Ko Hēnare Ngata, he morehu o te Ope Taua Māori 28. Ko a ia te Māori tuatahi ki te whiwhi i te tohu kaitiaki pūtea. I muri mai i te matenga o tōna matua, o Tā Apirana Ngata, i ngā tau 1950, ka tū a Hēnare hei kaiārahi Māori. E rite ana a ia ki tōna matua, ka uru atu ki roto i ngā mahi tōrangapū a Ngāti Porou me te iwi Māori whānui. E ngākau nui ana ia ki te whai i te mana taurite mō te katoa.
I whānau mai a Hēnare Ngata i Waiomatatini, e tata ana ki Ruatōrea, i te 19 o Tīhema i te tau 1917. Ko ia te pōtiki o ngā tamariki tekau mā tahi a te toa kairangapū, a Apirana Turupa Nohopari Ngata, nō Waiomatatini me tōna hoa wahine, arā, ko Arihia Kane Tāmati o Whareponga. I whakaingoatia a ia mō te tino hoa o tōna matua, mō Rewheteneti Hēnare Kōhere, i mate i ōna taotutanga ki Somme, i te tau o mua mai. I tipu mai a ia i tō rātau whare i Waiomatatini, i te Bungalow. Ka pakeke mai a ia i roto i te whārua o Waiapu, i ngā tau i puta mai ai ngā whakawhanaketanga mō ngā whenua o Ngāti Porou. I kuraina a ia ki te kura Māori o Waiomatatini.
Ko Apirana Ngata he mema o te Paremata mai i te tau 1905 ki 1943, otirā, i a ia i te kāinga, ko te Bungalow tonu tōna whare huihui i te taha o ōna kaipōti ki te kōrero mō ō rātau āwangawanga. E tata ana te pā o Porourangi ki tō rātau whare. He whare tērā mō ngā hui nunui a te iwi. I a ia e tamariki tonu ana, i kite, i rongo hoki a Hēnare i ngā kōrero tōrangapū, i ngā kōrero a te Hāhi, i ngā whakaaro o ngā iwi hoki kei tō rātau kāinga, kei te pā hoki. Ko ōna mātua he ngākaunui ki te Hāhi Mihinare, otirā, ka whakamarohihia ake ki roto i a Hēnare te whakapono a te Mihinare me te noho pūmau ki ngā whakahaere a Ngāti Porou e ngā hui nunui, pērā i te whakatuwheratanga o te whare karakia o Hato Meri, he whare maumaharatanga ki ngā hōia, i Tikitiki i te tau 1926. I mate a Arihia i te kōea i a ia e tiaki ana i tana tama mātāmua, i mate anō i taua kōea. Tekau mā tahi ngā tau o Hēnare.
E whai ana i ngā tapuwae o tōna matua, i noho a Hēnare ki te Kāreti o Te Aute, he kura mō ngā tama Māori i Te Matau-a-Māui, arā, ko te kura i pupū ake ngā tātāriki Māori o te rautau rua tekau. I te mutunga o ngā tau e toru, i whakawhiwhia a ia ki tana tohu, ka whakaaetia tana urunga atu ki te whare wānanga. Otirā, i ngā tau 1938 me 1939, ka whai ia i te Tohu Paetahi ki te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria. Ko a ia tētahi o ngā ākonga Māori ruarua nei i noho ki te whare noho o Weir. He rerekē tēnā noho i te whakamarumarutanga o ngā tikanga noho a Te Aute, he mea hou anō te noho takitahi ki te tāone. He pārekareka ki a ia te ngahau tahi ki ētahi atu Māori i roto te karapu hou o Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club, ā, ko ia tētahi o ngā ‘ringa rehe ki te purei piriota.’1 Heoi anō, kāore i pērā tōna kaha ki te ako, engari ka huri tōna waiaro i tōna hokinga mai i te pakanga.
I konei, ka tutaki a ia ki tōna hoa wahine, ki a Rora Lorna Metekingi, he ākonga i te kāreti whakaako kura māhita o Wellington Teacher’s College. Ko Lorna te tamāhine a Maihi Rangipō me Doris Metekingi nō Pūtiki (ki Whanganui). Ka whiwhi tūnga a ia i te taha o Charles Bennett (nō muri mai ko Tā Charles) me Wiremu Parker (he tauira o mua hoki rāua o Te Aute), hei kaipāoho i 2YA. Ko te teihana reo irirangi ā-motu tērā i Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Kotahi tau i mua mai i te mutunga o āna mahi ako mō tana tohu, ka pakaru mai te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao i te tau 1939.
I uru atu a ia ki te ratonga hōia i te marama o Oketopa, ā, nō te tau o muri mai, ko a ia tētahi o te ope Māori 150 i āta tohua e ngā Tumu Whakarae Māori kia tū hei āpiha, hei NCO, i roto i te Ope Taua Māori 28 i whakatūria ki Palmerston North i te marama o Hānuere i te tau 1940. I tohua a ia hei kamupene haihana meiha. Nā tōna kore mōhio e hia ngā tau e ngaro atu ana a ia i rāwāhi, ka tono a ia ki a Lorna kia mārena rāua. I tū tā rāua mārena ki Pūtiki i te 24 o Pēpuere, i te tau 1940. I wehe atu a Rewheteneti Tuarua Ngata ki te pakanga i marama o Mei i te tau 1940. Ko a ia tētahi o ngā āpiha tuatahi o Kamupene C. Nō tōna ake iwi te 120 o ngā hōia o taua kamupene.
I Ingarangi, i āta kite a Hēnare i te Pakanga o Piritana i a te Ope Taua Māori 28 e noho ana i waho mai o Rānana, i mua i tō rātau wehenga atu ki Ihipa i te tau 1941. I te mutunga o Maehe, i uru atu rātau ki roto i te Ope Haumi e whakamaru ana i a Kirihi. Ko te nuinga o te Ope Taua Māori 28 i whakawāteatia mai i te rohe o Ātene, ki Kiriti i te whakareretanga o Kirihi e ngā āpiha whakahaere o Piritana. Engari ko Hēnare tētahi o ngā hōia e waru tekau mā tahi i mahue atu ki muri, ki Kalamata, i te 29 o Āperire i te tau 1941. I noho herehere a ia mō ngā tau e whā ki ngā puni herehere i te tuatahi ki Corinth i Kirihi, i te tuarua i Biberach ki te taha tonga-mā-uru o Tiamani. Nā ngā hōia Amerikana i tango te here i runga i a rātau. He tau mōrihariha, ko te mate kai, ko te takeo o te noho, me te māharahara i te kore mōhio mēnā ka kitea anōtia ngā whanaunga o te wā kāinga. He nui te wā hei pānui pukapuka, ā, ka puta i a ia te whakatau, ki te puta atu a ia, ka hoki anō a ia ki te whare wānanga, e kore ērā akoranga e whakamaumautia e ia.
Ko tōna tirohanga ki tōna ao, i whakairotia mai i a ia e mauhere ana i te pakanga. I tōna hokinga mai ki Aotearoa i ngā tau tōmuri o 1945, i hoki atu a ia ki Waiomatatini, huna ai. Nā tōna matua a ia i āki kia hoki ki te whare wānanga. I hoki atu rāua ko Lorna ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara, ki te Terrace, ki tētahi whare iti nei, ā, nō muri mai, ka heke atu rāua ki Naenae, i a ia e whakaoti ana i tana Tohu Paetahi me te tohu kaitiaki pūtea. He uaua te taha moni engari, e kore e rite ki te wā e noho herehere ana i te wā o te pakanga.
I te tau 1948, i tohua a ia ki te Tohu Paetahi Tauhokohoko i roto i te mahi ōhanga, otira i te hui whakawhiwhi tohu, i riro i tōna matua te tohu whakahōnore o te DLitt. I taua wā, i tukua e ia he kōrero iti nei ki tētahi kaituhi, ki a Eric Ramsden, hei tātari i ngā mahi a tōna matua. Otirā, nā Ramsden aua kōrero i tā ki roto i tētahi pukapuka iti nei mō te kaumātua rangatira nei. He tino whakamāramatanga tērā mō te whakahihikotanga me te whakamomoritanga o tōna matua, kia haere whakamua te iwi Māori. E kīia ana, he tino tuhinga tēnei, ā, mēnā i whai a Hēnare i te mahi tuhituhi, tērā te whakaaro, kua eke a ia ki ngā tauamata tiketike.
Nā tōna koroingo kia tata mai ki te kāinga, ka hoki mai rāua tahi ki Tūranga, ki tētahi whare i te tiriti o Endeavour. Tokotoru ā rāua tamariki whāngai; ko Wikitoria Whyte, ko te mokopuna a tōna whaea whakaangi, a Lady Te Riringi; ko te iramutu a Lorna, arā, ko Apirana Turupa Maihi Ngata; me te iramutu a Hēnare, arā, ko Sue Hinehou Rahera Cooper.
Ko te tūranga mahi tuatahi a Hēnare, he kaimahi mō te Gisborne Sheepfarmer’s Frozen Meat and Mercantile Company. Otirā, he wheako nui tērā mōna mō ngā tau e rua. Ā, e toru tau a ia e mahi ana ki McCulloch Butler me Spence, he kamupene tiaki pūtea. I te tau 1953, ahakoa te tono a tētahi kia mahi tahi rātau, i hiahia a ia ki te tū takitahi. Kāti, ka noho ko a ia anake te Māori tuatahi ki te tū motuhake hei kaitiaki pūtea, i te wā he ruarua noa iho ngā kaipakihi Māori me ngā kiritaki Māori, hei hiki i a ia. E kī ana a ia, ‘Hei tā aku hoamahi ngaio he tino māia ahau, engari kāore au i te mōhio mēnā i whakaaro rātau he māia rānei, he pokerenoa rānei ahau. Ki ōku nei whakaaro, he pokerenoa kē. He pīrahirahi nei ngā mahi i puta mai ki au mō tētahi wā poto, engari kāore au i noho pōuri.’2 I taua wā, i te whakahoki mai te Tari Māori i te mana whakahaere o ngā whenua Māori ki te hunga whaipānga, i tono āwhina rātou i a Hēnare. Kāti, ko te nuinga o āna mahi i ahu mai i ngā whenua i raro i te Tari. Nā te tipu haere o ngā pakihi hou, ka tono āwhina ngā kaporeihana Māori, ka tipu haere ana kiritaki, ka eke te nui o ana kaimahi ki te rima.
He kaitohu a Hēnare mō ngā kamupene nui tonu. Ko tētahi ko te Gisborne Sheepfarmers’, nā rātou tetahi haurua o te kamupene o Kaiti Freezing Works me te kamupene whakarite waka rererangi o Fieldair Ltd. I uru atu a ia ki roto i tētahi o ngā tōpūtanga Māori nunui, arā, ko te kaporeihana o Mangatū, e 40,000 heketea te nui o ngā whenua. I whakatūria a ia ki te poari i te tau 1959, arā, ko a ia te heamana tae atu ki te tau 1987. I tana kauhau mō āna mahi mō Mangatū i te tau 2006, hei tā Pita Sharples, te Minita Tari Māori, ‘he tangata whai tikanga a Hēnare ki ngā kaiwhaipānga. Koia nei tonu tōna āhua i roto i tōna pakihi kaitiaki pūtea. I whakahaeretia e ia ngā hui ā-tau, ka whakatakotoria ngā rīpoata ā-tau i roto i te reo Māori. Ka tūngoungou haere ngā māhunga o ngā kaumātua e whakamana ana i āna kōrero.’3
Na te mea, ko a ia tētahi Māori whai pakihi, he rite tonu te tono mai ki a Hēnare kia uru atu ki ngā kaupapa a te hapori. I te tau 1957, ka tū a ia hei tētahi o ngā mema tuatahi o te Kaunihera Māori o te Rohe o Te Tairāwhiti, he hēkeretari mō Tā Turi Carroll. Nā tenei tūnga, ka tūtaki atu a ia ki ngā taero a te kāwanatanga. Nō muri mai, ka tū a ia hei heamana o te kaunihera, ā, i te tau 1962, ka tū a ia mō te whakahaere ā-motu, otira, ka taea e ia te mau atu i ngā take whenua Māori o Te Tairāwhiti ki mua i te kāwanatanga. I tēnei wā, nā āna mahi ā-rohe i kaha tana tū kia whai painga te katoa o te iwi Māori. I noho a ia hei mema o te Kaunihera Māori o Aotearoa mai i te tau 1962 ki te tau 1984, nā rātou ngā kaipupuri whenua Māori i āwhina ki te tono pūtea hei whakawhanake i ō rātou whenua, ā, nā rātou anō i whakapau kaha ki te āta tango atu i ētahi o ngā taumahatanga i runga i ngā kaimahi pāmu Māori.
Kaore i roa, ka tū a Hēnare hei māngai i roto i ngā tōrangapū Māori me ā rātau whakahaere. I whai atu a ia i tōna matua ki roto i nga tōrangapū a te Pāti Nāhinara, otirā, i tū a ia hei Perehītini Tuarua mai i te tau 1967 ki te tau 1969, anā, i tū a ia hei kaitono mō te tūru Māori o Te Tairāwhiti i te tau 1969, engari kāore i ū. I haere tonu āna mahi hei kaikōrero mō nga Māori o Te Tairāwhiti i ngā wā ka mauria atu he take ki mua i te kāwanatanga e pā ana ki a rātau. Ka whakapau kaha a ia ki muri, e āki ana kia pai ake ngā ture e pā ana ki ngā whenua Māori, ngā tūkanga whakatau i ngā kerēme i raro i te Tiriti, waihoki ko ngā kerēme a te Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi e pā ana ki ngā hinonga a te karauna, ki ngā kamupene hī ika me ngā mahi pāpāho huri noa i Aotearoa. He maha ngā tuhinga i tuhia e ia, arā, ko ngā tono me ngā pepa, ā, ka tāia āna kōrero ki roto i ngā hautaka maha. I tohua a ia ki te MBE i te tau 1967, me te KBE i te tau 1982 mō ana mahi mō te iwi Māori. Otirā, i te tau 1979, nā Te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria, i tuku ki a ia tētahi tohu whakahōnore hei tākuta o te ture.
I whakatā a Hēnare i te tau 1990, engari i ngākaunui tonu a ia ki ngā take Māori, i te nuinga o te wā i runga i te aroha, kāore he utu. Ko a ia te kaihanga o te rōpū o Ngā Taonga a Ngā Tama Toa (Kamupene C) Trust i ngā tau 1990. Nāna anō te Rōpū o te Ope Taua Māori 28 i whakahou i ngā tau 2000, arā, ko a ia tonu te heamana o taua rōpū mai i te tau 1964 ki te tau 1966. Mēnā kāore a ia i tautoko, i taupua i te rōpū rā, kua kore te motu whānui i rongo i ngā painga o te Whare Taonga o Kamupene C ki Tūranga, o te pukapuka o Ngā Tama Toa (2008) me te pukapuka o He Tipua, arā, ko te tuhinga tērā a Takuta Ranginui Walker, he haurongo mō Apirana Ngata. Nāna ngā kōrero a ngā pukapuka e rua i āta wetewete.
I roto i tōna whakatātanga, ko a ia tonu te pou herenga mō ngā take Māori nunui, pērā i te Tiriti o Waitangi me te Pire Takutai Moana. I te tau 2010, i pāpōuri a ia kāore i whakaaeatia kia takoto ia i tana tono mō te Pire Takutai Moana ki mua i te komiti whakahere, ‘kia mōhio noa ahau, i tū tōku ringa ki te tohe atu.’4
I mate a Hēnare i te tekau mā tahi o te marama o Tīhema, i te tau 2011 i tōna kāinga ki Tūranga – e 93 tōna pakeke. I mahue mai ko tōna hoa wahine me ā rāua tamariki tokotoru me ngā mokopuna maha. E ngākaunui ana te Māori me te Pākehā ki a ia, kua kitea e rite tonu ana te taumata o āna mahi ki tōna matua. I te rā i mate ai a ia, e arotake ana ia i ngā ture e pā ana ki ngā whenua Maori, e taipuru ana i ngā kaiwhaipānga Māori. Ko te matakite a tōna matua e hāngai ana hoki ki a Hēnare. ‘Mā te mate au e tiki mai i a āua e mahi tonu ana.’ Ko tā Tā Apriana Ngata, ‘E mahi tonu ana, e mahi tonu ana, e mahi tonu ana!’5 I mate a Lorna Ngata i te tau 2014.