Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Ensor, Kura Te Whiria
1925–2015
Waikato–Tainui; fashion designer, businesswoman
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Natalie Smith, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2022. He mea whakamāori nā Basil Keane.
Ko Kura Ensor tētahi rakahinonga pūeru Māori e noho ana ki Tāmakimakaurau. Ko ia tētahi i whai wāhi atu ki te whakamāuitanga o te hoahoa kaupapa Māori i ngā tekau tau 1970. I whakahaere ia i tētahi pakihi pūeru ā-motu, e hoko ana i ngā kahu me ngā ingoa, ngā waitohu, ngā tauira Māori hoki. He kiriwhakatauira ia mā ngā kaipakihi wahine Māori, ā, i manawanui ki te mahi mā tōna hapori. Ka whakamaua e Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan tōna kaka i mōhio whānuitia, a 'Tānia', i te wā i mihi ia ki te Hīkoi Whenua Māori i runga i ngā arawhata o te Pāremata i te Oketopa o 1975.
Ngā tau tōmua
E pātata ana ki Taumarunui ko Manunui, he kāinga mira kani rākau iti, i whānau ai a Kura Te Whiria Davis i te 24 o Pēpuere 1925, ko ia te tamāhine a Violet Moeroa Wilkinson rāua ko tana tāne, a Robert Tiopira Davis. Ko Violet te tamāhine a Te Hinu Ellen Cribb rāua ko George Te Paoro Wilkinson, he kaiwhakahaere nō te Kōti Whenua Māori i hono atu ki Waikato-Tainui. He uri a Robert nō Hiria Tiopira, he rangatira nō Iwi Tapu. He waoko a Davis, ā, nō muri i whai mahi hī ika. Ka whai hononga tōna whānau ki Iwi Tapu nō Tākiwira (Dargaville), ā, ka hono hoki ki Tāne Mahuta, te rākau kauri nui rawa atu i Aotearoa, te atua o te ngahere me ngā manu, te tama hoki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku.
Ka noho a Kura ki Maniaiti Marae (Wallace Pā) ki Manunui i ōna tau tōmua. Ko ia te mātāmua, ā, e toru ana tungāne, engari kotahi anake i ora ā pakeke noa. Pērā i ngā wāhine tokomaha o tōna reanga nā tana whaea ia i whakamōhio ki te tuitui, ā, ka tuitui i ōna ake kākahu, tae atu ki ngā kākahu mō tana whānau me ōna hoa, i a ia e taiohi tonu ana.
I a Kura e tamariki tonu ana ka neke te whānau Davis ki Pārāwai (Thames), i reira noho ai ki tātahi. Ka haere a Kura ki te kura tuatahi ā-rohe me te Haikura o Thames, i reira ako ai i ngā akoranga patopato, pakihi, ngaio hoki, me te aro tonu ki te pūeru mā ana mahi hanga kaka ā-kāinga. I muri i te haikura i whiwhi ia i ētahi tūnga mahi ā-tari.
Te mārena me te māmātanga
Ka moe a Kura i a Donald (Don) Henry Ensor, he pūtia i tūtakina e ia ki te haikura, ki Kirikiriroa i te 31 o Tīhema i te tau 1946. Ka paheke te tokorua nei, nā te mea, kāore ngā mātua o Don, a Sidney rāua ko Elizabeth Ensor i whakaae kia moe tā rāua tama i tētahi wahine Māori. Ko Sidney te koromatua o Pārāwai (Thames) mai i te tau 1931 ki te tau 1959, ā, nō tētahi whānau Pākehā rongonui ia kua roa e noho ana ki taua takiwā. Ka whakapau kaha a Kura ki te waihanga i te umanga māna, ā, kia eke hei kiriwhakatauira mā te wahine Māori, me te aha, ka whakahē i ōna hungawai. Ka whānau mai te tamaiti huatahi a Kura rāua ko Don, a Sydney, i te tau 1948.
Ko 1910 pea te tau i hūnuku te whānau ki Tāmaki-makau-rau, e noho ana ki Grey Lynn. Ka mahi a Kura i roto i te tari o Coca Cola, engari nō te takiwā o te tau 1952 i haere ia ki te mahi ki te tari o Matheson Minster, he kaiwhakanao kākahu tāne i mahi ai tōna māmā, a Violet, i runga i ngā pūrere tuitui. Ka mahi a Don mā tētahi pūtia ki Greenlane, ā, tae noa ki te whakatuwheratanga o tōna ake toa pūtia, KuraDon, ki View Road, i Glenfield. Ka āwhina a Kura ki te whakahaere i te toa, ā, ka ako ki te waihanga tauira i a ia e whakatipu ana i a Sydney. I muri iho i tukua ki a Sydney tōna ngākau whiwhita ki te pūeru, e whakatenatena ana i a ia ki te whakoti i taua akoranga. I te tata paunga o te tekau tau atu i te 1960, i neke te tokorua nei i te pakihi ki Hurstmere Road, i Takapuna, e whakahaeretia ana i raro i te ingoa o Don's Meats. Ka unuhia te ingoa o Kura i te pakihi kei pōhēhē ētahi ko ana mahi pūeru e whanake haere ana. Ka noho te whānau ki Northcote.
Te pūeru, te kimi pūtea me te hapori
Ka hanga kākahu a Ensor mō ana karangatahi i te taha o tana whaea ki te rūma wātea i roto i tō rāua kāinga i Northcote; ko tana māmā te mātāmua o ngā tamariki 14, nā reira he whānau whānui tōna hei hoahoa māna. Ka tīmata tana ahu ki te umanga pūeru, he umanga e tau ana mō te wahine whakamanea, ā, ka mātakitakihia ahakoa haere ai ki hea; i ētahi wā ka mahi hei tauira pūeru, ā, he mema nō te Rōpū Tauira Pūeru o Aotearoa. He mema hoki ia nō Ngā Wāhine Māori Toko i te Ora, ā, i āwhina ki te kimi pūtea mā te whakahaere i ngā whakaaturanga pūeru, he mea arotini i Aotearoa i te tekau tau atu i 1960, i 1970 hoki. I whakaahuatia e Sydney ēnei whakaaturanga pūeru.
Ka whakauruuru ngā hoahoa a Kura i ngā waitohu me ngā tauira Māori, ā, ko tana tūmanako kia whakatairangahia te mōhiotanga ki te hoahoa kaupapa Māori. I a ia e whakataki ana i te whakaaturanga pūeru mō Arahina he peka nō te Rōpū Wāhine Māori toko i te Ora i te tau 1969, ka mau ia i te kaka mā, he angiangi, he kopakopa hoki me tētahi V hōhonu ki muri, me te toromoka pāua, ā, kua whakapiria he rārangi anga pāua nāna i tapahi, i aumiri ki ngā ringaringa. Hei tūtohu i ana mahi kimi pūtea, me tana whakatairanga i te hoahoa kaupapa Māori, nā te peka Arahina ia i kopou hei mema hōnore.
Gay Forties Limited
Ka whakatū a Kura i tōna ake tapanga pūeru, Gay Forties Limited, i muri i te whakataki i te whakaaturanga pūeru Aranga ki te Chateau Tongariro i te tau 1969, ā, i tino whakamihia te kaka i auaha, i mau hoki ia. He pakihi iti a Gay Forties i tū ki tōna kāinga i Northcote i te tuatahi, ā, nō muri mai ki te takiwā hokohoko i roto i te Coachman Travel Lodge, i Takapuna. Ka tuku mahi ia ki ngā wāhine tokotoru kia āwhina i a ia i ngā wā o te mahi nui. I te tau 1974, ka hūnuku ia ki te takiwā kaihoko hou ki Hurstmere 70 Arcade, Takapuna, e noho tauaro ana ki Don's Meats. Ka noho ngā kiritaki a Ensor puta noa i Aotearoa, ā, ka hokona hoki ana hoahoatanga i Paris Boutique, he whare kaihoko i runga i te motu o Norfolk. I te tau 1974 ka haere ia ki te motu o Norfolk ki te whakataki i tētahi whakaaturanga pūeru ki te South Pacific Hotel, ā, ka tukuna ngā moni ki te Karapu Wāhine me ngā Māmā ā-rohe. Ka kīia e te niupepa The Norfolk Islander he kaiwhakataki whakaihiihi, whakangahau hoki, he māhorahora nei ia ki te kōrero mō tana urunga ki te pakihi pūeru.
Ka hopukia e te ingoa o tana pakihi te iho o tana mahi hoahoa: te auaha i ngā kahu taera mō te wahine mātāpuputu, he nui ake te tinana. Kua tae atu a Ensor ki ngā whakaaturanga pūeru o Pierre Cardin i Tāmaki-makau-rau, ā, i kite i te iti o te pūeru taera mō te wahine nui ake ngā tau i te 40 pērā i a ia. I te puāwai te ahurea toa kākahu iti i Aotearoa, pērā i tāwāhi, engari ko ngā kahu i hokona i roto i ēnei toa, ā, i whakanuia ki ngā whakaaturanga pūeru e hāngai ana ki ngā taitamāhine. E ai ki ngā pānui hokohoko i auaha ia i ngā kahu ki ngā rahi kaka wahine arowhānui, 10 ki te 18, tae atu ki te tāpae i te ratonga waihanga ki te rahi mō te wahine kāore e kite i ngā kahu ki te rahi e hiahia ana ia.
He mātanga ia ki te waihanga i ngā kākahu mō te pō me te mea e mōhiotia nei hei 'patio' me ‘kākahu taurima’, ā, i mōhio ia ka whakarato te taera kawhatana i te matauri pai mō te wahine me te tinana nui. Ka whakamihi hoki ia i te kaka matua a Coco Chanel te 'kaka pango iti', i hoahoa ia ki ngā taera matawhānui. Ka kaha whai ngā kaihoahoa o Aotearoa i Parihi hei hautū mō ngā taera pūeru i taua wā. Waihoki, i whakamāramatia te whakawhakanaketanga o te angahou Māori e ngā ringatoi rongonui pērā i a Ralph Hōtere rāua ko Para Matchitt, me te whakamāuitanga Māori o ngā 1970 i taurima i te manawanui ki te tikanga rua, ki te pūeru mā te whakauruuru o ngā waitohu Māori nō mai rā anō. I ngā tekau tau 1970 i panoni te kahu ā-motu i whakamaua e ngā māngai o Aotearoa ki te whakataetae o te Wahine Takakau ā-Ao mai i ngā kahu Māori tuku iho ki te whakakotahitanga o te pūeru whairawa nō Ūropi me ngā āhuatanga o te hoahoa Māori. He kaha hoki te hiahia a ngā wāhine e haere ana ki tāwāhi ki ngā kahu e whakaata ana i te tukunga iho o Aotearoa.
Ka whakanuia te hoahoa Māori e Kura mā te whakauruuru i ngā waitohu Māori ki ana papanga, me ngā whakaniko, ā, mā te tapa i ana kahu ki ngā ingoa Māori. Ka whakaatu te pānui hokohoko nō te tau 1974 i te tapanga Gay Forties e noho ana i roto i te hoahoa koru. He kaka pango, he angiangi, he kopakopa hoki i whakaurua ki te whakaaturanga kimi pūtea i tui whakanikohia ki te poi iti, ā, e whakamaua ana me te tīpare tāniko. I taua tau i tautāwhi te Rōpū Wahine Māori Toko i te Ora i ngā whakaurunga e rua ki ngā Whakawhiwhinga Hoahoa Pūeru Benson and Hedges. Ka uru a Kura ki ngā wāhanga kākahu mō te rā, mō te pō hoki, e kōwhiri ana i ngā ingoa Māori mō ana hoahoa, Aotearoa me Marama. Ko Aotearoa, he kahu wūru kaho me te taha anga pāua, i haria ki Rānana, ā, ka whakaatuhia ki New Zealand House hei wāhanga o te whakatairanga a te New Zealand Wool Board.
He kāone wūru pango rongonui i tapaina ki te ingoa 'Tania' i arongia e te Mema Pāremata, e Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan i tana kitenga i te Cameo New Zealand Fashion Showcase i te tau 1973. Ka hokona e ia, ā, i muri iho i kīia ko te 'taonga i roto i taku puni kahu'.1 Tērā te pakihiwi kiri kau o te kāone i te whakaaturanga Cameo Fashion Showcase, engari i whakamaua e Tirikatene-Sullivan me te ringaringa papanga pango. Ko te pūtake o te whakaaro o te kāone ko te āhua o te kahu Māori, ā, kei runga he papa tā ā-tauārai me te waitohu kōwhaiwhai whero, pango, mā hoki. Nā tana kōwhiri kaka ina mihi ana ki te Hīkoi Whenua Māori, i tūtohu a Tirikatene-Sullivan i tana tautoko mō te hunga hīkoi me te whanaketanga o te hoahoa pūeru Māori. Ki a Ensor, i whakatinana te kāone i tana hiahia kia whakatairanga i te tuakiri Māori me te tū hei kiriwhakatauira mō ngā wāhine Māori. Kia whakamaua te kāone e tētahi Mema Pāremata Māori rongonui e mihi ana ki tētahi atu wahine rongonui, Kahurangi Whina Cooper, he wā whakahirahira o te umanga o Kura.
Tērā ētahi atu wā hira i kitea a 'Tania': i mau i a Miss New Zealand, i a Pam King, ki tētahi whakaaturanga kimi pūtea, ā, i uru ki tētahi whakaaturanga kāone e whakatairanga ana i ngā wūru o Aotearoa ki te Whare Puoro Whakaari o Poihākena (Sydney Opera House) i te tau 1974. Ahakoa te pūrongohia whānuitia i kitea tēnei kahu e ngā māngai o Vogue Paris, ā, ka whakaahuatia mō te putanga o Pēpuere 1975, kāore i kitea taua kahu i tēnei putanga. Kāore i te tino mārama te pūtake o tēnei kōrero, ā, mēnā i puta te kāone ki ētahi tānga ā-ao rānei.
Tōna ao i muri i te hoahoa
Ka whakamutua e Ensor te tapanga Gay Forties i te pokapū o te tekau tau 1970; he pakihi iti, ā, kāore i te rahi te hokohoko kia tautoko i te toa hoko i Takapuna. Ka waihanga tonu ia i ngā kaka mārena me ngā mea hoahoa ā-kirimana i tōna kāinga tae noa ki te tīmatanga o te tekau tau 1990, ā, ka hoki rāua ko tana tāne ki te tiaki i te māmā o Don me tana tuakana, a Milton. Ka mate a Ensor ki Pārāwai (Thames) i te 18 o Hānuere 2015, e 89 tau te pakeke; kua mate kē a Donald i te tau 2006.
He mihi ki a Sindy Ensor i tana āwhina kia tuku i te kōrero mō Kura.