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Kōrero: Wī Repa, Tūtere

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Wī Repa, Tūtere

1877–1945

Nō Te Whānau-a-Apanui, nō Ngāti Porou; he tākuta, he tumu kōrero, he kaiārahi hapori

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

I roto a Tūtere Wī Repa i tētahi rōpū Māori i te tīmatanga o te rau tau rua tekau, i whakatūria hei tukunga atu i ngā mātauranga ngaio i akona nei e rātau hei painga mō tō rātau iwi. Mō te roanga o te wā e ora ana a Wī Repa ko Te Tai Rāwhiti te wāhi i whakamahia ai e ia ōna pūmanawa nui me ana mōhiotanga hei painga mō te hunga kāinga. Kāre i kaha te hau o tōna rongo pērā i a Apirana Ngata, i a Te Rangi Hīroa (Peter Buck) me Māui Pōmare mā.

Kei Pāhaoa tōna kāinga, e tūtata ana ki Te Kaha i Te Moana-a-Toi (Bay of Plenty). Koinei te wāhi i whānau ai a Wī Repa i te tau 1877; ko ōna mātua ko Rōpiha (ko Eruera rānei) Wī Repa rāua ko tana hoa wahine, ko Wahawaha Terehia (ko Wahawaha Apanui rānei). Tekau mā tahi ngā tamariki i puta, tokorima ngā mea tāne, tokoono ngā mea wāhine, ā, ko Wī Repa te tamaiti tuatoru; he hononga ōna ki a Ngāti Kahungunu, ki Te Whānau-a-Apanui me Ngāti Porou. Ko te tipuna pāpā tuarua o Wī Repa o te taha o tōna pāpā ko Edward William Raper (Repa), he Pākehā whaiwhai tohorā nō Te Kaha. I tīmata mai te kuranga o Wī Repa i te Kura Māori o Te Kaha i te tau 1884. Taka rawa ki Ākuhata o 1888, ka tukuna a ia ki te Kāreti o Te Aute ki reira kuraina ai. Ko te whai a taua kāreti he whakatakatū i ngā taitama Māori mō ngā mahi ngaio.

He tino uaua te noho i tēnei wāhi tauhou ēngari nā te wairua manawanui o Wī Repa a ia i waimarie ai. Tere tonu tana taunga ki ngā whakahau pākaha me ngā whakaakoranga o te whakapono, riro ana ko ia te perehitini tuatahi mō te Uniana Karaitiana. He ākonga pūkeke a Wī Repa, ā, āta pū noa tōna mātauranga, ehara i te mea whakakitekite. Nā ngā mahi ki te whakapai i te kura me te tiaki i ngā kararehe a te kura, paku noa te wā ngahau e toe mai ana ki a ia. Ko te whāinga tuatahi tonu kia taea e ngā ākonga ngā taumata teitei o te mātauranga, ā, kore rawa tētahi mea i tukuna kia whakararuraru i taua whāinga.

Tere tonu te whakapakari a Wī Repa i ōna pūmanawa tūturu o te kaiārahi. He kaiwhakataetae tino rawe nei a ia, he tohunga hoki ki te tākaro tēnehi, ā, riro ana nāna i kāpene te tīma whutupaoro matua o 1896. Ko ia tētahi o ngā āpiha tuatahi o te tauira hōia o te kāreti i te whakatūranga i ngā mahi whakangungu hōia ki reira. I te tau 1891, i a ia e tauira tuakana tonu ana, ka uru atu ia ki te rōpū whakapai ake i te noho a te iwi Māori (Association for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Māori Race). He rōpū hao nui ēngari kāre i roa ka pari te ihu. Ko te rōpū i āhua whakahirahira ake tōna rongo ko te Kotahitanga o ngā Tamariki o te Kāreti o Te Aute (Te Aute College Students' Association). I whakatūria taua Kotahitanga nei i te tau 1897, arā, i te wā ko ia tētahi o ngā kaiwhakaako i te kāreti. Tau rawa ki te tau 1909, kua tipu kē te Kotahitanga hei wāhanga ki te tonga o te Rōpū Taitamariki Māori (Young Māori Party), ā, i a Wī Repa i te komiti whakahaere mō tētahi wā. I tā rātau hui tuatahi o 1897, nāna i pānui tētahi pepa, ko 'Ngā taitama o Te Aute ina mutu tūturu ana te kura' ('Te Aute boys after leaving school'). I te kōrero whakamutunga a Apirana Ngata i te hui nei, i kaha tana whakahau i te rangatahi kia whāia e rātau te mahi tākuta hei āwhina i te whawhai whakatika i te hauora o te Māori. Tahuri ana ko Wī Repa rāua ko Te Rangi Hīroa ki te mau ake i te wero a Ngata. Nō te tau 1898, ka puta rāua i te whakamātautau whakataki mō te mahi tākuta i Tūranga (Gisborne), nā reira rāua i āhei ai kia whakawhiwhia ki te karahipi kāwanatanga, £60 ā-tau te rahi.

Nō te tau 1899, ka haere atu rāua tahi ko Te Rangi Hīroa ki Ōtepoti (Dunedin), kia tīmata ai te ako hei tākuta i te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou (University of Otago). Tere tonu tana whakawaia i a ia ki te ao o te whare wānanga, whakauru atu ana hoki i a ia ki te kotahitanga o ngā ākonga, ki ngā karapu tākaro whutupaoro, kirikiti me te tēnehi hoki. Nāna i kāpene te tīma whutupaoro o te whare wānanga, ā, i uru rawa atu hoki ia ki te tīma o Ōtākou mō ngā tau o 1899 me 1903. Āta haere noa tana whakatutuki i ana mahi ako taka rawa mai ki 1908, te tau i pōtaetia a ia ki ngā tohu paetahi hei tākuta, ki te MB me te ChB. I tīmata a ia ki te mahi i te Hōhipera o Ōtepoti (Dunedin Hospital) hei tākuta (rata) kokoti.

Kei te marangai mā uru o Tūranga ko Te Karaka. I haere pērā atu a Wī Repa ki reira mahi tākuta tūmataiti ai, māna ake. Ahakoa tēnei, i wātea tonu ia ki te mahi tākaro, tū rawa ana hei whurupēke mō te tīma o Tūranganui-a-Rua (Poverty Bay) ki te tīma whutupaoro o Ingarangi me Wēra i te tau 1908. Kei reira kei Tūranga te wāhi i mārenatia ai e Wī Repa a Merewhati Piti (Pitt). He wahine ātaahua, hūmārika hoki, he momo moko anō tōna e mau ana i ngā ngutu me te kauae. He whare ngaro, ēngari he wā i muri mai o te tau 1916, ka tangohia e rāua a Reti (Reginald) Tūtūtaonga Hakiata (Jackson), hei tamaiti whāngai mā rāua nō tētahi whānau e pātata ana te noho mai ki a rāua i Te Araroa.

Nō te tau 1912, i whiua ai tētahi o ngā tēina o Wī Repa e te ture, mō tana patunga i tētahi atu o ōna tēina, i a rāua e whawhai ana. Nā te whakaaturanga whānuitanga i taua patunga i kore ai a Wī Repa i kaha ki te noho ki Tūranga, haere kē ana ki Te Araroa. I reira ka whakatūria anō e ia tana mahi tākuta i Te Araroa, ā, riro ana ko ia te tākuta noho mō tētahi hōhipera pakupaku noa nei, kātahi tonu ka whakatuwheratia.

He wā anō he tiro korotaha tonu te mahi a te hunga kāinga ki te tākuta Māori nei, nā runga i tō rātou kore mōhio ki tōna kaha ki te whakaora tangata. He mahi uaua rawa atu ki a Wī Repa te whakawhere i ngā kaiwhakahāwea ki te painga o te whakatika ake i ngā rerenga parukore, kia taea ai te ārai ngā urutā o te tahumaero, pērā i te mate kohi me te mate taipō piwa. He tangata kaha hāngai tonu nei āna kōrero ki te hunga e tāwai ana i ngā tikanga me ngā whakaaro hou hei whakaora ake i te hauora o te hunga kāinga. Nā te mea he tangata pūtohe a Wī Repa, nāwai, nāwai kua tahuri rātau ki tāna i whakaaro ai. Ka pai ki a ia te taha ngaio o tana mahi, kua whakaae nei rātau ki a ia ēngari kāre i pērā te hua mai o te taha mahi moni: e kore e taea e te nuinga o ana tūroro a ia te utu. I takatū ia ki te whakautu i ngā tono ki a ia, ahakoa he aha te wā, kei hea rānei. I ētahi wā, he roa e haere ana mā runga hōiho mā ngā ara e kaha ana te pōharuharu. Ko ngā nēhi takiwā tonu i te āwhina i a ia, tae atu hoki ki ngā whakawhānautanga maha.

Pau katoa ana te nuinga o ōna rā wātea i ngā mahi a ngā mana whakahaere o te wā kāinga. He mema a ia nō te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Matakaoa (Matakaoa County Council), te poari o te wahapū o Wharekahika (Hicks Bay Harbour Board), te komiti o te Kura Māori o Te Araroa me ētahi atu momo rōpū. He pū kōrero ia i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā, ka nui kē ngā tono i a ia ki te kōrero i ngā hui tūmatanui whakaharahara, i ngā hui rānei i ngā marae kāinga. He wā anō ka tae atu te tono a ngā kura ki a ia ki te kauwhau i te kaupapa o ngā mahi a ngā tīpuna, me te taha anō ki te hauora. He mea āta rangahau nāna te mate kohi i roto i tōna rohe, ā, i whakawhāititia rawatia e ia ngā ia o te mate. He mema ia nō te Whakakotahitanga i te tau 1913, e whakamātau ana i taua wā ki te whakaara mai anō i te kaupapa Kotahitanga.

I ētahi wā anō, he kaitohutohu a Wī Repa ki te Kōti Whenua Māori. He tohunga ki te tuhituhi i te reo Pākehā, Māori hoki. Riterite tonu tana tuku tuhinga ki ngā tini wāhi tānga pukapuka e pā ana ki ngā kaupapa huhua noa atu. Ko ia tonu tētahi o ngā tino kaihoatu waiata ki Ngā mōteatea, te kohikohinga waiata, kohikohinga mōteatea a Ngata. Nō ngā tau o 1918–1919 ka tuhia e ia te tāhuhu kōrero mō te pā o Te Whetū-matarau, ā, he ātaahua tana whakairo i ngā kōrero i te reo Māori. He tautōhito pūkenga a ia nō ngā tāhuhu kōrero o Tūranganui-a-Rua.

Ko 1926 te tau i mate ai a Merewhati Wī Repa. Nō muri mai i tana matenga, ka neke pērā a Wī Repa ki Wharekahika. I haere tonu tana mahi ki te tiaki i te hunga e māuiui ana. Ina hiahiatia mai ana ia i Te Araroa, mā runga hōiho hoki atu ai ki reira. Nā te mutunga o ngā mahi a te poari o te wahapū o Wharekahika, ka māmā iho ana here tūmatanui. Nāwai, nāwai, ka mutu tana tū hei mema mō te kaunihera o Matakaoa, ā, ka āta unua haeretia e ia ana tūnga i ngā rōpū mana whakahaere o ngā take o te wā kāinga. Nō te tau 1938, ka whakamanahia Te Ture Penihana (Social Security Act) 1938, kia riro mā ngā pūtea tūmatanui e tautoko ngā utu ki ngā tākuta, ā, nā tēnei i whakamāmā ngā kawenga moni e pēhi ana i a ia. Nāna i tautoko te kaupapa kia whakatōpūtia ngā taitara o ngā whenua, arā, hei whakatutuki i tēnei me whakawhitiwhiti ngā hea – kaua rawa e hokona.

I mua tata i te pakarutanga o te Pakanga Tuarua, ka moea e Wī Repa a Mīria Rūhā (ko tōna īngoa whānau tuatahi ko Tīhore). Ko Hirini (Sidney) tā rāua tamaiti tuatahi, ā, e paku tonu ana ka mate. Nō te tau 1943, ka puta he tamāhine mā rāua, ko Terehia Tangiwai. Ko te mea nui e whakakōroiroi ana i te whai wāhi atu o Wī Repa ki te tautoko i te pakanga, ko tana mahi me te kaha o tana tinana. Ko ia te kaikōrero matua i te nuinga o ngā hui ki te poroporoaki i ngā hōia o te wā kāinga. Ko tana tama whāngai tonu ko Tūtū (koinei tōna īngoa karanga), ko te tuakana o Tūtū ko Everard Hakiata, me tō rāua taina a Hirini (Sydney) anō te hunga poroporoaki. Auau tonu tana torotoro haere i te taha o te tumuaki poutāpeta ki te kawe i ngā waea ki ngā whānau o te wā kāinga e whakaatu ana ko wai kua mate mai i rāwāhi. Ko te nuinga o aua whānau nei he Māori. He tangata aroha, ā, ngaua ana tana ate e te mamae mō te tini nāna i āwhina ki te whakaputa ki tēnei ao, ā, i nāianei kua tīraha.

Kua puta i nāianei te āwangawanga mō te āhua o te oranga o Wī Repa. Ahakoa ngā maimoatanga i hoatu e ngā hōhipera maha, ka tīmata tana tukutuku haere i tana mahi tākuta. I ētahi wā i reira a ia ki te pōwhiri i ngā hōia taotū me ngā mōrehu o te whawhai e hoki mai ana ki te kāinga, tae atu hoki ki tana tama me tana tuakana, teina hoki. I mate mai a Wī Repa i Wharekahika i te 25 o Oketopa 1945. Ko tana wahine me āna tamariki tokorua ana mōrehu.

Kāre i ārikarika te whakaaro nui me te maimai aroha o ngā iwi o Te Araroa me Wharekahika mō te ngākau oha o ngā mahi a Wī Repa mā rātau. He tangata whakaiti i a ia, ēngari, i a ia te hinengaro atamai me te wairua whakakatakata. Tērā pea e whakaaro ana ia ki ngā mea i taea e ia i te wā i pātaitia atu ai māna e hoatu he pepeha mō te Kura Tuarua o te Takiwā Māori o Te Araroa (Te Araroa Native District High School), kātahi tonu ka oti te whakatū. Ko tāna pepeha i whakaaetia ko 'He tohe ka tutuki'. He pepeha e hāngai tika ana ki ngā mahi i tāpaetia e ia i a ia e ora ana.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Irwin K. Jackson. 'Wī Repa, Tūtere', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1996. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/3w12/wi-repa-tutere (accessed 29 March 2024)