Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Parker, William Leonard
1914–1986
Nō Ngāti Porou; he kaiwhakaako pakeke, he kaipāho, he pūkenga i te whare wānanga, he kaiārahi hapori
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Piripi Walker, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. I whakahoutia i te o Hānuere, 2002. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
I whānau mai a William (Wiremu) Leonard Parker ki te teihana o Mākarika e tata atu rā ki te kokoru o Waipiro, wāhi o Te Tai Rāwhiti, i te 4 o Pēpuere o te tau 1914. Hai tamaiti ia mā William Leonard Parker rāua ko tana wahine, ko Te Oharepe Ruta Kōria (Ruth Collier). Nō Ngāti Porou te tokorua nei, ā, he tangata mahi pāmu tōna matua a William Parker. Kuraina ana a Wiremu Parker nei ki te Kura Māori o Hiruhārama (Hiruhārama Native School), nō muri mai i haere ia ki te Kāreti o Te Aute (i ngā tau 1930–1936). I reira ka noho ia hai tauira tuakana, hai kāpene hoki mō te tīma whutupōro matua. I ētahi wā i noho kē ia i te pāmu a Te Aute mahi ai i ngā hararei o te kura, hai āwhina i ngā utu o te kura. Mau tonu te tiro atu o ōna whanaunga ki a ia hai mātāmua mō rātau, ā, i mahara anō rātau ki tōna mōhio wawe ki ngā kawenga o tērā tūranga me te aroha nui ōna ki tōna whānau. Mai i tōna matua – he tangata nānā tonu a ia i ako, he tangata pukumahi, kaha hoki ki te pānui pukapuka – a Wiremu i ako ki te tikanga o te kaha ki te mahi me te pānui pukapuka atu hoki.
Mau tonu te whakanui a te whānau nei i te mātauranga Pākehā me te mātauranga Māori, me te tipu ake hoki i roto i a Wiremu o tana rongo i te kaha o ngā tikanga Māori. Nō muri mai, i tahuri ia ki te whakaatu tonu ki ana tauira i te kōiti ngaro o tōna ringa, arā, he mea tapahi atu te matimati rā, i whara nei i a ia e tamariki tonu ana. I kōrero a Wiremu mō te nonoi a tōna kuia kia tanumia ai ki te wāhi e tika ana, ki tā te tikanga Māori, nā te mea ko tētahi wāhi rangatira tonu te matimati nei o te tinana. Kore rawa a ia me ōna hoa i whakaaro ki te kaukau i ngā wāhi e kitea ake nei ngā taniwha. Nā tana noho ki te whakarongo ki ngā taupatupatu i te marae, i mārō ai tōna whakaaro kia noho tohunga ia ki ngā tikanga Māori me te reo hoki. He mea whai tonu e Wiremu ngā tāngata whai mana o te iwi Māori me te iwi Pākehā hai tauira mōna, arā, nā te tino mōhiotanga o te hunga rā i whai mana ai ā rātau kupu. He nui tonu ngā āhuatanga i akona nei e ia e pā ana ki te ao hou me te ao tawhito o te Māori i a ia e whakarongo ana ki ngā kōrero a Apirana Ngata.
Nō tōna wehenga mai i te Kāreti o Te Aute, ka tīmata a Wiremu ki te whai i te tohu paetahi i te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Wikitōria (Victoria University College) i te tau 1937. I noho rāua ko tana hoa, ko Hēnare Ngata, ki te whare noho o Weir (Weir House), ā, i raru tahi rāua i te kaha rerekē o ngā tikanga o te noho ki Pōneke (Wellington) me te haere ki te whare wānanga. I uaua anō te mahi ki te whakatau i a rāua ki ngā mahi a te tauira, ā, mahue ake ana i a Wiremu te whare wānanga i te tau 1938, ka uru kē atu nei ia ki te Tari Kura (Department of Education) mahi ai.
Nō te 17 o Mei o te tau 1940 i Pōneke, i mārenatia a Wiremu Parker ki a Matakaihoe Josephine Takarangi, he nēhi tiaki niho nei ia nō Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. Ka roa, ka whānau ta rāua tamāhine me ā rāua tama tokorua; he tamāhine atu anō tā rāua e kōhungahunga tonu atu ana ka mate.
Tino kaha ana a Wiremu ki te whakapakari ake i tōna mōhio me te whakamahi i te reo Māori, ā, ka noho ia hai tino tauira mō te kōrero me te tuhi i te reo. Nō te tau 1943 i whakatūria ko ia te Māori tuatahi o Aotearoa hai kaipāho mō ngā rongo kōrero i te reo irirangi, i runga anō i te whakahau a ngā mema Māori o te Pāremata ki te rūnanga matua o te kāwanatanga. Hau ana tōna rongo i ngā kāinga Māori katoa o te motu, ā, tipu haere ana hoki te rongo o tōna īngoa hai tino kairīpoata, kaipāho mōhio hoki; he mea whakanui, mea whakamīharo hoki a ia mō tōna tohunga ki te kōrero i te reo. Nāna i pāho ngā kōrero mō te hokinga mai o te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion) i te tau 1946, ā, nāna hoki te kōrero poroporoaki ki a Apirana Ngata i tōna matenga atu i te tau 1950.
Pārekareka ki a Wiremu Parker te mahi taupatupatu. Kāore anō ia kia tino pakeke noa ka noho ko ia hai tino kaihautū i ngā whāinga hinengaro o te ao Māori, ā, ahakoa he aha te take e pā ana ki te Māori, noho tohunga noa ana a ia ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero. Nō te tekau tau atu i 1950 i tae atu ai a Wiremu ki ngā hui a ngā rangatahi Māori, kātahi anō ka pīrere ake nei. Pū ana te wehi o ngā tāngata i te hui ki a ia. I whai wāhi atu ia ki ngā kōrero, ā, ki te whakaaro nei kātahi kē te kaumātua koi rawa atu ko tēnei. Heoi anō, tērā anō ngā tutūnga o te puehu. Nāna i whakapukuriri ētahi o Ngāti Porou e whakapono nei rātau, me pūmau tonu te tangata ki te hapū me te iwi, ā, me kitekite tonu ake te Māori noho tāone i ana marae i te kāinga. Kīhai a Wiremu i mataku ki te taupatupatu i ngā tikanga whakatuanui, tikanga whakatūpehupehu hoki, ā, mau haere tonu tana mahi pērā. I tua atu i tēnā, i rarua ōna whakaaro mō te āhua o te hoko atu o te pāmu a te whānau i te matenga atu o tōna matua. Hoi anō i ngā tau ā muri ake nei, nā te āhua o ēnei take rā i whakatakariri ai ētahi o ōna whanaunga o Ngāti Porou ki a ia.
Nō ngā tau whakamutunga o te tekau tau atu i 1940, i nuku rātau ko tāna whānau ki Ākarana (Auckland) noho ai. I haere tonu nei āna mahi mā te Tari Kura, ā, uru atu ana ia ki ngā mahi whakahaere i ngā kura Māori. Heoi anō, kāore i tau pai tāna noho i te tari ki Ākarana, ā, ka riro kē nei ia nā Matiu Te Hau ia i āta ārahi atu ki ngā mahi whakaako pakeke. Nō te putanga mai o tētahi tūranga wātea i Pōneke i te tau 1950, ka hoki mai anō te whānau, ka riro nei i a Wiremu te tūranga kaiwhakaako mō ngā mahi whakaako pakeke i te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Wikitōria. Kāti, nō te tau 1964 i whakatūria a ia hai pūkenga.
Nō nāianei, ka noho a Wiremu Parker hai tangata i tino kitekitea ake i ngā hapori Māori o te taha whakarunga o Te Ika-a-Māui. I a ia e kauwhau ana i tuari haeretia e ia ōna mōhiotanga me ōna mātauranga mō te taha ki ngā tikanga Māori; tīmataria ana hoki e ia ētahi wāhanga akoranga me ētahi whakahaerenga mō te mātauranga Māori. I whakaarotia ake anō e ia kia noho tētahi wāhi o āna mahi hai whakaako i te whānuitanga atu o te mātauranga Māori ki te hunga katoa o tētahi hapori, ka riro māna e whakaako te reo me ngā mahi toi i te marae. Kōwhiria ana e ia hai hapori mōna ko Ngāti Parewahawaha i Te Ara-taumaihi (Bulls), ā, tekau tau kē nei ia e mahi ake ana i reira. I taua wā, he mea hanga, whakatuwhera atu hoki e rātau tētahi whare whakairo, ko Parewahawaha te īngoa. I riro nā Wiremu tonu i akiaki te iwi rā kia whakairotia e rātau te whare nei ki ngā tikanga tuku iho, arā, me mahue iho te whakaaro ki te whakatū whare tahanga noa. Ki tāna nei i kī atu ai ki tētahi o ngā kaumātua o Ngāti Parewahawaha, ‘E kore te whare e whakaarotia nei e koutou e rerekē atu i te wuruhēti o tōku matua’. Tokorua ngā tohunga whakairo rongonui i puta ake i ēnei mahi, arā, ko Hāpai Winiata rāua ko Whetū-mārama-o-te-ata Kereama.
Mai i te tau 1967, i mahi mai ai a Wiremu i te taha o Te Kapunga (Koro) Dewes rāua ko Hirini Mead ki te whakaako i te reo Māori i te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui (Victoria University of Wellington). Nā tōna mātauranga me ōna wheako ki te taha Māori, i noho ake ai a Wiremu hai kaihautū mō ngā mahi whakaako tāura. He tohu mōhio, he tohu pono nei āna tohutohu a tā te tohunga nei ki te reo Māori; tokomaha tonu ngā kaituhi i ngā akoranga Māori me ngā kōrero tuku iho i whakapā atu ki a ia i tēnei wā. Ko ia tonu i te tuhi kōrero mō Te Ao Hou me ētahi atu pānuitanga, mō te whakataukī, mō te waiata, me ētahi atu mahi anō e aronuitia ana e ia. Mōhiotia ana hoki ko ia tētahi o ngā tino kaiwhakamāori; ko ia hoki hai ētita tohutohu, hai kaiwhakamāori mō te maha kē atu nei o ngā kaupapa. I tua atu i tēnā hei mema anō hoki a ia mō te komiti e whakahou ake nei i te Dictionary of the Māori Language a Te Hāpata (H. W. Williams), me te komiti tohutohu mō te whakaakoranga i te reo Māori (Advisory Committee on the Teaching of the Māori Language). Atu i te tau 1985 ki 1986, i noho a Wiremu hei kaitohutohu Māori mō te kaupapa nei, mō te Papatangata o Aotearoa (Dictionary of New Zealand Biography); nāna anō i whakamana, whakamihi atu te mahi nei ki ngā rōpū Māori, ā, nāna hoki i whakatūturu te āhua tika o te whakatakoto i te reo Māori.
Mau haere tonu mai te whai wāhi atu o Wiremu nei ki ngā mahi pāho ā mate noa ia. Mai i te tau 1964 i noho ia hai kaiwhakahaere mō tētahi whakaari ā-wiki i te reo irirangi i kīia nei ko ‘The Māori Programme’. Nō te tau 1981 i noho ia hai ētita tohutohu, kaikoha nui nei mā ngā whakaari reo irirangi a David Somerset e huaina nei ko Whaikoorero: ceremonial farewells to the dead. Nō muri mai i tāia ēnei whakaari ki tētahi pukapuka iti me ngā rīpene e toru, he mahi e tino whakaaro nuitia ana i ngā tuhituhinga reorua o Aotearoa. I haere tonu tana mahi pāho i ngā arotakenga pukapuka, ēngari ko te wāhi nui ki a ia i ngā tau ki muri mai, ko tana āwhina i te mahi whakaako i ngā kaimahi reo irirangi, pouaka whakaata anō hoki. I te tau 1986 i whakanuitia āna mahi whanake i te reo irirangi i Aotearoa nei i te whakaritenga nei i te Kaporeihana Pāho o Aotearoa (Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand) i te karahipi a Wiremu Parker mō ngā tauira pāho Māori.
Noho mema ana a Wiremu i te maha kē nei o ngā rōpū tohunga me ngā komiti o te motu, pērā (nō te tau 1965 pea) i te poari o te Tahua Moni mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board), i te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society), i te Rūnanga o Aotearoa mō te Rangahau i te Mātauranga (New Zealand Council for Educational Research), i te Kaunihera Mahi Toi o Aotearoa a Kuini Erihāpeti Te Tuarua (Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand), i te kōmihana o raro mō te mātauranga o UNESCO me te kaunihera ahu whakamua mō te motu o Aotearoa (National Development Council). Nō te tau 1972 i haere ia ki Ahitereiria, ki Kōrea ki te Tonga me Hapanihi anō hoki; i a ia i Hapanihi i tino whakamīharo ia ki ngā tohunga toi, tōhunga ā-ringa o taua whenua. Whakapaua ake ana e ia tana hararei whakahauora i tana haerenga ki Wēra, ā, hākerekere ana ia ki te āhua mau ora o te reo o Wēra ki tōna tikanga kē hoki he whenua reorua kē tērā. Whakawhiwhia ana ia ki te tohu MBE i te tau 1976.
Ahakoa te tukunga ake o Wiremu i tana mahi i te whare wānanga i te tau 1980, i noho tonu ia i reira whakaako hangere ai. Ko ia tētahi o te hunga nā rātau i tīmata te hanga i te marae nei, i Te Herenga Waka ki te whare wānanga. Nō muri i tana whakatānga i whakawhiwhia ia ki te taitara ahorangi. Kāore a Wiremu i aro atu ki te akiakinga a Hirini Mead i a ia ki te whakaoti i tētahi tohu mātauranga tāura mōna, ka mea nei ia (kua tae tōna pakeke ki te ono tekau mā whā, mā ono kē i taua wā), kua tino taikoroua kē nei ia ki te noho hai tauira ake anō, ā, pai kē ake ana ki a ia te noho pai noa i tā te kaumātua noho.
I muri i te pānga o te repe taiaki huka o Wiremu e te mate pukapuka, i hinga atu ia ki Te Awakairangi o raro (Lower Hutt) i te 10 o Noema o te tau 1986. I a ia e whakahemohemo tonu ana i ūhia ake a ia e te Whare Wānanga o te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui ki te tohu hōnore tākutatanga tuhituhi (LittD). Tangihia ana a Wiremu i te marae o Pipitea i Pōneke, ā, i tanumia a ia ki te taha o tana tamāhine kōhungahunga nei i te urupā o Te Puni i Pito-one (Petone). Mahue mai ana i a ia tana wahine me ā rāua tamariki.