Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Rōpiha, Tipi Tainui
1895–1978
Nō Ngāti Kahungunu, nō Rangitāne; he kairūri, he kaimahi kāwanatanga matua
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Graham Butterworth, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
Nō Ngāi Toroiwaho a Tipi Tainui Rōpiha, he hapū tēnei nō Ngāti Kahungunu me Rangitāne. I whānau mai ia i Waipāwa i te 8 o Ākuhata o te tau 1895, hei tamaiti tuarua mā Reginald Pinckney rāua ko Mihi Mere Pānapa, arā, te tamāhine a Pānapa Tuari rāua ko tana wahine, ko Arapera Te Ngira. He karaka a Pinckney nō Ingarangi. Ahakoa, riro kē ana nā te matua whāngai o Tipi i whakatipu mai. He mea tapa ia ki te īngoa o Tainui e Hōri Rōpiha, he rangatira nui nō ngā rohe whaka-te-tonga o Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay), hei tohu mō tana hoahoatanga ki a Tāwhiao o Tainui, arā, ki te Kīngi Māori. Nā te wahine a Rōpiha, nā Ērina Te Nepi Apatū a Tipi i whāngai, ā, nā reira ia i tango ai i te īngoa Rōpiha hei īngoa mōna, i tapaina hoki e ia tāna tamāhine ki te īngoa o tōna mama whāngai.
Nō muri mai i tana haerenga ki te kura tuarua ā-rohe o Waipāwa, i te tau 1910 i haere ia ki te Kāreti o Te Aute i runga i te Karahipi Mākarini (Te Mākarini Scholarship). I te kura nei, i tino hira ia ki te whutupaoro me te kirikiti. I puta ia i te whakamātautau iti iho mō ngā kaimahi kāwanatanga i Noema o te tau 1911, ā, nō te 1 o Maehe o te tau 1912 ka whakatūria ia ki te Tari mō ngā Mahi Nunui (Public Works Department) i Ahuriri (Napier). He mahi noa tēnei, ā, ka whakaaro a Rōpiha me whai kē ia i te mahi rūri. I a ia e tatari ana kia wātea mai he tūranga tauira, ka oti i a ia te whakamātautau mō ngā kaimahi kāwanatanga pakeke i Hānuere o te tau 1915. I te rironga mai i a ia o tētahi tūranga tauira i te wāhi mahi o te kairūri rā, o J. R. Morgan i Ahuriri, ka tīmata tana tauiratanga.
Nō Ākuhata o te tau 1916, ka uru atu a Rōpiha ki te ope pū pārae o Aotearoa (New Zealand Field Artillery). I noho ia hei hōia ki Parani, ā, i te taotūtanga o tōna puku i Oketopa o te tau 1918, ka whakahokia tūrorotia mai ia ki te kāinga. Nō muri i tana hokinga mai, ka haere ia ki ētahi kauwhau i te kāreti o Waitaha (Canterbury College), ā, i puta ia i te whakamātautau rūri i te tau 1920. I a ia e tauira tonu ana, ka whakaaetia tētahi tūranga mōna i te Tari Rūri Whenua (Department of Lands and Survey). Nō Oketopa o te tau 1919 i whakatūria ia ki tētahi tūranga wā poto hei kaitā, hei kaitatau anō hoki i Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland); whakawhiwhia ana ia ki tētahi tūranga pūmau i Hepetema o te tau 1920. I Tāmaki-makau-rau, i te 4 o Āperira o te tau 1922, ka mārenatia e ia a Rhoda Winifred Tūruki Walker, he nēhi nō Te Whānau-a-Apanui. Tokorua ā rāua tamariki, he tama, he kōtiro.
He tangata hūmārika a Rōpiha, ā, nā reira ia i kore ai i whakawhiwhia ki ētahi tūranga o runga ake ahakoa anō te pai o āna tohu me te mōhio anō o ōna hoamahi, he tangata pukumahi, tangata whai whakaaro ia. I waho atu o āna mahi, i whāia e ia tōna manako ki ngā āhuatanga reo; pānuitia ana e ia ngā wāhanga e rua o te Shorter Oxford English dictionary me te papakupu reo Māori a Te Hāpata Wiremu anō hoki, hei whakapai ake i tana puna kupu. He reimana ia i te Hāhi Mihingare, ā, i ngā tau o muri mai i kī atu ia ki tōna whānau he haere nōna ki te karakia te take i kore ai ia i pōrangi noa.
I te tau 1935, i toko mai he angitu hou i te wā i tono ai te hēkeretari o raro o te Tari Māori (Native Department) ki tētahi kairūri, māna e mahi ngā mahi i ngā kaupapa whakatōpū whenua i Tāmaki-makau-rau. Whakaīngoatia ana a Rōpiha mō te tūranga nei i runga i tana mōhio ki te ao Māori. I te tuatahi, i whakawhitia atu ia mō te toru marama mahi ake ai i raro i te maru o Tiati Ātihana (Frank Acheson). Nō Hune o te tau 1936 i whakatūturutia ia ki taua tūranga. E whā tau ki muri mai, i Āperira o te tau 1940, i whakahokia atu ia ki te Tari Rūri Whenua hei kairūri matua mō Te Wairau (Marlborough) me ōna rohe. Ko tana wāhi mahi ko Waiharakeke i te taha o te awa o Ōpawa (Blenheim).
Nō te tekau tau atu i 1930 i whiwhi ai a Rōpiha i tētahi pāmu iti, pāmu karukaru nei te āhua, i ngā mānia o Hauraki. Ka riro nā tētahi kaipāmu matatau i whakahaere te pāmu nei, ēngari he mea puri tonu e Rōpiha te mana whakahaere i ngā utunga haupū rawa me ngā utunga whakapaipai hoki. Ko tāna i tūmanako ai, ko te whakapakari i te pāmu kia rite ki ngā pāmu papai o taua rohe. Kitea ake ana e ia tana kaha ki te whakahaere pāmu me tana mōhio ki ngā mahi ohaoha hei mea āwhina tonu i āna mahi kaupapa ahu whenua i Te Wairau.
Nō Pēpuere o te tau 1942 ka noho atu a Rōpiha ki te puni mō ngā hōia whakaihinga a te motu (National Military Reserve), ēngari nō te marama o muri mai i whakahokia atu ia ki te Tari Rūri Whenua, ki te whakaputa mahere whenua mai mō ngā mahi hōia. Nō Hūrae o te tau 1945, i whakanōhia a ia hei kaiwhakahaere tuarua mō ngā mahi ahu whenua i Te Kūiti. I Pēpuere o te tau o muri mai, i kake ake ia hei kaiwhakahaere whakakapi. I te 14 o Maehe o te tau 1947, i whakatūria ia hei hēkeretari tuarua o raro mā te Tari Māori, hei kaitiaki Māori tuarua anō hoki, arā, hei tumuaki tuarua mō te tari e aranga ake ana, arā, te Tari Māori (Department of Māori Affairs).
Ko te tikanga, ko te tau 1948 te wā i whakaritea mō te hēkeretari hei whakatā, ā, māharahara noa ana te Kōmihana Kaimahi Kāwanatanga (Public Service Commission) ki te tika o Rōpiha hei whakakapi mōna. I uiuia a Rōpiha i Kirikiriroa (Hamilton) i te 20 o Pēpuere o te tau 1947 e te hēkeretari a te Kōmihana, e George Bolt, ā, kotahi noa te mea kāore i tino mārama ki a ia mō te tangata nei mō Rōpiha, arā, mehemea ka whai kaha ia ki te noho ake hei tumuaki māia, tūturu mō te tari. Ko tāna i whakaaro ai, me i kī te kāwanatanga me noho he Māori ki tēnei tūranga, kāore ia i mōhio ki tētahi i tua atu i a Rōpiha. Nō te 1 o Oketopa o te tau 1948 i noho a Rōpiha hei hēkeretari o raro mā te Tari Māori. Ko ia te Māori tuatahi i riro nāna te tari i whakahaere, ā, mau ana i a ia te tūranga nei mō te iwa tau.
He tūranga uaua te tūranga i riro i a ia. I mua tonu i te whakatānga o te hēkeretari, o Tiati G. P. Shepherd, i tana tūranga, i whakapāha a ia mō te tini o ngā raruraru ture i whakarērea iho e ia mā Rōpiha. Ahakoa anō te ngāwari o te āhua o Rōpiha, mātātoa ana tana mau ake i āna mahi. E ai ki tāna, ka hia tau kē e mahia noatia ana te mahi, kāore anō kia takatū ngā kaimahi me pēhea te whakahaere o te mahi – ina, te whakatautahi me te āhua o te whakahaere o taua kaupapa – ā, i te mutunga mai pokea ana te mahi e te nui o ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te ture, ki te whakaritenga, me te whakahaerenga o te tari. Tino māharahara ana a Rōpiha mō te taha ki ngā mahi ahu whenua, kua rua tekau tau kē e haupū ana te nama tārewa, ā, i te mea kāore anō kia whakahaerea he mahi, hei whakatutuki i ngā mahi ki aua whenua, hei whakahoki anō ki ngā Māori nō rātou aua whenua. Kua tata kore kē e taea he moni rēti te tuku atu, te whenua rānei te whakamahi, i te kaha o te pākarukaru o ngā hea i roto i ngā taitara whenua. Kua tahito kē ngā ture mō te whakahaere a te Tari, ā, ko te tikanga kē, me āta whakahou kia tika.
Nō Tīhema o te tau 1949, i whakatūria te Rōpū Nāhinara hei kāwanatanga, ā, i tahuri a Rōpiha ki te whakarerekē i te āhua o te Tari, me te tino tautoko mai a te Minita hou, a Te Kōpata (E. B. Corbett). Nō te tau 1952 i whakakorehia ai ngā poari whenua Māori, ā, i tukua ā rātou mahi ki te Kaitiaki Māori; i a Rōpiha tēnei tūranga. I pāhitia i te tau 1953 te Ture mō ngā Take Māori Whānui (Māori Affairs Act), ka hangaia mai he Tari hou; ka whakatūria mai ngā tari ā-rohe, ā, ka whakatakotoria he aroākapanga tautuhi pai i raro i te hēkeretari take Māori. I te tau 1952, i whakawhiwhia a Rōpiha ki te tohu hōnore ISO.
Ko tā Rōpiha i manako ai, kia whakahokia te whenua Māori ki te ringaringa tonu o te Māori, kia whakamutua anō hoki ngā here ā-pūtea ki runga i ngā kaipāmu Māori. Whakanōhia ana te tikanga whakahaere ki ngā Māori nō rātou ake te whenua; ko tā Rōpiha kaupapa, i mua i te whakahokinga atu o te whenua ki ngā kaiwhiwhi, me whai moni rātou me te mōhio anō ki te whakahaere pāmu nui kē nei. I āta kitea mārikatia tēnei kaupapa āna i te whakakorenga atu o te Kaitiaki Māori o Te Tai Rāwhiti (East Coast Māori Trust), i te whakahokinga atu o te whenua, 121,788 eka te nui, i te tau 1954. Hui katoa te nui o ngā teihana i whakahokia atu e 46, ā, 164,026 eka te rahi. I te tau 1947, 1,889 te nui o ngā kaipāmu e paihere kētia ana te tahua moni hei whakapau mā rātau ki te whakahaere i ngā mahi o te pāmu; taka rawa mai ki te tau 1958, kua heke kē te kaute o ngā tāngata e noho pērā tonu ana ki te 1,358.
Kāore a Rōpiha i pai kia noho ko te kāwanatanga hei oranga mō te tangata; ko tāna hoki kia kaua te Māori e whai i tērā tū āhuatanga ēngari me mahi moni tonu ia māna ake, ā, mua ake nei me noho ko te mātauranga te huarahi hei whai māna. I taumaha tonu te āhua o tana noho ka tukua kētia e ia te nuinga o āna moni mō ngā whakaakoranga i āna tamariki, ā, nuku atu i tērā, he mea whakaako anō ki te whakatangi piana, me te whakahua kupu whakapaipai hoki. Ko tana tamāhine ko Rina te wahine Māori tuatahi i puta hei tākuta. Nō Hūrae o te tau 1955, i tae atu ia ki tētahi hui a ngā kaiārahi Māori, ka kōrero ia mō tētahi pūtea moni rahi tonu nei, ko ia i te pupuri. Ko te pūtake mai o taua moni ko ngā moni whenua kerēme kore, e wātea ana te whakapau ki ngā mahi Māori. E ai ki tā Rōpiha, me tohu kē te katoa o te moni nei mō te mātauranga. Kātahi te hui ka whakatau, me whakarewa he kaupapa hei ārahi, hei āwhina i ngā mātua Māori kia roa kē atu tā rātou pupuri i ā rātou tamariki ki te kura, ā, ka whakanōhia a Rōpiha hei heamana mō te komiti i riro māna e whakahaere te kaupapa nei.
I te marama o muri mai, i tētahi hui a ngā tauira Māori o ngā whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau me Wikitōria, i tonoa atu e Rōpiha ngā tauira he raruraru moni te mate me tuku mai te whakaatu ki a ia, hei āta tiro anō māna. I noho anō hoki ia ki tētahi komiti, he whiriwhiri i te mahi whakaako i te Māori mō ā mua ake, i tū ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) i Noema o te tau 1955. I whakaae te hui nei ki te kaupapa, arā, he ōrite tonu ngā hiahia mātauranga o te Māori me te Pākehā. He tino tautoko ngā kaupapa me ngā whakahaerenga i kōmihanatia e Rōpiha ki te mahi whakareri ake i te Rīpoata a Hunn o te tau 1960 mō te Tari Māori.
I tuhi a Rōpiha i ētahi pūrongo i Te Ao Hou , ā, i āwhina atu hoki ia ki te ārahi i ngā kaupapa a te maheni nei i ōna tau tuatahi. He mea whakahau tonu e ia ngā mahi a te Rōpū Wāhine mō Te Moananui-a-Kiwa (Pan-Pacific Women’s Association) me te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League), arā, he wāhi nui tonu tōna i te whakatūnga i te rōpū rā, ā, i mau haere tonu tana whaiwāhi atu ki ā rātou mahi.
I te whakaritenga a Te Kōpata me whakatā ia i tana tūranga i mua i te pōtitanga whānui o 1957, i whakaritea hoki e Rōpiha me whakatā anō hoki ia i te marama o Oketopa o taua tau. Nō muri mai, i noho rāua ko tana wahine ki Waiatarua, e tata ana ki Te Atatū (Henderson). Ka mate tana wahine i te tau 1973, ka neke atu ia ki Waikōpiro (Ormondville) i Te Matau-a-Māui, noho ai. I whakawhiwhia a Tipi Rōpiha ki te tohu CBE i te tau 1972. I mate ia i Tāmakinui-a-Rua (Dannevirke) i te 26 o Noema o te tau 1978, ā, i mahue mai ko tana tama; nō te tau 1975 i mate atu ai tāna tamāhine, a Rina Moore.
I noho a Rōpiha hei tumuaki mō te Tari Māori mō te iwa tau, i te wā e tino whakaae ana te kāwanatanga ki te whakapau moni ki ngā kaupapa Māori. Nā reira, i raro i tōna maru, i piki te nui o te moni i whakapaua hei hanga whare, hei whakahaere whenua, hei ahu whenua hoki, ā, i āhei anō ia ki te hoatu pūtea ki ētahi kaupapa atu hoki, pērā i Te Ao Hou. I hangā e ia he tari tōtika, ā, i whakahokia ki ngā Māori nō rātou tūturu te whenua he pāmu kua oti te mahi, ka noho hei papa ohanga hou nā ngā kaupapa a tōna tari, whakaaturia mai ana e Tipi Rōpiha kua ara mai anō te ao Māori.