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Kōrero: Love, Mākere Rangiātea Ralph

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Love, Mākere Rangiātea Ralph

1907–1994

Nō Te Āti Awa; he manukura, he kaimahi kāwanatanga, he kaiwhakahaere tākaro, he kaitōrangapū-ā-rohe, he āpiha toko i te ora Māori, he kaikokoraho whenua

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Catherine Love, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

He uri tākerekere mai a Mākere Rangiātea Ralph Love i ngā rangatira o Ngāti Te Whiti me Ngāti Tāwhirikura i a rātou nei te mana o Pito-one (Petone), o Ngāūranga me Te One-i-Haukawakawa (Thorndon) i te wā i tohua ake ai te Tiriti o Waitangi. Inarā, i whakatipua ake a Ralph i roto i te whānau, he tū rangatira tōna nei tikanga tuku iho, ā, ka noho ake nei ia hei tino kaumātua mō ngā Māori o Pōneke (Wellington). Nō te 16 o Hepetema o te tau 1907 i whānau ai a Ralph ki Homebush i te motu o Arapaoa (Arapawa) i Tōtaranui (Queen Charlotte Sound), ko ia nei te tama tuarima o ngā tamariki a Wī Hapi Pākau Love rāua ko tana wahine, ko Rīpeka Wharawhara Mātene, he pāmu nei tā ngā tokorua rā i te motu rā. Nō ngā whānau matua ake o Te Āti Awa, o Taranaki, me Ngāti Ruanui ōna mātua, pānga kau atu anō hoki ki te nuinga o ngā iwi o Taranaki, o Pōneke, me te hunga anō ki te taha raki o Te Waipounamu.

E toru rā noa i muri mai i tōna whānautanga i tukua atu ai a Ralph (koia nei tōna īngoa e mōhiotia ana) ki te whaea kēkē ki te taha ki tōna pāpā, ki a Nui te Hē – he īngoa whakamahara ake mō te ngaronga o ngā whenua o tōna iwi – rāua ko tana tāne, ko Hoani Wārena, whakatipu ai. E whitu tau nei tana pakeke ka whakahokia atu a ia ki ōna mātua ki tō rātou kāinga, ki Taumata i Korokoro i te takiwā o Pito-one. Kāore ia i mōhio he mea whāngai kē ia, ā, ka hia tau kē nei ia e konau ana ki a Nui.

I kuraina a Ralph ki te kura o Pito-one ki te hauāuru (Petone West School) me te kura tuarua ā-rohe o Pito-one (Petone District High School). Nā te mea ko ia tētahi o ngā mea tamariki o ngā tama, i whakahauhautia ia kia noho ki te kura, ka mahue i a ia te haere ki ngā hui, ā, mahue ake hoki i a ia te ako i ngā tikanga tuku iho me te mōhio ki te whaikōrero. I ngā rā o te mutunga wiki haere kē ana ia ki te whakangau poaka, ki te tākaro whutupaoro rānei mō te karapu whutupaoro o Pito-one (Petone Rugby Football Club). Tūmanako ana ia kia whiwhi i tētahi tūranga pūkaha tauira i te toa mahi rerewē i Te Awakairangi (Hutt Valley); hāunga koa, he mea whakarite kē e tōna pāpā te whakauru atu i a ia hei tauira mahi mā te Tari o te Kaitiaki Māori (Native Trust Office) i te tau 1925. Nō muri tata tonu ake i whakatūria a ia hei karaka mō te Tari Māori (Native Department). Ka pau nei i a ia ētahi tau e mahi ana i Pōneke ka nekehia atu a ia ki te peka o te Tari Māori i Whanganui mahi ai. Ko ētahi o āna mahi tuatahi, ko te toro haere atu i Taranaki ki te utu i ngā rēti e puta ake ana i ngā whenua rāhui, he mea whakahoki ake i muri i te raupatutanga mai i ngā Māori o Taranaki, ā, noho mō ake tonu nei te rīhi.

Nō te 6 o Mei i te tau 1933 i te Whare Karakia o Ākutina (Church of St Augustine) i Pito-one, i moea e Ralph a Flora Hēperi (Heberley), te tamāhine a te kaiwhakairo rā, a Tāmati Hēperi (Thomas Heberley) rāua ko tana wahine, ko Annie Christian o Te Awakairangi. Kotahi te tamāhine, kotahi te taitama i puta i a Ralph rāua ko Flora, he mea tapa nei ko Marie Nui Te Hē me Ralph Heberley Ngātata.

I te pakarutanga mai o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao i uru atu a Ralph ki te ope taua, ēngari ka kitea nei e te whakamātau ā-tinana, tana kore i pakari ki te haere ki tāwāhi whawhai ai; nō te tau 1927 i pakaru ōna rara i tētahi tākaro whutupaoro, ā, i tana pāngia e te mate kohi, ka tangohia nei tētahi o ana pūkahukahu. I te mutunga ake, e rua tau e ono marama ia e takoto ana i te wāhi whakamāuitanga. Noho ake ana ia hei āpiha taritari, takawaenga hoki mō te rōpū tautoko i ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai (Māori War Effort Organisation), ā, nō te tau 1946 i whakatūria a ia hei mana whakaāio. Atu i te tau 1944 ki 1949 i noho ia hei hēkeretari tūmataiti (mana kore nei i te tuatahi) mā te mema Pāremata rā, mā Eruera Tirikātene, ko ia anō hoki tētahi o ngā minita o te rūnanga matua o te kāwanatanga. Nā rāua ngātahi i tīmata ake te whakamahere i te kaupapa e riro ai te rōpū tautoko i ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai hei papa e tū mana motuhake ai te Māori, ka mutu nei te pakanga. Hāunga koa ākiritia ake ana te take nei e ngā āpiha o te Tari Māori me ngā minita anō hoki o te rūnanga matua o te kāwanatanga. Heoi anō, he mea whakamahi mai anō ētahi wāhanga o tā rāua pire hukihuki mō te hanga houtanga o te toko i te ora me te ōhanga o te iwi Māori (Māori Social and Economic Reconstruction) i te wā e whiriwhiria ana te āhua ake o ngā kaunihera Māori me ngā komiti ā-iwi, nā te Ture Toko i te Ora me te Pai o te Iwi Māori (Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act) o te tau 1945 i mana ai. Matekiri ngātahi ana a Love rāua ko Tirikātene i te korenga i whakamanatia o ēnei rōpū kia tū mana motuhake, whakanōhia kētia mai ana i raro i te maru o te Tari Māori. Mai i te tau 1957 ki 1960 i noho hēkeretari tūmataiti anō a Love mā Tirikātene, ka hia tau kē nei e piri kau ana tā rāua mahi ko Tirikātene, me tana taua ake anō hoki, me Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan.

Nō ngā tau tōmua ake o te tekau tau atu i 1930 i tautoko mātātoa ai a Ralph Love i te Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa. Atu i te tau 1936 tana haere tonu ai ki ngā hui ā-tau, āwhina atu hoki i ngā mahi a te komiti whakahaere Māori (Māori Organising Committee). I te takiwā o ngā tekau tau atu i 1950 me 1960 i noho mema ia (tiamana atu anō hoki mō ētahi tau kē nei) i te komiti kaupapa Māori (Māori Policy Committee), he mea whakahou i taua wā, ā, atu i te tau 1963 ki 1968 a ia i te komiti whakahaere a te motu. He mahi nui tonu nei tāna ki te whakahaere i te hui tuatahi a te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League) i Hepetema o te tau 1951. Kāore anō i eke noa te ono marama o te whakanohanga atu o Rūmātiki Wright te hēkeretari tuatahi a te motu mō te rōpū nei, meinga atu ana a Ralph Love hei whakakapi mana kore māna, ā, nō te taenga atu ki te hui ā-tau tuarua i whakamanatia a ia ki taua tūranga rā. Ko ētahi o ōna tūranga anō i a ia i te Tari Māori (Native Department) – i muri mai i whakakorea ake te īngoa ‘Native’, whakamahia kētia ana ko te īngoa ‘Māori’ (Department of Māori Affairs) – ko ngā tūranga kaiwhakahaere toko i te ora, āpiha huri whenua, me te kairēhita kaitiriwā atu hoki mō te Kōti Whenua Māori. He maha ngā hui whiriwhiri whenua auau kē nei a ngā Māori rāua ko te kāwanatanga, ko ia anō i reira. I te tau 1958 he mea āwhina anō e ia te mahi whakatū i te whare noho mō ngā taitama i Epuni (Epuni Boys’ Home), ā, nō muri i āwhinatia e ia a Jock McEwen ki te whakaako i te mahi whakairo Māori ki ngā mau herehere o te whare herehere o Wī Tako (Wī Tako Prison), ko te īngoa o muri mai ko te whare herehere o Rimutaka (Rimutaka Prison).

Ahakoa anō ēnei mahi āna i pūmau tonu tana whai i āna mahi tākaro. I ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau atu i 1940 i noho tiamana ia mō te karapu kauhoe o Pōneke, ā, kaikaha atu anō hoki tana whai i te tākaro kirikiti. He kaiwawao whutupaoro anō hoki ia i Pōneke me Whanganui, ā, i te taha ki te karapu tākaro whutupaoro o Ōnero (Onslow Rugby Football Club) ko ia tonu te kāpene me te kaiako. I te ekenga atu ki te tau 1950 kua noho kē mai ia hei hēkeretari mā te poari tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Board) o te Kotahitanga Whakahaere o ngā Mahi Whutupaoro Rakapī o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Rugby Football Union). Kāti koa, tuhia ake ana e ia ētahi kōrero whutupaoro mō te pukapuka nei, mō Te Ao Hou , ā, nuku atu i tēnā ko ia anō hoki te kaiwhakahaere, waha kōrero atu hoki mō ētahi tīma whutupaoro Māori e taki tākaro haere ana i te motu. I te marama o Mei 1952, i te kōwhiringa a te Kotahitanga Whakahaere i te Māori tuatahi hei kanohi Māori ki tō rātou kaunihera, kōwhiria ana a Ralph Love ki taua tūranga rā. He kaitautāwhi anō hoki ia i te karapu tākaro rīki o Pito-one (Petone Rugby League Football Club), he kite ake nōna i te maha o ngā rangatahi Māori e rawe ana ki tēnei momo tākaro.

I pono tonu nei a Ralph Love kia mau tonu te Māori ki tōna hanga tū Māori, me tana tū mana motuhake, ā, nāna nei hoki te mahi whakatō, whakarewa ake hoki i te tākaro whutupaoro a te Māori. Nā tōna tohe ake nei kia āhei te Māori ki te mau ake i ō rātou tīma anō, me tō rātou mana anō ki te whakataetae ki te ao whānui, i tutū ai i a ia te puehu. Nō te tau 1959 ki 1960 i pakaru mai te kōrero whakahē i tana tautāwhi nei i te mana o ngā kaiwhakahaere Pākehā ki te whakarite i te haere o te tīma whutupaoro toa o Aotearoa ki Āwherika ki te Tonga, ahakoa i te mutunga mai he aukati kē atu tēnei i te Māori i te tīma e haere nei. Ahakoa ngā tautohenga, kia kite tonu ia i te kaupapa whakahāwea nei i te tangata e whakahaeretia ana, i haere ia ki Āwherika ki te Tonga i te tau 1964 me te tau 1970. Tutū ana i a ia te puehu i ōna whakaaro ki te whakatū tīma Māori wehe kē, ā, waihoki koirā i whakakoretia ai tōna tūranga i te kaunihera o te Kotahitanga Whakahaere o ngā Mahi Whutupaoro i te tau 1971, ka whakanohoia mai ko tētahi Māori kāore i pērā rawa i a ia te kaikaha.

Nō te tau 1962 i pōtitia atu a Ralph Love ki te Kaunihera o Pōneke (Wellington City Council); i whakanōhia ake anō hoki ia hei āpiha toko i te ora Māori mō Pōneke i raro i te maru o te Tari Māori. I tana whakatānga mai i te Tari Māori i te tau 1965 ka pōtitia a ia hei mēa mō Pito-one i runga i te kaupapa nei i tā te rōpū Reipa. Hāunga rā nō te marama o Hānuere i te tau 1967 i riro tōna tūranga i te whakawānga a te ture i a ia mō tana takahi i te ture mō ngā kirimana o ngā mema o ngā mana whakahaere ā-rohe, arā, te Local Authorities (Members’ Contracts ) Act o te tau 1954, ka pōti nei ia kia whakapikitia ake tana utu. I te pōtitanga anō mō tōna tūranga anake ka pōtitia anō ia hei mēa, arā, i mau tonu i a ia te tūranga rā tae rawa ki te marama o Oketopa 1968.

Ahakoa kua roa kē nei te hau o tōna rongo i te ao tūmatanui, nō tana whakatānga kē nei i tino hau mārika ai tōna rongo ka tangata mōhiotia nei ia huri noa i te motu, ko ia nei te kanohi ātete i ngā take maha e pā ana ki ngā whenua o Taranaki me Pōneke, me tana noho ake rā hei tino kaumātua mō tōna iwi. Nā te mea kua mutu nei tana tū hei pononga kāwanatanga kātahi anō nei ia ka wātea ki te kōrero mō ngā take i mua rā e paihere kē ana i a ia. He kaitiaki, tiamana atu hoki a ia mō te maha kē nei o ngā marae me ngā whenua rāhui, pērā i te urupā rāhui o Te Puni i Pito-one, i ngā marae o Te Tatau-o-te-Pō me Pipitea, ā, ka hoki atu nei ki Taranaki ko te whenua rāhui rā o Moturoa me te marae o Manukorihi. He kaitohutohu matua nei hoki a Ralph ki te Poari Kaitiaki Māori o Taranaki (Taranaki Māori Trust Board), tiamana atu hoki mō te Rōpū Māori o Ngāti Pōneke (Ngāti Pōneke Māori Association); i tua atu i tēnā i mau tonu tana piri tata atu ki te kaupapa a Rātana. I ngā tau tōmuri atu o te tekau tau atu i 1970 me ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau atu i 1980 i noho ia hei kaitohutohu ki te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora. Kāti koa he Meihana (Freemason) mātātoa anō hoki ia.

Hei tiamana tuarua anō hoki a Ralph Love mō te rōpū kaitiaki i ngā whakatekau o Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington Tenths Trust), ā, kore rawa i wareware ki te whakamōhio i ngā mamae o tōna iwi ki te katoa. I te whakaaranga ake anō i te ūnga mai o ngā tāngata whai ki Pito-one i te tau 1990, e waitohu nei i te rā whakamahara i te tau kotahi rau e rima tekau i muri i te hainatanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi me te whakaūtanga o te taiwhenua, i whakamaharatia anō e ia te minenga o taua rā kāore anō kia whakamanatia e te kāwanatanga me te hunga tangata whai tō rātou wāhanga o te Tiriti.

I ngā tau mātāmuri rima tekau ake o te rau tau rua tekau ko Ralph Love pea nei te Māori kaha te tuku pitihana ki te Pāremata. He mea pitihana e ia te whakauru i te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te ture, me tana whakamātau anō hoki i tētahi oati nei e mau tonu ai ngā tūru Māori, me whakanui kē atu rānei. I takoto anō hoki tana pitihana whakahē i te ture manene e whakaarotia ake ana i taua wā, kia taea e te kāwanatanga o Peretānia te kore e aro atu ki tērā wāhanga o te Tiriti i kī rā ko ngā mana me ngā tikanga e āhei atu ana ngā iwi o Peretānia me āhei atu anō hoki te iwi Māori, tae atu hoki ki te mana tau atu ki Peretānia. I kotahi atu tana tuhi i tana reta ki te Pirimia o Peretānia, ki a Margaret Thatcher, me te whakatakoto atu i ana whakahē.

Ko tētahi o ana pitihana tino whakaaweawe kē nei ko tērā o te tau 1962 i tohea nei e ia me āhei ngā kaiwhiwhi pānga o te whenua rāhui Māori o Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North) ki te hoko atu i ō rātou pānga ki te utu o te wā, ka haumi atu anō ai ki ētahi atu whenua kia kore ai e katia e ngā ture here o te Ture mō ngā Mea Māori (Māori Affairs Act) o te tau 1953. I te tukunga atu i tana pitihana ki te kāwanatanga hei whakaaro rorotu mai mō rātou, pūtiotio, poto noa ana te tautohenga ake o te take nei i te Pāremata. Waihoki rā i te mutunga mai whakatūria ana he kōmihana pakirehua nō te tau 1974 i tūtohua ake ngā rerenga kētanga matua o ngā whenua rāhui Māori.

Riro ana nā Ralph i tīmata ake ētahi kerēme e pā ana ki ngā whenua o Taranaki me Te Whanganui-a-Tara hei whiriwhiri ake mā te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi (Waitangi Tribunal). I te tau 1988 ka tukua tana tono kia aukatihia te mahi hoko atu a te kāwanatanga i āna nei hea a te kamupene a Petrocorp ki te kamupene British Gas. Ki tāna hoki tērā raru kē ana ko ngā mana o te Māori e whakaaetia ana e te Tiriti. I te tau 1987 i tohua ake e ia te motu nei o Matiu/Somes i Te Whanganui-a-Tara, me tana tohu ake anō hoki i te tau 1989 i te papa hōia nei i Te Tūranga-o-Kupe (Fort Dorset) – kua oti kē nei te whakarite me hoko, i te mea kua neke atu i tā te ope taua i hiahia ai – tērā pea ko ēnei tū whenua o te Karauna ngā whenua hei whakahoki atu ki a Te Āti Awa–Taranaki, hei whakaea i tā rātou kerēme mō ngā whakatekau o Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I tautokona anō hoki e ia te kaupapa whakawā noho marae mā te Māori i ngā tau tōmua ake o te tekau tau atu i 1980, me tana haerenga atu rā ki te Minita Māori, ki a Pene Kaute (Ben Couch) ki te tono i a ia hei whāriki mai i ngā rawa kia taea e te Māori te whakahaere tō rātou ake momo āhua anō o te tōkeke.

Nō te 22 o Ākuhata o te tau 1985 i mate ai a Flora Love. E rua tau i muri mai i ūhia ai a Ralph Love (arā, nō te tau 1975 i tohua a ia hei QSO) ki te tohu Tā. Nā tōna kore e pai ki te tohu nei ka kīia atu ia e tana tama, e te ahorangi nei e Ngātata Love, ehara mōna anake te tohu nei ēngari mō tōna iwi katoa. Horokukū ana te whakaaetanga atu a Tā Ralph Love ki te hōnore rā. Ka mate nei a Mākere Rangiātea Ralph Love i Pōneke i te 30 o Hūrae o te tau 1994, mahue ake ana i a ia āna tamariki tokorua, mokopuna tokowaru me te maha atu hoki o ngā mokopuna tuarua. Tangihia ake ana a Ralph i ngā marae o Pipitea me Te Tatau-o-te-Pō, ā, i te Whare Karakia Nui o Pāora (St Paul’s Cathedral) te karakia whakamutunga mōna, i karakiatia ngātahitia rā e ngā Rātana me ngā Mihinare. I tahuna tana tūpāpaku i Karori. Ko ia kē rā hoki, i te wā o tōna matenga atu, e ngana tonu ana ki te aru haere i ngā kerēme whenua e toru a tōna iwi.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Catherine Love. 'Love, Mākere Rangiātea Ralph', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5l18/love-makere-rangiatea-ralph (accessed 19 March 2024)