Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Huata, Wiremu Te Tau
1917–1991
Nō Ngāti Kahungunu; he minita Mihingare, he minita hōia
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Angela Ballara, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
Ko Wī Huata te tuatoru o te whānau kotahi – whai tonu mai tētahi i tētahi – ka tū hei minita Māori mō te Hāhi Mihingare. Tata ana te kapi te wā i ā rātau mahi, ka hoki atu nei ki te tīmatanga mai o te whakapono Karaitiana i Aotearoa. He minita ngātahi tōna matua a Hēmi rāua ko tōna koroua, ko Tāmihana.
I whānau mai a Wiremu Te Tau Huata ki Mōhaka, i te 23 o Hepetema o te tau 1917. Ko ia te mea tuawaru o ngā tamariki tekau mā tahi a Hēmi Pītiti Huata rāua ko tōna hoa rangatira, ko Rōpine Aranui. Ko ngā mātua o Wī Huata he uri whakaheke nō Ngāti Kahungunu. Ko te tino hapū o Wī i te taha ki tōna matua ko Ngāti Mihi, ā, i te taha ki te whaea o tōna matua, ki te wahine rangatira nei ki a Rīpeka, ka taharua ia ki a Ngāi Tamaterangi me Te Aitanga-a-Hinemanuhiri. Ko te whaea o Wī he uri nō Ngāti Pāhauwera. Nā ōna tātai heke i whai pānga atu anō ai a Wī ki ētahi atu o ngā hapū.
Atu i ā rāua ake tamariki, he tokomaha ngā tamariki whāngai a Hēmi rāua ko Rōpine. Ko te kōrero i puta i a Wī i a ia ka pakeke, e whā tekau mā rua kē ōna tuākana, tēina, tuāhine hoki. I kuraina ia ki te kura Māori o Mōhaka (Mōhaka Native School), ā, nō muri, i haere ia ki ngā kura o Te Kapu (Frasertown) me Turiroa. Tekau mā ono ōna tau, ka tīmata tana kura i te pae tuatoru i te Kāreti o Te Aute. I reira i akona anō ia ki te whakaakoranga atua, tae rawa atu ki te tau 1938. He toa tākaro whutupaoro a Wī, ā, taihoa ake i uru atu ia ki ngā tīma o ngā takiwā i waengapū o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay) me Te Wairoa.
I haere tonu mai ngā whakaakoranga atua a Huata i a ia i te rohe minitatanga o Te Wairoa–Mōhaka. I te tau 1939 i te whare nui o Tākitimu, i whakawahia a ia hei rīkona, ā, nō Ākuhata o te tau 1940 i Manutūkē, i momotuhia a ia hei pirihi. I a ia e noho pirihi kaiāwhina tuarua ana mō ētahi marama noa nei i te Whare Karakia o Matiu (St Mathew’s Church) i te tāone o Heretaunga (Hastings), ka tīmata tana whakapāpā haere ki te whānau o ngā Tomoana. Otirā, noho ake ana ko Paraire Tomoana – ko ia te kaitito i ngā waiata rongonui, i ‘Pōkarekare ana’ me ‘E pari rā’ – tētahi o ana kaipānui reimana i ngā karakia o te hāhi. I te takiwā anō o te tau 1940, i tonoa atu a Huata ki te pāriha Māori o Waipatu–Mōteo, he pirihi kaiāwhina nei tōna tūnga.
Nā runga tonu i ngā whakawherenga atu a Tā Apirana Ngata i te marama o Hune o te tau 1943 i haina atu a Wī Huata i a ia hei minita ki te ope hōia i te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao. Nō te marama o Hūrae, i te mutunga o te whakangungu i a ia i te puni hōia o Māwaihākona (Trentham Military Camp), i rere atu ia me te Ope Tānga Tekau (10th Reinforcements) ki tāwāhi, he kāpene nei tōna tūranga. I haere anō hoki tana teina a Te Okanga (Aussie) Huata. Nō te taenga atu ki Īhipa, ka uru atu ia ki te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion). Kātahi anō ka tīmata ake te whawhai i Itari, he taetae tonu mai te mahi a Huata kia kite i ngā hōia i te pae o te riri. I ētahi wā nei, ahakoa te pakū mai o te pū repo, ko ia tonu tērā e hīkoi haere ana, kāore he pōtae mārō. I tua atu i tēnā, ko āna mahi māmā ake anō, ko tana noho hei minita whakarongo ki ngā whāki hara mai a ngā hōia – ahakoa nō tēwhea hāhi – noho ake hoki hei kāpene mō te tīma whutupaoro a te hokowhitu Māori, me tana āwhina anō hoki i te mahi whakatū pō ngahau. Nuku atu i tēnā ko ia anō i te whakahaere i ngā karakia mā te katoa, me te whakahaere hoki i ngā karakia, me ngā hīmene i mua tata tonu o te whawhai. I rite tonu tana ako i a ia ki te reo Itāriana ki te maha o te hokowhitu, ako ake rā i ngā waiata tonu. Tino hau ana tōna nei rongo mō te reka o tōna reo, waiata ai i te waiata aroha nei, i ‘Buona notte mio amore’, ā, e hia tekau tau kē i muri mai, i ngā hui whakamaharatanga, huihui ake anō hoki a te hokowhitu Māori, i waiatia e ia aua waiata rā.
Ko ērā atu anō o ngā mahi wetiweti atu a Huata, he kimi haere i ngā tūpāpaku, me te whakahaere i te mahi kari rua hei nehu i ngā tūpāpaku o te hokowhitu Māori me ērā atu hokowhitu, tae atu hoki ki ngā Tiamana. Mau ake ana hoki i a ia te whakahaere i te karakia nehu tūpāpaku, ki te tuhi i ngā whakapuakanga o te mahere whenua o ngā wāhi e tanumia ana ngā hōia – kia taea ai te tiki atu i muri – me tana hoatu atu hoki i ngā tohu īngoa ake o ngā hōia kua hinga. I te mutunga o te whawhai i Uropi i te marama o Mei o te tau 1945, i Trieste kē te hokowhitu Māori. Riro ana nā Huata ngā karakia whakamaumahara i tuku mō ngā mate o te hokowhitu, i ngā urupā hōia e pātata atu ana ki ngā kauhanga riri nui pēnei i Suda Bay, i Kariti, i Cassino me Sangro. I ēnei whakahaere, ka waiata te tira hōia a Huata, he mea whakaako tonu rā e ia. I tae rā anō ia ki ngā tanumanga hōia paku noa nei i te whenua o Itari. Nō te marama o Tīhema o te tau 1945, i ūhia a Huata ki te tohu o te Rīpeka mō te Toa (Military Cross).
Nō te marama o Hānuere o te tau 1946, i hoki mai ai a Huata me te ope taua ki te wā kāinga, ā, kāore i roa, ka hoki ia hei minita mō tana pāriha Māori o Waipatu–Mōteo. I Waipatu, i te 17 o Hūrae o te tau 1947, i mārena a Huata i a Ringahora Hēni Ngākai Ybel Tomoana – he uri nō Ngāti Kahungunu – te tamāhine a Paraire Tomoana rāua ko tōna hoa rangatira, ko Kuini Raerena. I te tau 1950, he mea tono a Huata hei minita i Te Ngāē i te takiwā i Rotorua. Nō te tau 1952, ka neke ia ki te Rohe Pōtae me Waikato. I te tuatahi, ko tōna wāhi noho mō tētahi wā roa ko Te Kūiti, whai mai i muri, ka neke ki Ngāruawāhia, ā, taihoa ake ki Kirikiriroa (Hamilton). Mai i taua tau 1952, i noho ake ko Huata te pirihi whakahaere o te Rohe Pōtae me te mīhana Māori o te pīhopatanga o Waikato, ā, nō te tau 1960, i meinga a ia hei tumuaki mō taua mīhana. Nō te tau 1954, i whakatūria anō a Huata hei kēnana mō te Whare Karakia Nui o Pita (St Peter’s Cathedral) i Kirikiriroa.
I te wā i a ia i ēnei tūranga, i whakahauoratia ake e ia te Hāhi Mihingare i waenganui i te iwi Māori. Ehara tēnei i te mahi ngāwari, nā te mea, kei te mahara tonu te iwi ki ngā mahi whakamamae a te Hāhi o Pīhopa Herewini (G. A. Selwyn), i te whakaekenga o ngā hōia kāwanatanga i te rohe o Waikato. Ki ngā whakapae a te iwi, he mea whakamoho kē rātau e ngā Mihingare, ā, whakarērea noatia ana te kāhui o Waikato e rātau. Ahu whaka-te-tonga rā anō hoki te rohe minita o Huata ki Taranaki, ka haere whaka-te-raki atu ki Hauraki, whaka-te-rāwhiti atu hoki ki Tauranga, ā tae rawa atu ki te Whanga-o-keno (East Cape). Nō te tau 1952, ko Huata i eke hei perihitini mō te rōpū o Te Kotahitanga Tautoru, ka ārahina haeretia ake e ia a Pīhopa W. N. Pānapa i te rohe o Taranaki, he akiaki nei te mahi kia whakatū i tētahi wāhi pokapū e tū tata ana ki Nū Pāremata (New Plymouth) – hei aha hoki – hei whare awhi i ngā Māori o ngā hāhi katoa i te taha tikanga, ā, hei whare tapere, whare tikanga ā-iwi hoki. Ia tau, ia tau, mō te kotahi marama te roa o Huata e ārahi haere ana i a Pīhopa Pānapa i te takiwā o te pīhopatanga o Waikato–Maniapoto, i a Pānapa e torotoro ana i ōna rohe.
I te tau 1952, ko Huata anō te perihitini o te rōpū o Te Rau o Te Aroha, te īngoa he mea tiki ake i te wakanoho o te rōpū Karaitiana mō ngā taitama (YMCA), he whai haere nei te mahi i te hokowhitu Māori i ngā pakanga i Itari. I ngā tau whakamutunga o te tekau tau atu i 1950, ko te whakahaere hui hāhi, whakatū pō kanikani hei whakanui i ngā taitamāhine kōkohunga, ētahi o ngā mahi a Huata. Ā, nā Huata a Pīhopa J. T. Holland i whakamahi ki te whakapāha ki a Korokī i te hui whakanui i te koroneihana mō ngā mahi hē a te iwi Pākehā me te Hāhi i ngā tau ki muri. He tangata whakarite hui mā te Hāhi a Huata, tae noa ki tētahi hui a te motu i tū ki Ngāruawāhia i te tau 1962, i muia nei e te tangata, tata atu ki te 5,000 te nui.
He mea whakatū anō hoki e Huata tētahi rōpū mahi toi, ngākaunui anō hoki, arā, ko He Toa Takitini (He Toa Takitini Art and Craft and Goodwill Association), he rōpū hei whakawhirinaki ake mā ngā tāngata mai i ngā hāhi katoa, ahakoa he aha kē rānei ā rātau kaupapa tōrangapū. I tua atu i tēnā, he rōpū whakatairanga tēnei i ngā kaupapa toi, me te whakaaro pai o tētahi ki tētahi; he huri haere te mahi a te kapa kōnohete a te rōpū nei i te motu me ngā marae hoki, whakaatu ai i ā rātau mahi. I te tau 1966, nā Huata rāua ko te kaiārahi tūruhi o Rotorua, nā John Smith i kawe atu te rōpū He Toa Takitini ki Ahitereiria huri haere ai. Ko tētahi o ngā hua o He Toa Takitini, ko te whakahaere i tīmataria ake nei e Huata, arā, He Toa Takitini Credit Union. Tino kaha kē nei te tupu o te paihere o Wī Huata ki te Kīngitanga. Ko ia tonu tētahi o ngā mema o ngā kaunihera a Korokī rāua ko Te Ātairangikaahu. He wāhi nui tō Huata i te koroneihana o Te Āta, nāna nei ia i whakapai, nāna hoki i popo; nō muri i whakaritea ko Huata hei minita mōna.
Ehara i te mea i whāiti noa ngā mahi a Huata ki runga ki tōna pāriha o Waikato–Maniapoto anake. I te tau 1961, nā Huata i hautū te komiti whakahaere e whakatū nei i te hui a te motu a te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League); nō te tau 1968, i whai wāhi atu hoki a Huata ki te whakatapunga ake i a Manu Bennett hei Pīhopa o Aotearoa; mai i te tekau tau atu i 1970, i kaha te tautoko a Huata i te kaupapa whakahou whanonga (Moral Re-armament) i roto i te iwi Māori; nō te marama o Hepetema o te tau 1971, ka tae a Huata ki te hui mō te rua tekau mā rima tau o taua rōpū, i tū ki Caux i Huiterangi (Switzerland), ā, nō muri iho i tae anō hoki ia ki te hui o te tau 1977. Nō te rongotanga o Te Ātairangikaahu mō te tautoko kaha a Huata i te rōpū nei, ka tukua e ia tētahi poraka whenua i Kirikiriroa hei whakatū marae mō ngā tāngata katoa, ahakoa he aha tō rātau iwi, ahakoa nō konei, nō whenua kē rānei; ko te īngoa o te marae nei ko Kirikiriroa.
Nō te tau 1972, i whai atu hoki a Huata i ōna hoa ika ā-whiro o te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa ki Mainz i Tiamana, ki te huinga whakatōpū anō a te Afrika Korps. Nō te tau o muri mai, i pā te mate roro ikura ki a Huata, ka kore kaha haere nei te kite o ōna whatu. I runga tonu i tēnei, ka whakarite te Hāhi me hoki atu a Huata ki Te Wairoa. I arahina atu ia ki Tākitimu, ki te whare nui whakahirahira o Ngāti Kahungunu e te Kahurangi, e Te Ātairangikaahu me tana rōpū taupua e rua rau te rahi me tētahi pēne parāhe nei hoki. I a Wī Huata i Te Wairoa, he mea whakatū e rāua ko tana taina ko Te Okanga me Tā Turi Kara (Carroll) te rōpū nei ko Ngā Hokowhitu a Tūmatauenga. He rōpū puta i te motu tēnei mō ngā hōia Māori i hoki mai i te pakanga. I whai wāhi anō hoki ia ki tētahi wānanga a Ngāti Kahungunu, ko te kawa o te marae te kaupapa, ā, i te tau 1976 i tukua atu e ia ētahi kohinga tuhituhi, he mea tā, ko Kahungunu te īngoa. I te tau 1979 he mea āwhina anō e Huata te hanga o tētahi whakapukapuka anō e rite ana ki te mea tuatahi, ko Te reo o Tākitimu te īngoa.
Ko te mea whakamāharahara rawa atu ki a Huata, ko te whakapiki ake i te ōhanga o te tāone o Te Wairoa, kia heke ai te tokomaha o te hunga e noho kore mahi ana, kia kaua e pāngia e ngā mōrikarika o tēnei tū momo noho. He mea whakatū anō hoki e ia tētahi pekanga o He Toa Takitini ki Te Wairoa, me te whakamōhio i ngā āhuatanga tuku pūtea a taua whakahaere. Whakamahia ake anō hoki e ia ōna hoa o te karapu Rotari (Rotary) o Te Wairoa me te rōpū whakahou whanonga, hei whakatairanga ake i ngā wāhi mahi o Te Wairoa. Kāore tana tono ki te kamupene mahi hiko o Philips (Philips Electrical Industries) kia haere ki Te Wairoa i tutuki, ēngari i toa ia i te kamupene kākahu o Bendon Berlei, he mea whakatū he mahi tuitui kākahu ki te tāone. I tautoko ia i te kaupapa ārahi tūruhi hei kaupapa mahi mā ngā marae, ēngari kāore ngā kamupene ārahi tūruhi i rata, nā te mea he tawhiti rawa mai i ngā huarahi matua e haerea nei e ngā tūruhi. I tētahi o ana kauwhau ki te karapu Rotari, i kōrero ia mō tana moemoeā kia noho te ao hei wāhi e kitea tonutia ai ngā kamupene ahumahi e whakatutuki kē ana i ngā hiahia o ngā momo tāngata katoa, ehara kē i te mahi whawhai tonu mō te mana, mō te hua moni, mō te utu kē rānei.
Nō te tau 1977, i haere ai a Huata i tētahi haere nui ki tāwāhi. I muri iho o tana mahi iriiri i Poihākena (Sydney), i tae ia ki ngā urupā hōia i te Rāwhiti Pū, i Āwherika ki te Raki, i Kariti, i Itari, ā, i tae anō hoki ia ki Karipori (Gallipoli). I tūtaki tūmataiti anō hoki te tira o Huata mā, ki a Pōpa Hoani Pāora Te Tuatahi. I te tau 1989, ka whakawhiti atu anō a Huata me tētahi rōpū iti noa nei, arā, rātau mā ko ētahi kaimahi nō te Pouaka Whakaata o Aotearoa (Television New Zealand) me ētahi āpiha ika ā-Whiro nei. Ko te take o te haere, he mahi whakaahua, hanga i tētahi motuhenga e kōrero ana mō te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa i te Pakanga Tuarua. I ngā wā e raru ana te hunga nei – ehara hoki i te mea tauhou – whakahaerea ana e Huata he karakia hei whakatau, hei whakakotahi anō i te hunga nei. Waiho ake ana ko ōna whakaaro o mua, ko ana kōrero whakangahau me ana waiata Itāriana e whakahoki mai te āhua o te pakanga i Itari. Ka mutu, nā ngā tohutohu wairua nei a Huata, i tino tōtika ai te kaupapa me tā rātau haere. Pāhotia ana te motuhenga nei i te pō o te Rā Whakamahara ki ngā Hōia o Ahitereiria me Aotearoa (Anzac Day) o te tau 1990. Heretaunga, ā, nō muri mai ka neke anō ia ki Flaxmere. I tēnei wā, ka uru ia ki te kaupapa a te Tari Māori e kīia nei ko Tū Tangata. I roto anō ia i te kaupapa a te kōhanga reo, ā, mea rawa ake kua eke ia ki te rūnanga kaitiaki o te motu o te kaupapa nei. I whakatūria ki te tāone o Heretaunga e tana tama, e Tama, te rōpū tiaki o Te Waka Tapu o Tākitimu, ka noho ko Huata hei kaitohutohu i te taha wairua o te kaupapa o tana tama. Nō te tau 1986, ka whakawhiti atu ia ki San Francisco ki te whakapai me te hiki i te tapu i runga i te whakaaturanga toi nei, i Te Māori. Nō te tau 1984 i ūhia a Huata ki te tohu rā, ki te Ōta Whakanui Ratonga a te Kuini (QSO), ā, nō te tau 1991, i whakawhiwhia anō hoki ia ki te tohu whakahōnore CBE.
I mate a Wī Te Tau Huata ki Heretaunga i te 20 o Tīhema o te tau 1991. Ka mahue mai ko tana wahine, ko āna tama tokowhā me ngā tamāhine tokowhā anō hoki. I whakatakotoria ia ki te mahau o Tākitimu whare. Ko te Kuini Māori tonu tētahi o te iwi i tae atu ki te tangi ki a ia. I tanumia ia i te urupā o te whānau, i Rāmoto i Te Wairoa.