, me wātea noa te tūruhi ki te kuhu mai ki te kāinga noho, kāore he utu.

Nā te taikaha o te mahi, oti ana te mahi whakarāhui i ngā tirotirohanga o Te Rotoiti me Rotoehu e Mītere rātau ko ana hoa rangatira o Ngāti Pikiao me Ngāti Tarāwhai. He tiamana ia mō te Kaunihera Whenua ā-Rohe o Te Arawa (Te Arawa District Māori Council) i ngā tau tīmatanga o te tekau tau mai i 1920, ka pau ōna kaha ki te whakatikatika i ngā kōrero i waenganui i ngā kanohi a te kāwanatanga me ngā kaihautū o Te Arawa, kia hōmai he kāpeneheihana mō te rironga o ngā tauranga ika me te mana anō o ngā urupā i ngā rohe moana o Rotorua. Hei whakaoti i te kōrero, ka whakaritea kia £6,000 te nui o te tahua e utua ana ia tau, ia tau mā Te Arawa, ā, i whakawhirinakitia ki te Poari Kaitiaki ā-Rohe o Te Arawa (Te Arawa District Trust Board), kātahi anō ka whakatūria atu hei whakahaere i aua moni rā. Ka noho a Mītere hei tiamana mō te poari tae noa ki tōna matenga i te tau 1944; kitea rawatia ake i pā tōna mana ki ngā take katoa a te iwi.

He huhua ngā mahi i tutuki i te poari, i a Mītere e tiamana ana. Arā tonu te hokonga mai i te tau 1924 i te whenua hei mahi pāmu i Maketū, te wāhi i tau ai te waka o Te Arawa. He whenua tēnei i whakahaerea hei pāmu e ōna tāngata mōhio, hei painga mō te poari. Kātahi ka whakatuwheratia e te poari te ngutu awa tūturu o Kaituna Awa, kia whai pipi ai te whaiawa i Ngātoro. Nā te whakaaro nui o te poari ka āhei ngā tamariki e kura ana i ngā kura tuarua me ngā whare wānanga ki tētehi takoha moni hei āwhina i a rātau. I taua wā anō, i whakawhiwhia anō he moni mā ngā marae hei whakatikatika i ngā raruraru. I te tau 1934, hei whakahōnore i te kāwana tianara rāua ko tōna hoa rangatira i tō rāua wehenga atu, i whakaīngoatia e te poari te whenua i rāhuitia i te wahapū o Waihī ko Bledisloe Park.

He hoa piripono nōna a Apirana Ngata, koirā i mahi tahi ai rāua i ngā tau tekau mai i 1920. Ko tō rāua tūtakitanga nō te hui i tū ki Ōhinemutu i te tau 1905; he kimi tautoko tā Āpirana mō ōna whakaaro ki te whakakaporeihana i ngā whenua o Te Arawa. Kore rawa ngā rangatira i rata ki tana kaupapa, kore rawa anō hoki i āwhina atu. E puta mai ana a Ngata i te kōihi o te whare i te mutunga o te hui, ka tae atu a Mītere, ka tono atu kia haere rāua ki tana kāinga unu tī ai. Nō muri mai i mahi tahi rāua i te kēhi mō ngā moana o Rotorua me ngā mahi ahu whenua anō a Ngata.

Nō te whakatūranga o Ngata hei minita mō ngā take Māori i te tau 1928, ka ngana ia ki te hāpai i tana kaupapa ahu whenua. Ēngari, i hiahia kē ia kia whakaae ngā rangatira ki te tuku mai i ō rātau whenua kia ahu whakamua ai te mahi nei. He whakaaro nō Mītere ki ngā whenua o Ngāti Tuarā rāua ko Ngāti Kearoa i Horohoro, kātahi ka karangatia e ia a Raharuhi Pūruru, tētehi o ngā kaihautū o Te Arawa, kia kōrerorero rāua ko Ngata. Nā aua kōrero rā, ka riro ko Horohoro hei whenua tuatahi i mahia i raro i te kaupapa ahuwhenua nei. Nō te tīmatanga o ngā whakahaerenga nei, ka noho ko Mītere te kaitirotiro mō te takiwā ki Rotorua, ina nei mō Horohoro tonu, me ngā whenua tōpū o Te Arawa–Rūātoki, tae atu hoki ki te whenua o Te Tāheke. Nō te hanganga o te Kōmihana mō ngā Mea Māori (Native Affairs Commission) i te tau 1934, ka tirotirohia ngā whakahaere o ngā kaupapa ahu whenua. Nō te tūranga whakawenewene o Mītere ka kitea te papatu i waenganui i tana tūnga tiamana o te Poari Kaitiaki ā-Rohe o Te Arawa, me tērā hei kaiwhakahaere kāwanatanga. Nō reira ka tuku i a ia i tana tūnga kāwanatanga.

He tino mana tō Tai Mītere mō ngā take toko i te ora, me te whakaahu whakamua i te haere o te iwi Māori. Kātahi ka whakaaro te rūnanga o te Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa ki te whakatū i a ia hei mema ki runga i te komiti tohutohu, hei kaitirotiro i ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te whai mātauranga a ngā pakeke Māori. Kāre ia i kaha ki te tū, kei riro ko te wā e pau ki reira hei take whakapōrearea i ana mahi huhua noa atu. Nāna i whakarite te whakahaere o ngā hui katoa i Rotorua, tae atu ki ngā takunetanga tūmatanui. I pā tōna ringa ki ngā mahi tākaro i a ia e noho hēkeretari ana mō te Karapu Maita o Te Arawa, ā, i whakaīngoatia ia hei kairūri whakahōnore mō te Karapu Rērehi Hōiho o Rotorua (Rotorua Racing Club). Ko ia anō hoki te hēkeretari o te Uniana Whutupaoro o Te Moana-a-Toi (Bay of Plenty Rugby Football Union) me te uniana o raro iho o Rotorua, ā, i noho rawa ia hei mema i runga i te Poari Tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Board) o te Kotahitanga Whakahaere o ngā Mahi Putu Paoro Rakapī o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Rugby Football Union). I te tau 1936, i tū ia hei waha kōrero mō Te Arawa, wero ai i te Kotahitanga Whakahaere, kia kaua e whakaritea he tākaro whutupaoro i waenganui i ngā toa o te tīma hāereere o Āwherika, me ngā toa Māori i te tau 1937. Ko te take hoki he wehi nōna kei kangā kaikiritia te Māori pērā anō i te wā o tō rātau haerenga mai i te tau 1921.

I noho a Mītere hei tiamana mō te Poari Tirohanga o Okataina Moana (Lake Okataina Scenery Board), hei mema hoki mō te Poari Tautīaki mō te Mīhana o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Mission Trust Board) me te komiti whakanui i te rau tau o 1940. Nō te haerenga mai o te Tiuka o Ioka (York) me tōna hoa rangatira ki Rotorua i te tau 1927, ko ia hoki tētehi i te āwhina ki te whakarite kōnehete hei pōwhiri i a rāua. I pērā anō i te haerenga mai o te Tiuka o Koroheta (Gloucester) i te tau 1934; i riro anō ko ia tētehi o ngā kaiwhakahaere o taua haerenga mai. Ka whakatūria te whare nui a Whakaue i Maketū i te tau 1928, ā, ko ia anō i te āwhina. Ko ia tētehi o ngā kaitātai i te whare karakia Mihingare o Pētera (St Peter's Anglican Church) i Ōwhata atu i te tau 1932‑-33, tae atu ki te whakahaere o te whakatūranga. I te whakaoranga o te kāinga o Te Whakarewarewa i te tau 1929, i pā anō tōna ringa ki ngā mahi, ā, nō te tau 1933, ka tū he whare mahi whakairo i runga i tōna whenua i arohaina atu e ia. Nō te tutūtanga o te puehu i te Pakanga Tuatahi ka oti i a ia te whakaputu moni mō te Tahua Hōia Māori; nō te Pakanga Tuarua, ko ia tētehi i takatū ki te whakataritari i a Te Arawa hei hōia. I whakatūria ia hei mana whakaāio i te tau 1924, ā, nō te tau 1939, ka whakahōnoretia ia ki te tohu CMG.

Ko te wahine a Mītere, ko Te Aomihi Meremana (Merriman) nō Ngāti Maru ki Pārāwai; nō Te Whakatōhea tētehi taha ōna. I moe rāua i te tau 1901. E ai ki te kōrero a te whānau, kāre i iti iho i te tokoiwa ngā wāhine, tokorua ngā tāne. I tūtaki a Mītere ki a Te Aomihi i a ia e rūri ana i kō tata atu i Ātiamuri. Nō muri nei ka tapaina te piriti e whakawhiti ana i te awa o Waikato i reira, ki tōna īngoa, ki a Mihi. Piri tata ana a Mītere ki ngā momo tāngata katoa – mai i ngā minita a te Karauna ki ngā kaimau tūnga puta noa i Aotearoa me ērā anō o tāwāhi. Kaha whirinaki ana a Mītere ki a Te Aomihi hei manaaki i te nui o ngā manuhiri e taetae ake ana ki tō rāua kāinga i Ōhinemutu, moea rawatia iho i te pō. Ahakoa he kaupapa whakapakihi, he whakahoahoa noa iho rānei te take o te haere mai, ka ngana a Te Aomihi kia mahana tā rātau noho. Pakeke rawa ake ngā tamariki, ka tohutohungia rātau ki te manaaki i ngā manuhiri, ki te hāpai hoki i ngā mahi.

Tae rawa ake ki waenganui o te tekau tau mai i 1930, kua kore a Mītere e tino hāereere nā te mate huka; tata tonu ia te mate i te tau 1936 i ngā pōauautanga i te pokanga i tana weu whēkau. Nō te matenga ohorere i Rotorua i te 5 o Mei 1944, i tōna rā whānau tonu, ka 67 ōna tau. Mahue ana ko tana hoa wahine me ā rāua tamariki. Ka whakatūria ki Ōhinemutu he whare pere hei tohu whakamaharatanga ki a ia; ko ngā kōrero i whakamaua ki runga i te pere e kī ana, 'Ahakoa kua mate ia e kōrero ana anō.' He whakamōhio tēnei i te whakaaro nui, i te aroha me te mamae o te iwi mōna kua wehe.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

DNZB. 'Mitchell, Henry Taipōrutu Te Mapu-o-te-rangi', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3m57/mitchell-henry-taiporutu-te-mapu-o-te-rangi (accessed 29 March 2024)