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Waititi, Hoani Retimana

by Angela Ballara, June Mariu

Biography

E toru tekau mā iwa noa te pakeke o Hoani Retimana Waititi – ko Johnny rā tōna īngoa ki ōna hoa maha – i te wā ka mate nei ia. Ahakoa te poto noa o ōna rā, anā kē atu te nui o ngā mahi me ngā kaupapa i tutuki i a ia, ā, ka mahue mai nei ko ōna whakaaro, ko tōna kaha me tōna ngākau whakakatakata hei ranga wairua ki tōna iwi.

Nō te 12 o Āperira o te tau 1926 i whānau ai a Hoani ki Whangaparāoa, e pātata atu ana ki Tihirau (Cape Runaway) i Te Moana-a-Toi-te-huatahi (Bay of Plenty). Hei tama ia mā te tangata mahi pāmu nei, mā Kūaha Waititi, rāua ko tana wahine, ko Kirimātao Heremia Kerei. Nō Te Whānau-a-Kauaetangohia o Te Whānau-a-Apanui ngātahi ōna mātua, ā, he pānga anō hoki tō tōna māmā ki a Ngāti Awa. Nō ngā hapū anō o Te Whānau-a-Apanui, arā, o Te Whānau-a-Te Ehutū tae atu ki Te Whānau-a-Pararaki me Te Whānau-a-Kahu nei tōna pāpā. He tino kaha kē nei te whakaranga wairua ake o tana koroua ki te taha o tōna matua, o Mānihera Waititi i āna mokopuna; he tokānuku kē nei ia nō tōna iwi, he tino tohunga hoki ki ngā tikanga tuku iho a Te Whānau-a-Apanui, ā, i ētahi wā nei whakapā atu ai a Te Peehi (Elsdon Best) ki a ia. E ai ki tāna i whakapono ai, kāore i mutu mai te mahi whakaakoranga i ngā kura Pākehā anake, ēngari kei ngā whare wānanga, whare maire anō hoki o te Māori te whakaakoranga, e tūturu tika ngātahi ana mō te Māori.

I whakatipua mai a Hoani i tētahi kāinga tino Mihingare kē nei, ā, ko te reo Māori nei te reo tuatahi. He pōhara tonu nei te mate o te whānau, ā, uaua ana te tauoranga. Mā runga hōiho a Hoani haere atu ai ki tana kura tuatahi i Whangaparāoa, ā, atu i te tau 1939 ki 1940 i haere nei ia ki Tīpene (St Stephens’s School) i Pukewhau (Bombay), i te taha tonga atu rā o Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland). I tana hokinga atu ki te kāinga, i te mutunga mai o tana wāhanga tuatahi i reira, raru ana ia i tana whakamahinga i ētahi kupu Māori pōnahanaha noa nei, ka rawe kē nei ki ētahi o ōna hoa kura. Heoi anō, hua ana he painga mai i a ia i te momo whakaako o te kura, me te whakatakariri, whakahāweatanga mai o tōna whānau mō ana kōrero pērā, ā, i te mutunga mai, anā kē atu te rangatira me te ātaahua o ngā kupu i mau i a ia. I a ia i Tīpene, ka riro mai i a ia te karahipi a Te Pura (Buller Scholarship), ā, mai i te tau 1941 ki 1943 i whakamutua ake e ia tana kura tuarua ki te Kāreti o Te Aute. Nō te tau 1943 i puta ia i te whakamātautau mō te taumata tuatahi i te reo Māori a te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Wikitōria (Victoria University College), he tauira ā-waho kē nei ia. Nō Pēpuere o te tau 1944 – tekau mā whitu nei ōna tau, ēngari i meatia kētia e ia tekau mā iwa kē tōna pakeke – i uru atu ia ki te Tauārangi Roera o Aotearoa (Royal New Zealand Airforce), ā, ka tīmata tana akoranga hei paerata. Hoi anō, nō Pēpuere o te tau 1945 i whakawhitia atu ia ki te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion), noho hōia mai ai i Itari. I roto ia i te rōpū o Jayforce i haere atu rā ki Hapana, ā, kāti, nō Oketopa o te tau 1946 i whakamutua ake ai tana mahi hōia. tana roa i te kāreti takiura o Ākarana (Auckland Training College) e ako ana i te mahi whakaako, ā, ka tīmata ake anō ana akoranga mō tana tohu paetahi BA i te kāreti o te whare wānanga o Ākarana (Auckland University College); waihoki rā, nō te tau 1955 i riro mai i a ia taua tohu. Nō te wā tōmua ake nei o te tau 1949 i noho kaiwhakaako a Hoani i te kura tuarua ā-rohe Māori o Te Kaha (Te Kaha Māori District High School), me te kura Māori anō hoki o Nūhaka (Nūhaka Māori School) i Te Matau-a-Māui (Hawke’s Bay). Atu i te tau 1949 ki 1957 a ia i Tīpene e whakaako ana, ā, mai i reira ka haere atu ia ki te Kura o Kuini Wikitōria mō ngā Kōtiro Māori (Queen Victoria School for Māori Girls) me te kura tuarua mō ngā kōtiro o Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland Girls’ Grammar) whakaako ai i a rātau ki te reo Māori. Nō te tau 1957 i whakatūria a ia hei āpiha mō te reo Māori i te Tari Kura (Department of Education), ā, nō te tau 1963 i whakawhitia atu a ia hei taituarā mā D. M. Jillett, te āpiha rā mō te whakaakoranga Māori. Nō ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau mai i 1950 tae atu ki ngā tau tōmua o te tekau tau mai i 1960 i haere tonu ai te mahi whakaako a Hoani, me tana mahi kauwhau anō hoki i te kāreti takiura i Wairoa (Ardmore Teachers’ Training College), i te wāhi whakaako pakeke o te whare wānanga o Tāmaki-makau-rau (University of Auckland) me tētahi karaehe Māori i te whare herehere o Mautini (Mount Eden Prison). I kōkiritia ake e Hoani te kaupapa hei whakahoki mai i te hunga pakeke ki te kura ako ai, ā, he maha rātau i whiwhi i ā rātau kura tiwhikete, ko ia tonu i te akiaki, i te āwhina i a rātau.

Nō ēnei tau i noho ake ko ia te kaiwhakamātau matua i te kaupapa Māori a te whakamātautau nei, te kura tiwhikete, kimi mai anō hoki i ētahi āhuatanga hou mō te taha ki te whakaako. Mahi ake ana rāua ko te komiti tohutohu mō te reo Māori (Māori Language Advisory Committee), ka tuhia ake nei e Hoani ngā pukapuka e rua i ngā tau 1962 me 1964, ko Te rangatahi te īngoa. E hia tekau tau kē nei, noho ana aua tānga hei tuhinga tūranga tika e ako ai te tangata i te reo, ahakoa te taumata, tae atu hoki ki te whare wānanga. Mahue ake ana i ngā tuhinga nei te ako i ngā tikanga wetereo, whakakapia kētia ake ana ki ngā whakatakotoranga reo e uaua kē atu ana, e uaua kē atu ana. Nā runga i tana whakanui ake i te rārangi kupu me ngā kōrero mō ngā mahi mōrearea a te kaiwhakatū matua, a Tamahae o Te Kaha, i taea e ia ngā tauira te whakamōhio atu ki te momo noho taiwhenua ake o te Māori. Taka mai ana ki te pukapuka tuarua te mau ake i ngā kōrero mō te āhua o te noho i ngā takiwā tāone me te ao whānui hoki.

Tino nui kē nei te āhua o ngā mahi i kawea ake ai e Hoani Waititi. Ahakoa he wā nei, he wā kē atu rānei, e tata atu ana ki te waru tekau ngā rōpū i whai wāhi atu ai a Hoani ki ā rātau mahi. Ko ētahi o aua rōpū rā ko te karapu Māori o te whare wānanga, ko ia tonu te perehitini me te kaiwhakaruruhau; te kaupapa tikanga tangata me te wāhanga iwi Māori o te Papa Whakahiku (Auckland Institute and Museum), ko ia anō hoki te perehitini; ko te Rōpū Poronihiana (Polynesian Society); ko te komiti takiwā o Ākarana (Auckland Regional Committee) o te Pouhere Taonga (New Zealand Historic Places Trust); me te komiti pirihimana, tāngata tāone o te pokapū mō ngā taitama (Boystown Police and Citizens’ Committee). He maha nei ngā kōnohete i te tauranga huihuinga Māori (Māori Community Centre), ko ia nei te kanohi whakahaere. Hei perehitini anō hoki a Hoani mō te rōpū marae o Māngere (Māngere Marae Society), āpiha whakahaere atu hoki mō te Rōpū Māori o Ākarana (Ākarana Māori Society). Hei tiamana paparua anō hoki a ia mō te Kaupapa Mātauranga mō te Iwi Māori (Māori Education Foundation) o te takiwā o Ākarana, e iwa tekau mā ono kē nei ana whaikōrerotanga i te tau 1962, he whakaatu nei tāna i ngā take me ngā kaupapa mahi moni ake anō hoki a taua rōpū. He maha kē anō hoki ngā rōpū i kōrerotia e ia ngā take e pā ana ki te mahi whakawhanaunga ā-iwi, ki ngā kōrero tuku iho a te Māori me ngā raruraru o te Māori, ā, kāore i mutu mai i konā te whārahi atu o ngā momo take i kōrerotia e ia.

Ahakoa te pū waia ake o Hoani ki te Hāhi Mihingare, he mea kohi ake e ia he moni mā te papa pokapū hou nei o te rōpū Katorika Māori o Ākarana (Auckland Māori Catholic Society), e mōhiotia nei ko Te Ūnga Waka. He mea tautoko anō hoki e ia ngā mahi a te Hāhi Mōmona, a te Hāhi Perehipitīriana, a te Hāhi Wēteriana hoki. O roto mai i te kāhui tokomaha nei o ōna hoa kitea ake ai ngā kaituhi, ngā tāngata pūkenga, ngā kaiwhakaahua me te Kāwana Tianara anō hoki, me Tā Perenata Whēkihana (Bernard Fergusson), inarā, i noho ake nei ko Hoani hei kaitohutohu i a ia mō ngā āhua katoa e pā ana ki te ao Māori. Hautūtia ana hoki e Hoani ngā whakahaere ki te kohi moni, hei āwhina i ngā kaitākaro, i ngā kaitaurima, me te hunga mātauranga – te momou kē – i te kore moni ki te whakatutuki i ā rātau whāinga ki tāwāhi. Ko te hunga tino hau kē nei ō rātau rongo, ko te wahine purei tēnehi rā, ko Ruia Morrison, ko ngā kaitākaro korowha nei, ko Walter Godfrey rāua ko Sherril Chapman, ko te toa tākaro poikōpiko, ko Neti Davis, ko te kaipūkenga ko Ralph Hōtere, ko te kaiwaiata, ko Kiri Te Kanawa, tae atu ki a Patariki (Pat) Hōhepa, i riro mai ai i a ia tana tohu tākuta (PhD) mō te mātauranga wetereo i te Hononga o Amerika. Atu i ngā tau tōmuri o te tekau tau atu i 1950 i mahi mai a Hoani i te taha o ngā Māori o te whare herehere, ā, whakatūria ana hoki e ia te rōpū kapa haka o Maungawhau (Maungawhau Māori Culture Group) i Mautini.

He tangata hao kore, whakatīeke kore nei a Hoani Waititi. Kāre he mutunga mai o te whakaohaoha, o te whakapuke, o te hiranga kaha o tōna ngākau, ka pau nei i a ia ki tana mahi. Kāre i rerekē atu tōna āhua me ka haere nei ia ki te whare herehere, ki te Whare Kāwana kē rānei. I te wā e whakawhirinaki kē ana ngā kaiwhakaako mātauranga o tōna reanga ki te kaupapa whiu tinana, te wā kāore i whakaaetia ngā ākonga kia kōrero rā anō atu, noho kē ake ana ia hei tuakana mō ana tauira, whakaranga wairuatia ai rātau e ia ki tōna ngākau whakapuke, ngākau rekareka. He tuakana ngākau mōhio, kohete kore nei tōna āhua ki ōna hoa o te whare herehere, ā, i tō rātau putanga ake ko ‘Johnny’ tonu tērā e tatari atu ana hei whakamāmā ake i te wā e tūtaki tuatahi ai ki ō rātau whānau me ō rātau kaitukumahi. He tangata i tino mate nui ki ngā mahi tākaro, ka riro nei ia hei kanohi mō Ākarana mō ngā tākaro poiuka, poikōpiko nei hoki. He kaiwawao māraurau nei ia mō te tākaro tēnehi, ā, i āwhina atu anō hoki ia i te mahi whakahaere i te tākaro whutupaoro a ngā Māori o Ākarana.

Kāore a Hoani Waititi i moe wahine. Ruarua wiki noa i muri i te whakataunga he mate pukupuku i pā ki ōna kōiwi kore oranga nei tōna mate, ka mate mai nei ia i te hōhipera o Middlemore i Ōtāhuhu i te 30 o Hepetema o te tau 1965. I muri mai i te karakia a Pīhopa E.  A. Gowing ki a ia i te Whare Karakia Nui o Mere (St Mary’s Cathedral) i Pānēra (Parnell), i takina atu tana tūpāpaku ki te kāinga ki Whangaparāoa tāpuketia ai i te 5 o Oketopa. Puta ake ana te tangi mai o rātau mā i mōhio ki a ia, puta ake rā i ā rātau waiata, pānui reta, pānui kōrero mai ki te nūpepa. Ānei he tangi aroha nā ōna hoa i roto i Mautini:

I te wā e hua ana te karangū

E tangitangi ana ngā manu o te ngahere,

Korokī! Korokā!

I te wā kua mate te karangū

Kua kore hoki e rangona ngā manu o te ngahere

E tangitangi ana

Korokī! Korokā!

Nāhau nei i rui te kākano kua pūāwaitia

Hei katoranga mā tō iwi Māori, e.

Haere rā, Hoani e

Ki ngā tini rangatira i te pō.

Hoani e, haere rā.

Nō te tau 1966 i whakahaerea e Harry Dansey he mahi kohi moni nei mō tētahi karahipi whakamaumahara ki a Hoani Waititi (John Waititi Memorial Scholarship), he mea whakatū mai rā i raro i te maru whakaruruhau o te Kaunihera Māori o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Māori Council) me te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League). Tapaina anō hoki te marae rā i Te Atatū (Henderson) i Ākarana ko te Hoani Waititi Marae, hei whakamaharatanga ki a ia.


He whakaaturanga anō

Rārangi pukapuka

    ‘John Waititi memorial scholarship’. Te Ao Hou No 57 (Dec. 1966): 41, 43

    Obit. New Zealand Herald. 1 Oct. 1965: 5

    Obit. Te Ao Hou No 53 (Dec. 1965): 6–9


Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara and June Mariu. 'Waititi, Hoani Retimana', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5w2/waititi-hoani-retimana (accessed 29 March 2024)