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Pītama, Weretā Tainui

by Angela Ballara, Te Maire Tau

Biography

Nō te tau 1881 pea i whānau ai a Weretā Tainui Pītama i Rāpaki, i Ngā Pākihi-whakatekateka-a-Waitaha (Canterbury), kei kō paku atu o te taha whaka-te-tonga o Ōtautahi (Christchurch). Ko ngā īngoa anō o Pītama ko Te Ruapōhatu, ko Stone kē rānei. Ko Teoti Pītama Karatiti tana pāpā, he tangata mahi pāmu, nō mai i ngā hapū o Ngāi Tūāhuriri me Ngāi Te Rakiāmoa o Ngāi Tahu ki Waitaha. Ko tōna whaea ko Harirota Pōhata nō mai i ngā hapori o Moeraki me Murihiku nō Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Māmoe.

Nō te marama o Pēpuere i te tau 1894, i haere ai a Weretā ki te Kāreti o Te Aute, ēngari ko George Pītama kē tōna īngoa i te kura. I reira anō tana toronga a Wiremu Rāniera Pārete (William Daniel Barrett), ā, nā runga i te whakaakoranga i whiwhi ai rāua, i āhei ai te tokorua nei ki te mahi mā tō rāua iwi i te Kōti Whenua Māori, ā, mai i a rāua e taitama tonu ana, kua noho kē rāua hei tino kaikōkiri i ngā take a Ngāi Tahu. Ahakoa he kaiwhakahaere Māori mana kore nei pea tētahi mahi a Pītama, i ahu kē mai tōna oranga i tana mahi pāmu i runga i ngā whenua ake o tōna whānau.

Nō te 6 o Hune i te tau 1905 i Rangiora, i moea e Pītama a Te Hauraraka Anipi Manakore Maaka. Hei tamāhine a Te Ripa mā te tino rangatira rā o tōna iwi kāinga, mā Hoani Maaka, ā, ki te taha ki tōna whaea, ki a Meri Horomona (Solomon), tōna hononga atu ki te whānau tokomaha, whānau awe kaha nei, ki ngā Horomona. Ko te mutunga mai o te nui o ā rāua tamariki, tokoono ngā tama tāne, tokorima ngā tamāhine.

I te wā e hira whakamua ana te kerēme a Ngāi Tahu – ka roa kē hoki te kerēme nei e whakahaeretia ana – ko te wā tēnei i hau tuatahi ai te rongo o Pītama. I ahu mai te kaupapa o te kerēme o Waitaha i te paku rawa o te utu, me te itiiti rawa hoki o ngā whenua rāhui i whakaritea rā mō te poraka o Ngāi Tahu i te tau 1848; ko te īngoa kē anō mō taua poraka rā ko te hokonga a Te Keepa (Kemp's Purchase). Ko te whakarite a tētahi kōmihana i te tau 1920, £354,000 te moni kāpeneheihana kāore anō kia utua noatia ki ngā uri o te hunga nō rātou te whenua. Nō te tau 1923 i meinga ai te ture hei whakamana i te Kōti Whenua Māori ki te whakaīngoa tonu i ngā uri whai pānga. Kāti, nō te tau 1924 i whakaae ai te kāwanatanga ki tētahi hui ake a te Kōti Whenua Māori hei whakatutuki i te take nei. Whāia nō taua tau anō, nō te 30 o Oketopa i hainatia e Pītama tētahi o ngā petihana ruarua nei e tono ana kia whakatūria te kōti ki Kaiapoi.

Nō te 19 o Hānuere i te tau 1925 i tū ai te kōti i Tuahiwi, riro ana ko te tiati matua o te Kōti Whenua Māori, ko R. N. Jones te kaiwhakahaere. Noho ake ana ko Pītama hei heamana mō tētahi komiti he āwhina nei tōna tikanga i ngā whakahaere; kāti ko Pārete anō tētahi o ngā mema o te komiti nei. I te whakahaerenga o te kōti, pānuitia ana te rārangi īngoa o ngā uri, hei whakaae, hei whakahē rānei mā te komiti me ngā kaumātua. I taua wā tonu e noho ake ana he rōpū wānanga, ko Pītama tonu tētahi o ngā kaiwhakahiato i te whakapapa whakaatu i ngā uri o ngā tīpuna e noho ake ana i rō te rohe o te hokonga a Te Keepa i te tau 1848. Pū ana te riri mō te take ko wai e whakaurua atu ai, ā, nā koa hoki i whakatūria he komiti tāwhai, ko tōna whakarite kē e āhei katoa ana ngā tāngata o Ngāi Tahu me Ngāti Māmoe hei uri ki te poraka nei. Hāunga hoki a Pītama, i riro kē ia hei kaihautū mō rātou e hiahia noa ana ko te hunga e uru atu ai, ko ngā whakahekenga noa o ngā tāngata i te rohe o te hokonga a Te Keepa e noho ana. Arongia ake ana e te Kōti ngā whakaaro o Pītama, ā, nō te 4 o Maehe i te tau 1925 i whakaritea ai e tana komiti he whakataunga i te āhua o te iti, i te āhua o te nui rānei o ngā hea mā ngā uri whai pānga.

He tino maha kē nei ngā pīra e whakahē ana i ngā whakataunga, i riro nā te Kōti Whakawā Tuarua (Native Appellate Court) i whakawā i Ōtautahi (Christchurch) i te tau 1926. I noho tonu te komiti a Pītama ki te whakarongo i te whakawā, mutu noa ana te whakahaere a te kōti. Kātahi te mahi taumaha ko tēnei ki te komiti, kāore he utu, ā, riroriro tonu ana mā ngā mema o te komiti ngā nama a ngā kaipīra ki te kōti e utu. Nā runga i ngā mahi a te kerēme ka haere rawa ki Pōneke (Wellington), haere kē ana rānei rātou ki ngā kāinga nohoanga o ngā kaipīra; piki ana te nui o ā rātou nama. Ahakoa i oti te whakataunga me te whakakāhititanga o te rārangi īngoa o ngā uri, kīhai i ngākaunui te kāwanatanga ki te whakatutuki i te kerēme. Whakamātau ana a Pītama rāua ko Pārete ki te whakatū i tētahi rōpū māngai o Ngāi Tahu hei tūtaki ki te Pirimia, ki a Te Kōti (Gordon Coates). Ēngari nā te aha rā, kore ana i taea.

Nō te 15 o Pēpuere 1929 i Ōtautahi, i tūtaki ai a Pītama mā ki a Tā Hōhepa Waari (Sir Joseph Ward), ko ia nei te Pirimia i taua wā. E ai ki tana kī taurangi, ā te tūnga anō o te Pāremata ka tirohia anō te take nei. Heoi anō kore rawa tēnei i pahure, ā, kore ake i neke atu te whakaritenga o te kerēme. Nō te 12 o Maehe i tukua atu ai e Pītama rāua ko Pārete tā rāua petihana ki te minita Māori, ki a Apirana Ngata, e tono moni ana hei āwhina i ngā mema o te komiti. I te taenga atu ki te marama o Ākuhata, e £500 noa te nui o te moni i whakaaetia, ka mutu. Ina koa, tata atu ki te £40 te rahi o te moni i utua ki a Pītama me ētahi anō o rātou o tā rātou komiti. Ko te tikanga o tēnei utu hei whakataunga tuatahi i te tūranga o te komiti a Pītama. Hei whakataunga tuarua, ka whakatūria te Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu Trust Board), he mea waihanga mai i raro i Te Ture Whakatikatika Whenua Māori, Whakatikatika Kerēme Whenua Māori (Native Land Amendment and Native Land Claims Adjustment Act) o 1928, hei whiriwhiri mā rāua tahi ko te Karauna me pēwhea te whakarite i te take. Nō te 1 o Hūrae i te tau 1929 i kāhititia ngā īngoa o ngā mema i runga i te poari, ā, pōtitia ana a Pītama hei tiamana tuatahi.

I taua wā anō, e haere tonu ana ngā hui a te kōti ki te whakarite ko wai ngā uri whai pānga o te poraka nei, me te whakarite anō hoki ko wai ā rātou whakakapi. Ahakoa kua kore kē ko Pītama te tumuaki o te poari, ā, e tino kiriwetitia ana ia mō ōna whakaaro whakawhāiti i te hunga kaikokoraho, ka nui tonu āna mahi i runga i te komiti, he mea karanga i ētahi wā, ko te Komiti Uiui (Committee of Investigation). Nā koa ia, noho ake ana ia rā, ia rā, kitekite tonu ai i ngā kaikokoraho hou. Nā te nui haere mai o ngā mahi whakapōraruraru a te tikanga whakahaere a te kāwanatanga, i uaua rawa atu ai tana mahi.

Heoi anō mutu kau tonu i konā te ahu whakamua o te kerēme. I te ekenga atu ki te tau 1930, kua wehe kē mai a Pītama i tana wahine, ā, kua noho kē mai ia i te taha o tōna whaea i Tuahiwi, me āna tamāhine tokotoru. Pāngia ana ia i nāianei e te mate rūmātiki, noho kē mai ana ia ki rō tūru wīra hei waewae mōna. I te wā tōmuatanga o te marama o Āperira o te tau 1930, e whakapono ana tōna whānau kua hua kē te tohu aituā mōna, inarā, ko tētahi kurī pango tonu te tohu, ki tō rātou whakaaro ko te kurī tonu nei te kaitiaki o te urupā o te whānau. Ahakoa ngā tautohetohe a Pītama, āta whakatikaina ana ia mō te hemo, whakatakoto rawatia a ia ki runga ki tana moenga. Kāti rā, he putaputa tonu mai te mahi a ngā tohu, ā, nō te ata o te 5 o Āperira, i kitea kua mate kē a Pītama. He mea tāpuke ia ki te urupā o te whānau i Tuahiwi. Nā runga i te āhua o tōna matenga, i mahue noa ai te whakamau tohu whakaatu ki runga ki tōna rua tāpuke. Mahue mai ana tana wahine me āna tamariki tekau mā tahi.

Ahakoa taka rawa mai ki te tau 1944 kātahi anō ka tutuki te wāhanga tuatahi o te whakaritenga mā Ngāi Tahu, he wāhi nui tonu tā Pītama ki te whakaū i te kerēme. Nāna i āwhina te mahi mai i te rārangi īngoa o ngā uri kaikokoraho o Ngāi Tahu, e whakamahia tonutia ana e ngā whānau o te iwi puta noa i te rau tau rua tekau. Ahakoa ko wai te iwi, kātahi mai te nui o ngā tuhituhinga whakapapa i oti i a Ngāi Tahu te whakakao. Kāti nā tana kōkirikiri haere tonu i te Tari Māori, i tutuki ai te kerēme a Ngāi Tahu.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    N.Z. Native Department. Archives. Ngaitahu Trust Board, Part 1, 1910--1929. AAMK 869/766b. NA

    N.Z. Native Land Court. Minute books: Ikaroa District, Ngai Tahu 23A, Jan.--Feb. 1925. Micro 3178. NA


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara and Te Maire Tau. 'Pītama, Weretā Tainui', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998, updated o Hepetema, 2022. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4p13/pitama-wereta-tainui (accessed 29 March 2024)