Dictionary of New Zealand Bography logo

Kōrero: Kelly, Leslie George

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Kelly, Leslie George

1906–1959

Nō Ngāti Mahuta; he kaituhi kōrero, he kaitaraiwa tereina, he tumu kōrero

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Te Tuhi Tauratumaru Kelly, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1998. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

I whānau a Leslie George Kelly – taihoa ake nei i tapaina ai ko Te Putu – i Ākarana (Auckland) i te 10 o Mei i te tau 1906. Ko ia te mea pakeke o ngā tama tokorua a Sidney Mellish Kelly, he kaiwhakapiata taonga ā-whare, rāua ko tana wahine, ko Ethel May Fell. I te taha ki tōna pāpā ka uri ia ki a Edward Meurant, te kaihokohoko, kaiwhakamārama reo i Kāwhia i te tekau tau mai i 1830, rāua ko tana wahine ko Kenehuru, te tamāhine a Te Tuhi-o-te-rangi, he kaihautū nō Ngāti Mahuta.

He mea whakaako a Te Putu i te kura i te tiriti o Beresford (Beresford Street School) me te kura tuarua anō o Ōwairaka (Mount Albert Grammar School). I te wā i a ia e tama tāne tonu ana he mema kaikaha ia nō te rōpū matataua tamariki o Grey Lynn, ā, he maha kē nei ngā tohu me ngā paraihe i riro i a ia. I kō atu hoki i tēnā he pūkenga anō hoki ia ki te whakaahua, ā, tinitini ana ngā whakaahua kei ngā pukapuka whakaemi a tōna whānau, e whakaatu ana i tōna mānawanawa me tōna mōhio ki te tae whakaata i ngā pikitia. I ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau mai i 1920, he kairīpoata iti nei ia i tētehi o ngā nūpepa ā-rangi i Ākarana.

Nō te tau 1926 i uru atu a Te Putu ki te Tari Rerewhenua (Railway Department); i te tīmatanga, he kaitou ahi tana mahi. Nāwai rā ka piki haere, ā, noho ake ana ia hei kaitaraiwa tereina o te wāhanga mātāmua. I te 11 o Pēpuere i te tau 1929, i Ākarana, ka moea e ia a Heera (Sarah) Te Moengaroa Ueke nō Ngāti Mahuta me Ngāi Tāwake mai, he hapū nō Ngāpuhi. Kotahi tā rāua tamāhine, tokorua ā rāua tama.

I te wā i a Te Putu e mahi ana i te rerewē i tonoa ia ki ētehi tāone, e hia kē nei te maha, i Waikato me te Rohe Pōtae. Kāti, ko tētehi tāone i tino nōhia e ia ko Te Kūiti, ā, i a ia i reira he maha kē ngā taonga tākaro i mahia e ia mā āna tamariki me āna mokopuna. Tino mōhiotia ana ia he tangata pūkenga, he tohunga rongonui ki te whakairo, ā, oti ana i a ia te hanga he tauira rerewē rite katoa ngā whakahaere ki te rerewē tūturu. He maha ngā taonga whakahirahira nāna i whakairo pērā i te wakahuia me ngā rākau anō o te riri, arā, te taiaha, te tewhatewha, te patu me te mere. Ehara i te mea he taputapu tōtika nei āna, mahia kētia ake ana ki te naihi pūkoro me te piau noa.

I te ekenga atu ki ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau mai i 1920, ka tīmata te rangahau a Te Putu i ngā kōrero tuku iho a Ngāpuhi me te kohikohi anō i ngā whakapapa. I tīmata ia ki ngā pānga o tana wahine ki Ngāpuhi. He tūtakitaki tonu tana mahi ki te hunga pupuri i ngā kōrero – Māori, Pākehā rānei – tuhituhi atu rānei ia ki a rātou; ko tētehi o ngā tāngata nei ko tōna whanaunga tonu ko Hāmi Maioha o Pēwhairangi (Bay of Islands), me te kairīpoata rā, me Eriki (Eric) Ramsden.

I ngā hāereere maha a Te Putu, haere tahi ana rāua ko tana auwahine, ko Aira Totorewa Stewart (ko Ueke rā tōna īngoa i mua atu i te moenga), ā, i muri mai nāna nei a Te Putu i āwhina ki te whakapākehā i ngā waiata tawhito. Nā runga tonu i tana kore e wātea i ngā rā mahi o te wiki i noho ai ko ngā rā mutunga me ngā hararei kē hei wā rangahau mōna i āna mahi. Pau katoa ana i a ia ngā whaitua o Waikato, o te Rohe Pōtae, o Pēwhairangi, tae atu ki Taranaki te haere. He nui kē ngā taikuia, taikoroua i kōrero tahi ai rātou ko Te Putu, ā, me whakaae rawa i te tuatahi kātahi anō ia ka tuhi i ō rātou whakapapa, i ā rātou kōrero, me ā rātou waiata hoki. Ko te tekau tau atu i 1950 te wā i haere ai a Te Putu ki Rarotonga me Niue ki te rapu haere i ngā kōrero taketake ake e pā ana ki te rerenga mai o ngā waka. Tino kino kē te kaha o Te Putu ki te tuhituhi i ana kōrero ki ana rātaka, hei whakaatu i te āhua o āna haere maha, tae atu ki ngā tāngata i tūtaki ai ia, i uiui ai rānei ia.

Nō te ekenga atu ki te tau 1931 i tīmata ai a Te Putu ki te tā i ngā kōrero i kohia ake e ia i roto i te Journal of the Polynesian Society, ā, tae rawa ake ki te tau 1955, tekau mā waru āna pepa i oti i a ia te tā ki te pukapuka nei. I te tau 1934 e rua ana tuhinga mō te tangata nei, mō Marion du Fresne, he mea tā i roto i te New Zealand Herald, ā, nō te tau 1951 nāna i tā te pukapuka nei, ko Marion Dufresne at the Bay of Islands te īngoa.

Nō te tau 1935 i tūtaki ai a Leslie Kelly rāua ko Te Puea Hērangi. I tirohia e Te Puea te whakapapa o Kelly, ā, ko 1939 rawa ake te tau whiriwhiritia mai ana e ia te īngoa o Te Putu, he tipuna anō nō ngā Kīngi Māori. Ko tēnei tonu te wā i rapurapua ake e ia, ā, i tuhia e ia ngā kōrero tuku iho mō Tainui, i te tuatahi nā rāua ko Pei Te Hurinui Jones i mahi. I tukua atu e Te Putu tētehi tuhinga ā-ringa o te mahi nei ki a Apirana Ngata, ēngari nā te mea ehara i te mahi tōtika i kore ai i tautokona e ia ki te Tahua Moni mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board), ki te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society) rānei. Matekirikiri kē ana a Apirana i ngā tuhituhinga nei, nō te mea i pau kē te nuinga o ngā kōrero ki te āhua me ngā rā o ngā pakanga, ā, paku noa ngā kōrero mō te taha whakatipu, whakapakari hoki i ngā hapū o Tainui. Otirā, ki tā Apirana anō ki a Te Putu, me ka oti mai te whakahouanga i ngā tuhinga nei, kātahi anō ka whakaaetia e te poari kia tāia.

Taro rawa ake i te tau 1949, tāia ana e te Rōpū Poronihiana te pukapuka papatangata, arā, te tino mahi nei a Te Putu, a Tainui. Nō muri i puta ai te whakapae he mea tinihanga kē e Te Putu a Te Puea i te whakamanatanga a Te Puea i te pukapuka nei, nāna rā i tuhi te kupu whakataki. I tua atu i tēnā ko te whakapae anō hoki he mea whānako e Te Putu te katoa o ngā kōrero o tana pukapuka, mai i ngā tuhituhinga a Pei Te Hurinui Jones. I te hiahia anō hoki o Pei ki te whakapukapuka i tētehi mahi pērā anō māna, ā, nā te mea hoki he tata kē atu tōna whanaungatanga ki te kāhui ariki, te take i whakaaro pea a Pei ka nuku kē atu te tika māna kē e tuhi taua pukapuka rā. Ki te whakaaro o Pei he iti rawa ngā mihi ki a ia, ā, ahakoa i whakaīngoatia e Te Putu ngā kōrero a Pei, mahue ana i a ia te whakamau atu i ana tuhituhinga ki roto ki te rārangi matatiki.

Ēngari, kīhai i mahi huna a Te Putu i tana mahi, mai rā anō pea i te tau 1937 e tuhi tonu atu ana ia ki a Apirana me ētehi atu, ā, kore rawa ia i whakaaro e tinihanga kē ana ia. He tika tonu hoki te nui o tana whakamahi i ngā kohinga kōrero a Pei, ki ētehi wāhanga o tana tuhinga i te pukapuka nei, i a Tainui, ā, tērā pea i mahue noa i a ia te tono tika rawa atu kia whakamahia e ia aua kōrero rā. Ēngari torutoru nei te rite o ngā kupu i tētehi ki tētehi, ā, mau tonu te whakahua a Te Putu i a Pei i ngā tuhinga i te taha tonu o ērā anō o ngā rārangi whakaatu e kī ana nā wai te kōrero. E ai ki ngā whakaatu o roto i te pukapuka, me ana tuhinga reta anō, nā Te Putu anō āna mahi i rangahau; tāpiri atu ki tēnā, kei roto i ngā whakaaturanga o te tānga whakahouanga o Ngā mōteatea i te tau 1958, te whakahua a Pei i a Tainui.

He tangata tino pukā nei a Te Putu, ū tonu te mahi, he tino tūpato ki ngā mokamoka, whai hoki kia tino tika tonu āna mahi katoa. Kātahi mai te tangata pūmanawa ko Te Putu, ā, ahakoa ko wai te tangata, tae atu ki tōna whānau anō me mau tonu rātou ki āna tohu tiketike, me te whai wāhi hoki ki ngā mahi Māori e ngākaunuitia ana e ia. Nō te 6 o Ākuhata o te tau 1959 i mate ai ia, i te tūtukitanga o te tereina i Motumaoho i Mōrena (Morrinsville). Mahue mai ana ko tana wahine me ā rāua tamariki.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Te Tuhi Tauratumaru Kelly. 'Kelly, Leslie George', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4k6/kelly-leslie-george (accessed 19 March 2024)