I whānau a Edward James Te Āika Tregerthen – nō muri iho ka karangatia ko Eruera Tīhema Tirikātene – i te 5 o Hānuere i te tau 1895, i te pā o Te Rakiwhakaputa e pātata atu rā ki Kaiapoi. Ko tōna pāpā ko Hōne (John) Driver Tregerthen, he kāmura, ā, atu hoki i tērā he kāpene waka, he kaiwhakatipu witi, he minita hāhi hoki āna mahi. Ko ia tētahi o ngā āpotoro a te tohunga matakite o Te Waipounamu nei, a Hipa Te Maihāroa, ā, riro ana hoki ko Hōne hei āpotoro tuatahi mā T. W. Rātana ki Te Waipounamu. Ko te mana rangatira o te whaea o Hōne, o Emma Driver, nō tōna whaea mai, nō Mōtoitoi o Ngāi Tahu, o Ngāti Māmoe me Waitaha. Nō Ōtākou tēnei wahine. Ko te wahine a Hōne nei te whaea o Eruera, arā, ko Tini Noti Tūhuru Arapata Hōrau (Jane Albert) o Ngāi Tahu. I heke iho a Tini i te aho ariki o tōna tupuna, o Tūhuru o Te Tai Poutini, me tana pānga anō hoki ki a Ngāti Toa o Porirua.
I a ia e tamariki ana ka taka a Eruera ki raro i ngā whakaminamina a Āperahama Te Āika, he pōua kēkē nōna, ka riro nei nā rāua ko tana wahine, ko Mere Tītawa te whaea o Eruera i whāngai. He wā roa e noho tahi ana rātou mā ko Eruera i Tuahiwi. Nō konei tōna mōhio ki te whakapapa me ngā tikanga tuku iho tae noa ki te wehi, ki te mana o ngā tohunga. Ko Eruera te tama mātāmua; nōna ka whānau, ka kore te kanga whaiwhaiā i runga i te whānautanga mai o tētahi tama mātāmua, he mea whiu i te rironga o Te Tai Poutini i a Tūhuru. Mataku ana a Eruera rātou ko ōna tēina i te mana tipua o tō rātou whaea; nāwai rā ākiritia atu ana e ia ērā tūmomo ngoikaha, he āinga whakahakahaka, he whakamataku kē tōna tikanga.
He Katorika te whaea o Eruera, ēngari ko tana matua he Mihinare, ā, haere ana a Eruera ki te whare karakia Mihinare o Tīpene (St Stephen's Anglican Church) i Tuahiwi; i muri iho, ahakoa te mamao o te haere mā runga hōiho, ko ia tētahi o ngā tino kaiwaiata o te koaea o te whare karakia matua o Ōtautahi (Christchurch). Ohorere ana te mutu o tana whai wāhi ki te mahi waiata nei, whiua kētia ana ia mō ngā mahi tinihanga a ētahi kē o ngā taitama. Ka noho tēnei hei take whakamau māna ki te hunga e tūkino ana i a ia, i te Hāhi Mihinare hoki, ā, ka mutu tana haere ki te karakia. I akona ia ki te kura Māori o Kaiapoi me te kura tuarua ā-rohe anō hoki o Kaiapoi. He kōrero Māori nōna i ēnei kura, te take i whiua a ia. Waihoki noho ai tēnei hei take whakamau māna i ngā tau o muri mai, arā, ka whakamahia nei ia ki te whakaaro he reo tuarua kē te reo Māori.
I a ia i te kura, ko ia tētahi o ngā mema tumu i whakatū i te rōpū tuatahi o ngā matataua taitama ki Aotearoa nei. He pai a Eruera ki ngā mahi hākinakina, e hia kē nei hoki ngā tūmomo tākaro i whakataetaetia e ia. Nō te tau 1909 pea, ka mutu tana haere ki te kura, haere kē atu ana hei tauira i runga i tētahi pāmu hipi i Te Whakatakaka-o-te-ngārahu-o-te-ahi-a-Tamatea (Hanmer). Nō muri mai he kaiwhakarata hōiho, he kaihoko kararehe āna mahi. I tērā takiwā pea ki te tau 1913, ka hūnuku atu ia ki Te Wairarapa ki te whakaū i tōna taumautanga ki tētahi kōtiro nō te whānau rangatira nei, nō ngā Te Whāiti; kore rawa i tutuki tō rāua moenga ka mate te kōtiro nei. Heoi, mau tonu te noho a Eruera ki Te Wairarapa, he whakarata hōiho tana mahi, eke hōiho ana hoki i ngā whakamātau kaupoai o te wā kāinga. I riro i a ia te tohu toa mō tēnei mahi i raro i te īngoa o Jim Tregerthen.
I te tau 1914, he taitamariki rawa ia ki te whakauru atu ki te ope hōia, kātahi ka rere i runga i tana hōiho ki tētahi tūranga whakataritari hore kau i te mōhio ki a ia, ka whakauru nei ia i raro i te īngoa o Eruera Tirikātene, rūkahu noa hoki i ōna tau. Riro atu ana ia i roto i te Taua Māori Tuarua ki te pakanga i tāwāhi. Kāti e toru tau nei ia me te Rōpū Māori (Paiōnia) o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Māori (Pioneer) Battalion) i Īhipa me Wīwī, ka tohua a ia hei haihana. Hau ana te rongo toanga o Eruera, he mea waha noa mai e ia ngā hōia taotū, ahakoa te rere tonu o te matā. Nāna i tū ai te pēne o te hokowhitu, he kōneta tāna i whakatangitangi ai. Nō te 7 o Mei o te tau 1919, i whakawāteatia mai ia i te ope hōia, kātahi ka noho ki Kaiapoi, i runga pāmu e whā eka te nui, nā tōna matua i hoko mai i ngā moni kōputu i utua rā e te ope hōia ki a Eruera.
Nō te 17 o Tīhema i te tau 1919, i Te Whakaraupō (Lyttelton), i moe ai a Eruera i a Ruti Matekino Horomona (Solomon), he tamāhine nā Āperahama Tūpahu Tahuna Horomona, he rangatira nō Ngāi Tahu, rāua ko tana wahine, ko Mīria Henrici, he wahine rangatira nō Ngāti Pāhauwera, he hapū nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Tekau mā rua rawa ā rāua tamariki, tokorua kāore anō i pakeke ka mate. I muri i tō rāua moenga, me te mahi tahi hoki a rāua ko tana taokete ko Rangi Horomona, ka tū nei i a Eruera ētahi mahi pakihi anā kē nei te hua: he pāmu miraka kau, he mira tapahi rākau, he kahupapa waka hī ika, me ngā waka tere e rua nei e rere whakawhiti atu ana i waenganui i Te Whakaraupō me Koukourarata (Port Levy). Nā konei i riro mai i a ia tana tiwhikete mataaro pūkaha moana.
Nō aua tau ka noho a Rangi Horomona hei pononga mā te kaiārahi māramatanga, mā T. W. Rātana, ā, nā te kore i tika o te pokaina o tōna whaea o Mīria, i whakīkītia ia kia haere ki te kite i te kaiwhakaora tūroro rā. Nō te whakaoranga ake i a ia, ka noho atu te whānau Horomona ki Rātana Pā. I te tau 1921, ka haere a Eruera me tōna whānau ki te torotoro i a rātou. Tere tonu te kite a Rātana (ko te Māngai tōna īngoa i mōhiotia whānuitia) i ngā pūmanawa huahua o Eruera, tonoa ana ia kia noho. Nā Rātana i waitohu, kei te haere mai he mea nui ki a ia. Tāpuitia ana e ia he papanga kāinga mō Eruera, e rua anake ēnei papanga e whakaaetia ana ki te tangata rāwaho atu i te whānau o Rātana. Horokukū ana a Eruera, ko Tiri nei tōna īngoa i Rātana Pā, ki te noho, ka mataku nei ia i ngā poropititanga ā-tohunga a te Māngai mōna. Ko te mahi i whakaarotia e Rātana māna he nuku kē atu te nui i āna mahi pakihi. Nā te whakaaro nui o Eruera ki te whānau o tana wahine, i whakaae ia kia noho.
Puta ana te hua o ana pūmanawa ka riro nei ko ia hei kaiwhakahaere i ngā mīhini me ngā mahi hauhake. I a ia te kaiwhakahaere, e hia kē nei ngā eka i pāmutia, me ngā tōne witi, rīwai i whakatipuria. Ko ia tētahi o ngā kaitīmata i te Pēne Hiriwa o ngā Mōrehu (Rātana Mōrehu Silver Band), hohou atu hoki ōna pūmanawa ki te mahi tiaki niho. Nāwai ā tukutuku ake ana kua noho hei pononga pūmau a Eruera mā te Māngai. Riro ana tōna ngākau i ngā kōrero a te Māngai ki te pēhi i te mana mākutu o ngā tohunga, ki te whakamahi i te Tiriti o Waitangi hei whakaōrite i te mana ā-ture me te whakaū i te tika mō te Māori, tae atu ki te whakauru i ētahi Māori ki te Pāremata hei aki i ngā ture e toko ake ana i te Tiriti. Tae mai ana te whakaaro ki a Eruera ko te Māngai te tangata i whakaihitia e te Atua.
Ka tīmata nei te noho a te whānau a Tirikātene i Rātana Pā, ka rerekē haere te āhua o tā rātou noho. I Te Waipounamu he whānau houkura a Tirikātene mā; i Rātana Pā mō ngā tau 12 ki te 14, i noho kore moni a Eruera. Ahakoa i pōtitia ia hei Mema Pāremata i te tau 1932, haere katoa ana tōna utu Pāremata ki te kaupapa Rātana, i raro i tētahi kawenata nā te Māngai tonu i uruhi. Ko te tikanga painga nui i Rātana Pā ko te ohu i te mahi. I whānau katoa mai ngā tamariki a Eruera kāore he tākuta, āwhina noa rānei, mutu kau mai ko ia tonu te kaiwhakawhānau i te nuinga o āna tamariki. Ko tōna whānau o Te Waipounamu ki te tuku kai, moni mai hoki mā rātou, ēngari i rongo tonu a Eruera me tana whānau i te pōhara i Rātana Pā.
Ka pau ngā tau 17, ka noho ko Eruera tētahi o ngā tino pou whakawhirinaki o te Māngai. I te tīmatanga ko tōna māia ki te mahi me te tautōhito ki te whakatakoto kaupapa ngā pūmanawa i kitea. Nō muri iho i whakatūria ia e te Māngai hei kaiārahi i ngā kaunihera taketake ake ki ngā kaupapa tōrangapū. I te tau 1928, i te wā e kōwhiri ana te Māngai i ana koata e whā (arā, i ana kaiwhakauru ki te Pāremata), tohua ana ko Eruera tonu mō Te Tai Tonga, ā, ko wai hoki i tua atu i a ia? Hoatu anō hoki e te Māngai te īngoa o Te Ōmeka (Omega) ki a Eruera, hei tohu hoki i tō rāua piripono. Ahakoa i tohua rā ia, kāore ia i puta ki te kauhau haere i tōna rohe pōti, ki te tuku rānei i tana pōti, nā tōna mau ki Rātana Pā kua eke kē nei ki te wā o te kotinga witi. I te tau 1928, riro ana nā te pōti anake a te āpiha kaute i hinga ai a Eruera.
Nō te tau 1930 i whakatūria e te Māngai a Eruera hei mema mō te komiti whakahaere i te Kotahitanga Rātana. I te tau 1931 ka tohua anō e ia a Eruera hei kaiwhakauru mō Te Tai Tonga; ko tāna kaupapa ko te whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi me te whakatau i ngā take raupatu. Kei tētahi whakaahua o taua wā e mau ana te tau o tōna āhua me te pai o ōna makawe māwhai. I ngā marama o Hepetema me Oketopa o te tau 1931 haere tahi katoa ana a Eruera rātou ko ērā atu o ngā koata, ko Haami Tokouru Rātana, ko Paraire Paikea me Pita Moko ki te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro ki te Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa, ki te whakatau mehemea ka tūturu tā rātou uru atu hei mema, noho wehe kē mai rānei. Hinga ana te uru kahika, pū ana te kahika tū tahi.
I te pōti o te 1 o Tīhema, nā te paku nui noa ake o ngā pōti i hinga ai a Eruera, toa kē ana ko Tuiti Makitānara. I haere tonu ngā whakawhitiwhiti a rātou ko te Rōpū Reipa, ā, nō te tīmatanga o te tau 1932 ka tū he komiti, ko Eruera nei tētahi o ngā mema, hei whakatakoto i ngā kerēme Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ko te tūmanako kia riro mā te tumuaki o te Rōpū Reipa, mā Te Hōrana (Harry Holland), e whakatakoto te kaupapa ki te aroaro o te Pāremata. Tae ake ana a Te Hōrana ki Rātana Pā i Āperira o te tau 1932, ka takoto nei i a ia tana kupu ka riro māna e tuku ngā petihana me te kawenata a Rātana ki mua i te Rōpū Reipa. Kāore anō kia ahu pēwhea noa te take nei whāia ka mate ohorere a Tuiti Makitānara i Hune o te tau 1932, ā, i te pōti pāerotanga uru atu ana ko Eruera hei Mema Pāremata mō Te Tai Tonga.
Rū ana te manawa o Rātana; kātahi anō ka tū he reo mō te Māngai ki te Pāremata. Ka haere te Māngai rātou ko tōna whānau me ētahi atu – 57 te tokomaha, ā, nō muri iho i muia ai e te rau o te motu e tautāwhi nei i a Rātana – ki te heri i te Koata ki Pōneke (Wellington). Noho ake ana ko Toko Rātana rāua ko Paraire Paikea ki Pōneke ki te āwhina i a Eruera. Nō te 29 o Hepetema te whaikōrero tuatahi a Eruera ki te Whare Pāremata, ka mea nei ia ko te Rōpū Rātana tonu tōna rōpū tōrangapū. I muri tonu iho ka whakapuakina e ia te kaupapa o te Tiriti o Waitangi, he mea oati tonu rā e ia.
I te Pāremata he pakanga tonu te mahi a Eruera ki te tautāwhi i ngā whāinga a Rātana tae atu ki te whakahaere o Rātana Pā. I te tau 1932 anō, ka takoto i a ia te petihana a Rātana, e tono ana kia whakaturetia te mana o te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ahakoa he aha te take e tautohea ana, ka whakaurua atu e ia te Tiriti, e hia hoki āna pānuitanga i ngā whiti e toru. Ia tau he kōrero tonu tana mahi i te kerēme a Ngāi Tahu. I ētahi wā – i te noho puku a te Mema mō Te Tai Hauāuru, i te ngaro kē rānei i te Whare – ka kōrerotia e Eruera ngā raupatu o Taranaki me Waikato.
Ko tana tino kaupapa ko te pōhara o tōna iwi. Mai i te tau 1932 ki 1935, e hia kē nei āna kōrerotanga mō te kore mahi a te Māori, me te iti me te rerekē o ngā utu ki te Māori mō ngā mahi whakamāmā i te hunga kore mahi, ā, pērā anō hoki i ngā penihana, me ngā utu whānau. I whakaatu anō hoki ia kia whakahaerea he kaupapa nui tonu nei hei whakatū whare mō te Māori te tikanga. I tono ia kia whakaaetia te Māori kia whai tohu i ā rātou mahi ā-rehe, ā, kia āhei ai hoki te piki i ngā poutama o te Tari Māori, me tōna pai anō ki te pōti huna mō te Māori. Puta ana hoki ana amuamu mō te koretake o te Kaitiaki Māori, o te Tari Māori me ngā poari whenua Māori.
I te tīmatanga, ahakoa te heipū katoa o ngā kupu whakapae a Eruera ki runga ki te kāwanatanga mō te aukati i te Māori, mō te iti o ngā rauemi ki te Tari Māori, tere tonu te pāpouri o Apirana Ngata. Ātetetia ana e Ngata te whakanohoanga o Eruera ki runga i te Poari Kaitiaki o Waitangi mō te Motu (Waitangi National Trust Board), mea kē ana ia ko te Kīngi Māori kē te tangata. He kore i pai nō Āpirana ki a Rātana, me te tautoko a Te Hōrana i ngā whāinga a Eruera, i whakaaro ai a Eruera ki te whai i tētahi kaupapa hei whakakotahi i a rātou me te Rōpū Reipa. I te urunga mai o Toko Rātana ki te Pāremata hei Mema mō Te Tai Hauāuru i te tau 1935, ka whakaae te Māngai ki tā Eruera. Nō te 4 o Tīhema i te tau 1935 i āta tono ai a Eruera kia whakaurua atu a ia ki te Rōpū Reipa; i muri tonu a Toko e whai atu ana, ā, ahakoa te whakatete mai a ngā kaitautoko Māori o te Rōpū Reipa – ehara rātou i te kaupapa Rātana – haere ana a Eruera rāua ko Toko ki ngā hui a te uepū mai i Pēpuere o te tau 1936.
I te mea he kaitautoko ia i te kāwanatanga Reipa kātahi anō rā ka pōtitia, ka taea noatia e Eruera te whakatau tā rātou kaupapa Māori. I te 16 o Āperira i te tau 1936, ka whakatūria ko ia hei tumuaki mō te Komiti Whakahaere Māori (Māori Organising Committee), ko te kaupapa hei whakaaraara mema mō te Rōpū Reipa i ngā rohe pōti katoa, ā, i tua atu hoki i tērā hei komiti wetewete kaupapa Māori anō hoki. Tukua ana e Eruera tana reta kia huri haere ki ngā Mema Reipa katoa, e whakahau ana hei kaupapa mā te Rōpū Reipa, te mahi whakaōrite i te utu ki te Pākehā me te Māori, mō ngā mahi whakamāmā e mahia nei e te hunga kore mahi. Ko tētahi o ngā tino whāinga a Eruera ko te whakakore i te mahi whakatoihara i te iwi Māori, ko te whakatū kaupapa e ōrite ai ngā iwi. Kei ana whaikōrero mai i te tau 1936 ki te Whare Pāremata e kitea ai tana koa, tana manawa tau me tana ngākau reka ki te ōritetanga o ngā iwi katoa i roto i ngā ture a te kāwanatanga mō ngā take toko i te ora. I te wā i a ia i te Pāremata, karawhiua ana e ia te whakatoihara iwi ahakoa he aha te hanga, te āhua rānei.
Mau haere tonu te mana ki te kōrero Māori a Eruera i te Whare Pāremata. I te tīmatanga i whakaae tonutia ia kia kōrero Māori, ēngari nō muri iho i tino takarita tonu nei ia ki te kāwanatanga Nāhinara ka whakakorea nei e tō rātou Tumuaki Kōrero tana mana ki te kōrero Māori. Ēngari hei aha māna, i kōrero Māori tonu a Eruera.
I te tau 1937 i whakawhiti atu hoki ia ki Ingarangi hei māngai mō te iwi Māori i te koroneihana o Hōri Te Tuaono, ka haere hoki ki te hui a te Rōpū Pāremata o te Emepaea (Empire Parliamentary Association). I te koroneihana anō o Riripeti Te Tuarua, tutū ana i a ia te puehu ka mea nei ia ahakoa tekau rawa ngā Māori i roto i te rōpū hōia o te ope o Niu Tīreni, kāore he māngai tūturu ake nō te iwi Māori.
I te tau 1938, ka pōtitia anō ia mō te rohe Māori o Te Tai Tonga, ā, nuku atu anō hoki te nui o ana pōti. Nō te tau o muri mai ka mate te Māngai. I mua tata atu i tōna matenga, he mea waha tonu ia e Eruera – he tangata rā hoki e rangona ana mō tōna kaha – piki haere atu i te maunga o Taranaki. Ko te haerenga whakamutunga tēnei o te Māngai ki Te Rere-o-Kapuni, te awa iti e wairua nui ana ki a Rātana. Ko te taua wairua i te Māngai me te kaiārahi o te kaupapa ko Toko Rātana, te hoa torangapū anō hoki o Eruera. He tangata whakaiti, tangata hūmārie hoki a Toko, ā, tautāwhi ana hoki ia i a Eruera hei manu taki i ngā mahi tōrangapū.
I te whakapaunga o te tau 1940, ka tau ngā whakaaro o te Pirimia, o Pita Pereiha (Peter Fraser) ki te whakanoho Māori ki runga i te rūnanga matua mō te pakanga. Mārama tonu te rongo o te katoa i tōna hiahia ki a Eruera. Kāti i reira anō hoki a Paraire Paikea, nō te tau 1938 i riro ai i a ia te tūru o Te Tai Tokerau, e whakakīkī ana i ngā Mema Reipa o Ākarana (Auckland) kia tautokona ko ia hei Minita; whakatika atu ana, pōti kētia ana ko Paraire. Ahakoa tana ongaonga ki te mahi hao a Paraire, ka koa kē nei ia kua whiwhi Māori te rūnanga matua. Tautokona ana e Eruera a Paraire i roto i te Whare Pāremata, ā, mahi tahi ana hoki rāua ki te whakaara i te rōpū tautoko i ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai (Māori War Effort Organisation). I te matenga o Paraire i Āperira o te tau 1943, ka tū ko Eruera hei mema mō te Kaunihera Whiriwhiri (Executive Council) hei kanohi mō te iwi Māori, ā, i muri mai ka riro ko ia hei tumuaki mō te komiti Pāremata e whakahaere ana rā i te rōpū tautoko i ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai.
Tino hiahia ana a Eruera kia haere tonu tēnei tū āhua e hāngai nei ki te Māori o te ao hou – arā, kia riro anō mā te Māori e whakahaere ā rātou mahi i te mutunga o te pakanga. Ēngari i a ia e hanga rā i te kaupapa e āhei ai te whakawhānui atu i ngā mahi a te rōpū i te wā o te rongomau, ā, e mau ai hoki te mana ki ngā ringa Māori, kei reira anō hoki te kāwanatanga e mahere mai ana ki te whakatū i tētahi tari i raro i te whakahaere a te Tari Māori. Karangatia ana e Eruera rātou ko ngā Mema Pāremata Rātana he hui ki ngā rūma karapu o te Rōpū Māori o Ngāti Pōneke (Ngāti Pōneke Māori Association) i Oketopa o te tau 1944, ā, he hui anō i Ōpoutama, i Rātana Pā. I reira ka tautokona tana kaupapa, kātahi ka tahuri rāua ko Ralph Love – he hēkeretari mana kore nāna – ki te tuhi i te pire hei whakatika ake i ngā take pāpori me te ohanga Māori. Ina tutuki, ko te mutunga atu, ko te tū o tētahi tari ā-motu, hei whakatikatika i ngā take toko i te ora me te ohaoha Māori; ka riro hoki mā ngā kaunihera ā-iwi, ā-rohe rānei, e whakamahi ngā rauemi kāwanatanga hei whakahaere i ngā take Māori. Kāti, tutuki noa ana te whakaaetanga ki te pire – ko te īngoa ko te Ture Toko i te Ora me te Pai mō te Iwi Māori (Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act) o 1945 – ahakoa te nui o ōna whakaaro i uru atu, matekiri ana a Eruera nā te mea kua mana kore ngā komiti ā-iwi, i te rironga i ngā tari kāwanatanga te mana whakahaere.
I muri mai o ngā pōti o te tau 1946, mahara katoa ana ngā Māori me noho ko Eruera hei Minita Māori, meinga kētia ana e te Pirimia, e Pita Pereiha te mahi nei māna; kāti, i noho tonu a Eruera hei Mema mō te Kaunihera Whiriwhiri mō te iwi Māori. Ka kōkiritia e ia ngā whakaaro o ngā Mema Māori ki te uepū Reipa i te tau 1947, mō te āhua o te whakahaere i ngā take Māori. Paku noa nei ngā whakarerekētanga, ā, whakakorea ana te kupu 'native' hei kupu whakahua i ngā mahi Māori a te kāwanatanga, noho kē ana ko te kupu 'Māori' te kupu whakamahi. Hei whakapati i te matekiri o te Māori, ka whakatūria nei a Eruera hei Minita mō te Tari Tā me ngā Pānga Tuhituhi (Minister in charge of the Printing and Stationery Department).
I puta tonu te ihu o ētahi o ngā kaupapa a Eruera i te wā atu i 1946 ki 1949. Oti atu anō hoki te whakatau i te kerēme a Taranaki me te kerēme hoki a Waikato–Maniapoto. Ia tau, mai i tōna pōtitanga, haere tonu ai te whakatakoto a Eruera i ngā kōrero hangarau mō te kerēme a Ngāi Tahu i rō Pāremata, me tana whakahau anō kia utua a Ngāi Tahu. Ēngari e tino mōhio tonu ana ia ki te kaha o te taha moni, ka whakaae nei ia ki te tahua £300,000 i mana pū ai i te Ture Whakatau Kerēme a Ngāitahu (Ngāitahu Claim Settlement Act) o 1944. Neke atu i te 80 ngā hui i karangatia e ia i waenganui i a Ngāi Tahu, kia whakaae ai te iwi. Kāti koa whakatūria ana ko Tirikātene hei tumuaki mō te Poari Kaitiaki o Ngāi Tahu (Ngāitahu Trust Board).
Mai i te tau 1949 ki 1957 i noho ai a Eruera i te taha ātete o te whare ko te rōpū Nāhinara kē nei te kāwanatanga. Ko tāna mahi i tēnei wā he tohutohu i ērā atu o ngā Mema Pāremata a te Rōpū Rātana, me tana noho anō hoki hei tumuaki mō te kaunihera tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Council) me te komiti kaupapa Māori (Māori Policy Committee) o te Rōpū Reipa. I te kāwanatanga o Waata Naahi (Walter Nash), ko Eruera te Minita o te Ngahere me te Minita mō te Tā me ngā Pānga Tuhituhi. Kua puta te tono a ngā rangatira Māori kia tohua ia hei Minita Māori, ēngari riro kē ana tēnei mahi i te Pirimia, meinga kētia ana ko Eruera tōna hoa āwhina. Ēngari i a Naahi ka whakahē nei i ngā kaupapa a Eruera i mārama tonu tōna whakaaro, he whakapai kanohi noa iho te tūnga he mea hoatu rā ki a Eruera. E hia kē nei ngā wā e tautohetohe ana a Naahi rāua ko Eruera, ko te kaupapa Māori te take, nā te mea ka whakahē a Naahi i te take mana motuhake Māori. I te tau 1960 ka werohia e ia te kāwanatanga kia whakaturetia te rā o Waitangi hei rā whakanui mō te motu. He Minita pukumahi a Tirikātene mō te ngahere, nāna i whakaputa te huarahi waka ki Maungapōhatu, ahakoa ngā whakakōroiroi mai a tōna tari; nuku atu i tēnā nō te 22 o Noema o te tau 1959 i puta ai te Whakapuakanga o Rūātoki (Rūātoki Declaration), he mahere nei mō te atawhai me te whakahaere i te ngahere o Te Urewera, e puta ai he hua ohanga ki te iwi nō rātou te whenua.
I te tau 1935 kua whakatūria kētia a Tirikātene hei kaiwhakawā tūmatanui, ā, nō te tau 1960 i ūhia hoki a ia ki te taitara Tā. I ōna tau whakamutunga mau haere tonu te nui o āna mahi. E hia kē nei ngā rōpū hira i whai wāhi ai ia pērā i te Poari o te Tahua Moni mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board). Haere tonu hoki ana whakawhētai ki te Rōpū Reipa mō te whakaturetanga i te hanga ōrite o ngā iwi. Mai i te tīmatanga i haere katoa te nuinga o tana utu hei utu i ngā whakahaere o tana mahi; nā ngā hua o ngā māra a te whānau i Kaiapoi i tōtika ai ia. I whakawhirinaki tonu ia ki tana hunga ohu i te mahi, tae atu hoki ki āna tamariki; riro ana nā Te Rino i whakahaere te mahi a te pāmu, me Rima anō i te āwhina i a ia; ko Whetū tana hēkeretari mō te rohe pōti; ko Tāpihana (Dobson) – he tangata e kitea ana tōna pai ki te purei i te pūhōkai – i mutu wawe te kura, ka haere nei ia hei hēkeretari mā tana pāpā. Ko tētahi o ngā tama a Eruera, a John, he kaiwhakarere waka rererangi taua, i aituātia i Ākarana i te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao.
I te 11 o Hānuere i te tau 1967 ka oho moata nei a Eruera Tirikātene, koirā tonu rā tōna āhua, ka haere rāua ko Te Rino ki te tope i tētahi uru paina i tō rātou whenua i Kaiapoi. Ka hinga nei te paina whakamutunga, i te nohoanga atu o Eruera i runga i tētahi poro rākau, i kī ia, 'E pai ana, ka oti te mahi, e Rin. He mahi pai, e tama.' Kātahi ka moe atu ngā kanohi, moe tonu atu. I Kaiapoi, i te marae o Te Hiwi Mārama te tangihanga, ā, neke atu i te 2,000 ngā tāngata i tae ki te uhunga. I tanumia ia ki te urupā o Te Kai-a-te-Atua i Kaiapoi tonu. Mahue iho ana ko tana pouaru, ko Ruti me ā rāua tamariki, tokoono ngā tama, tokorua ngā tamāhine. Ka tū ko tana tamāhine, ko Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan hei whakakī i te whārua i mahue iho i a ia. E ai ki ngā poroporoaki a Tā Turi Kara (Carroll) i te tangihanga, kāore he rangatira Māori i tua atu i a Eruera.