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Kōrero: Tirikātene-Sullivan, Tini Whetū Marama

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Tirikātene-Sullivan, Tini Whetū Marama

1932–2011

Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu; kaitōrangapū, whetū marama o te ao kākahu, wahine toa

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Helen Brown, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2018. He mea whakamāori nā Charisma Rangipunga rāua ko Hēni Jacob.

Ko Whetū Tirikātene-Sullivan te wahine Māori tuatahi kia eke ki te kāhui minita pāremata o Aotearoa, ko ia anō te wahine i roa katoa te noho hai mema pāremata i Aotearoa. He kaihāpai mārohirohi i ngā take Māori i te Whare Pāremata, he wahine kai i te mātauranga, he kaitauwhiro tangata, he kaihoahoa, he kaiaka anō ki te hākinakina me te kanikani. Nāna i wawae te ara mō ngā wāhine i muri e manako ana ki te kawe tahi i ngā mahi tōrangapū me te whakatipu tamariki. Hei pou aronui mōna te Tiriti o Waitangi me te hāhi Rātana, i ana kawenga whaiaro me āna mahi tōrangapū. Ko te turakanga o ngā ture e pēpēhi ana i te iwi Māori te arotahinga o ana okenga tōrangapū. Me kōrero anō te tiwha o ōna weruweru – nōna anō tōna taera, i takea nuitia mai i ōna whakapapa, e whakatāiri ana i tōna matareka nui ki ngā tauira toi Māori.

Ōna tau tōmua ki te Pā o Rātana

Nō te 9 o te Iwa 1932 a Tini Whetū Marama Tirikātene i whānau mai ai, ki te pā o Rātana, i te taha tonga o Whanganui. Ko tana māmā, a Ruti (Lucy) Matekino Horomona (Solomon), nō Ngāi Tahu, nō Ngāti Pāhauwera o roto o Ngāti Kahungunu, ā, he toto Teina, he toto Hūrae anō hoki ōna. Ko te pāpā, a Eruera Tirikātene, nō Ngāi Tahu, he uri nō Tūhuru, rangatira o Te Tai Poutini, he uri anō nō Mōtoitoi, o Ōtākou. He whakapapa anō hoki ōna ki a Ngāti Toa me te Ingarihi.

Ko Eruera tētahi o ngā kaitohutohu i te poropiti, i a Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. Ko ia hoki te mema pāremata (tū motuhake) tuatahi o te hāhi Rātana kia uru ki te Whare Pāremata. Ka pūmau ki a ia te tūru Māori o Te Tai Tonga mai i te 1932 tae noa ki tōna matenga i te 1967. Mai i te tau 1936, ko ia te mema o Reipa mō Te Tai Tonga, i te Haumi o Rātana rāua ko Reipa. Ko te matakite o Rātana i mua i te whānautanga mai o Whetū e mea ana ka eke ia ki te taumata o te ao tōrangapū. Tapaina ana ia ko ‘Whetū Marama’ hei whakamaharatanga ki te whetū me te niko o te marama kei te tohu o Rātana.

Ko Whetū te tamaiti tuawhitu o ngā tamariki 12, ko ia hoki te mea wahine pakeke katoa kāore i mate i te kōhungahungatanga. E pūhouhou tonu ana ia, ka riro mā tōna taua (i te taha ki tōna hākui), mā Amiria (Miria) Solomon a ia e whakatipu, he warea nō ōna mātua ki ngā hāereere mahi pāremata. Ka pau ngā rā o tōna itinga ki te taiao Māori o te pā o Rātana. Nā tana haere ki te Kura Māori me ana noho tahi, kōrero tahi ki a Rātana, ka poua tōna whakapono nui, whakapono roa ki te hāhi Karaitiana.

Ngā tau i te kura

Ahakoa he maha tonu ngā wāhi o Te Waipounamu i noho ai te whānau i tōna itinga, hai tā Whetū, ko te pā o Rātana tōna ‘kāinga tūturu’.1 I ētahi o ngā kura i haere ai ia, ko Whetū anake te ākonga Māori, ko tōna rongo tuatahi tērā i tēnei mea te whakatoihara. Nō konei tōna pukutohe ki te kake i ngā taumata o te ao mātauranga Pākehā, me tana akiaki i muri mai kia whakaakona te reo Māori, ngā hītori me te ahurea Māori i ngā kura katoa o Aotearoa. I ihu oneone anō a Whetū ki ngā kawenga kei tua o te kura – ki te hauhake rīwai, ki te hora raima, ki te horoi weruweru, ki te taraiwa tarakihana.

I te Kura Tuarua o Rangiora, ara mai ana a Whetū hei kaiārahi o tana akomanga. Ko te tuhi ringapoto tētahi mahi kāore he mea hai rite ki a ia. Hau ana ōna rongo i te pae tuarima, mōna i patopato i te 240 kupu i te meneti – ko te tino tatanga tēnā ki te patohanga tere katoa o te ao.  Ka whaihua hoki ēnei pūkenga ka uru ana ia ki te whare pāremata – i ōna wā anō kua whakakapakapa mai i tāna anō tauira i tuhi ai o ngā kōrero i puta, ka tohe i te tika o ngā mauranga ōkawa. He whakatangitangi tōiri, whiranui anō hoki a Whetū i te rāngai puoro o te kura, ā, he mea tīpako ia mō te Rāngai Puoro Taiohi o Ōtautahi.

Nō te hūnukutanga o te whānau ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara i te tau 1949, ka haere a Whetū ki te Kāreti Kōhine ki te Rāwhiti o Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. Ka tū anō hoki hei tauira tātaki i reira. I te pae tuaono, ka hono a Whetū ki te karapu whakataetae hoari o te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria. Kāore i roa, kua noho ko ia tētahi o ngā wāhine tokowhā kei te keokeonga o te hoari whakataetae i Aotearoa. He wā anō i whāwhā ai ia i te mahi whakaatu weruweru me te hoahoa weruweru, taonga whakarākai tinana. I toa hoki i ētahi whakataetae o te motu mō te kanikani takirua ōkawa me te kanikani ‘Rātini’ o Amerika ki te Tonga.

Ōna rā hei pia tōrangapū

Ko āna āwhina utukore i tana matua tētahi mea i whakapakari i a ia mō tāna ake whai i te ara tōrangapū i muri. I a ia tonu i te kura, ka kawe tūao i ngā mahi a te hēkeretari, a te kairangahau mā te Kaunihera Arataki Māori me te Komiti Kaupapa-here Māori o te Rōpū Reipa. Tekau tau ia e hāpai ana i ēnei mahi. Ka kawea hoki e ia ētahi mahi hēkeretari mā ngā mema Māori e whā, ka haere anō i te taha o tana matua ki ōna anō hui ā-iwi me ētahi atu hui ōkawa. Nōna ka uru ki te Whare Pāremata, hai tāna, kua mōhio kē ia ki te tino nuinga o ngā whānau Māori kei te rohepōti o Te Tai Tonga.

I te tau 1949 ka haere a Whetū hei kaipatopato ringapoto i te Tari Matua o te Taua-ā-rangi o Aotearoa i Pōneke. Kāore i roa, kua whāia tōna rehe ki te ringapoto e ngā Kaikomihana Ratonga Tūmatanui mō ētahi komihana tūhura. I te tau 1951 ka whakawhitia atu i te Tari Matua o te RNZAF ki te Tari Tāpoinga Roera i Te Tari Taiwhenua, hei hēkeretari mā te kaiwhakataki tuarua o tētahi tāpoinga roera e whakaritea ana i tautaia wā. Nō te āmiotanga o Kuīni Erihāpeti II i te whenua nei mai i te Iwa o 1953 ki te Kahuru o 1954, ko Whetū tētahi o te ope ārahi o Aotearoa i haere i te taha o te tira kahurangi.  

Heoti anō, nā te taumaha o te pōkai whenua haere, ngā pōkaikahatanga o te mahi me te haere i waenga i te manomano tāngata, ka pāngia a Whetū e te kohi, ko te kuhunga atu tēnā ki te Hōhipera o Pōneke i te marama o Kai te Haere 1954. E whā tau ia e mātūtū ana, i te Whare Haumanu i Ōtaki mō tētahi wā, ā, i muri mai ki te kāinga o te whānau i Kaiapoi. I a ia e mātūtū ana, ka arotahi haere ki ngā mahi tauwhiro tangata, me te tū ake hei māngai mō ētahi atu tūroro.    

Kaitauwhiro tangata, manu kai i te mātauranga, manu taki i ngā kaupapa maha

Ka taka ki te tau 1958, he āpiha toko i te ora Māori a Whetū i Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, i raro i te Tari Māori. He āpiha tauwhiro tamariki anō hoki ki Rotorua, he āpiha takuhe pāpori ki Te Awakairangi, ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara anō hoki. E haere tonu ana āna mahi tūao mā ngā mema pāremata Māori, me te harangotengote i ētahi akoranga i te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria. Nō te tau 1961 ka whakawhiwhia ia ki tana Pōkairua Mātauranga Porihanga, ā, i te tau 1965 ka oti i a ia tana Tohu Paetahi, ko te Mātauranga Tōrangapū me ngā Whakahaere Rāngai Tūmatanui āna kaupapa matua. Ka tū hei perehitene tuarua mō ngā wāhine ki te rōpū whakahaere o te Huinga Tauira o te Whare Wānanga o Wikitōria (1960–61), ā, ko ia anō te tuatahi o ngā perehitene o Ngāi Tauira Māori o ngā Whare Wānanga o Aotearoa. I ēnei tūranga ka tohe ia kia whakaakona te reo Māori me ngā akoranga Māori ki ngā whare wānanga o Aotearoa. Nō te tau 1959 ka meahia a Whetū hei Paewai o te Pūtahi Roera mō te Mātai Tangata ki Peretānia Nui me Airana.

Ka tae ki te tau 1965, ko te whakawhiwhia ōna ki tētahi karahipi paerua i te Whare Wānanga ā-Motu o Ahitereiria i Kanapera. Tīmata ana i konā tāna tuhinga tohu kairangi mō te haere pātui o te Pāti Reipa me te Hāhi Rātana. Ka tūtaki a Whetū ki a Denis John Howard Sullivan, ko ia anō e whai ana i tōna tohu kairangi i Kanapera. Kāore anō kia pau noa te 1966, kua whiriwhiri te tokorua nei kia mārena rāua, me te whaiwhai haere tonu a tēnā, a tēnā i tōna ake ara mātauranga i tāwāhi. Heoti anō, i te tīmatanga o 1967 ka keremutua ngā mahi ako a Whetū i te matenga o tana pāpā. Tonoa ana ia kia hoki mai hei whakakapi mōna i te whare pāremata.

Te Hou atu ki te Whare Pāremata

Hoki tika mai ana, kōwhiria ana ko Whetū te tangata a Reipa ki te pōtitanga ā-rohe ka tū i te Kahuru Kai Paeka. Inā kē te rahi o te rohepōti o Te Tai Tonga, mai i Te Wairoa i te raki tutuki atu ki Rakiura i te tonga. Ka toa pai noa iho a Whetū i te pōtitanga. E 35 noa iho ōna tau, ā i tautaia wā rā, ko ia te wahine tamariki rawa kia pōtihia ki te Whare Pāremata o Aotearoa. I muri tonu i te pōtitanga ka hoki atu ia ki Ahitereiria, ka āta hono rāua ko Dennis i tētahi mārena iti i tū ki te tari rēhita o Kanapera i te 18 o Kahuru Kai Paeka. Riro ana ko Tirikātene-Sullivan hei ingoa mārena mōna.

I tana kauhau tuatahi ki te Whare Pāremata, ka āta whakamōhio atu a Whetū i reira ia ki te whawhai mō ngā take e pā nui ana ki te Māori. Hai tāna, ko tōna matua tōna hihiritanga, me tana āta tūtohu anō i ngā tītatahanga ohaoha-pāpori i waenga i te Māori me te Pākehā. Ka miramiratia anō hoki te hiranga o te whai a te Māori i te mātauranga, me te tahuri a ngā kaupapa-here kāwanatanga ki te kati i te rituatanga i te angitū o te iwi Māori me te iwi Pākehā.

I a ia ka tīmata i te Pāremata, kei te tara āpitihana o te whare. Ka kaha tonu tana whakahē i ētahi āhuatanga o te Ture Whakatika Take Māori 1967 e tātāhia rā e ngā ngutu o ētahi, he haukoti nō te ture nei i ngā mōtika o ngā Māori he whenua ō rātou. Ka tautoko anō hoki ia i te Poari Māori o Ngāi Tahu i tāna tohe i ētahi kōrero o te Pire Whakatika Āhuatanga Pōti o te 1969.

Mana wahine

I te tau 1967, tokoono ngā wāhine i te Whare Pāremata, ko Whetū nei tētahi o ngā wāhine Māori tokorua. Hohoro ana tana tohe i ētahi o ngā tikanga tamatāne o te Whare, tae atu ki te aukatinga o te wahine i te wāhi mō te manuhiri i te Whare me te wāhiinu Bellamy. E mea ana ia ko ngā whaea he tamariki nohinohi ā rātou, koia tētahi 23 ōrau o te taupori pakeke, nō reira e tika ana kia noho mai ētahi o tēnei hunga hei konohi ki te Whare mō ērā atu.

I te whānautanga mai o tana mātāmua, a May-Ana, i te 1970, ko Whetū te mema pāremata tuatahi kia whānau tamariki i te wā e huihui ana te Whare. He wiki torutoru noa iho, kua hoki a Whetū ki te mahi, me te tiaki anō i tana pēpē i tōna tari – he āhuatanga korekore nei i kitea i autaia wā. Nō te 1972 ka whānau mai tana tamāhine tuarua, a Lisa Marie, engari e toru  marama noa iho te pakeke, ka mate. Ka whānau mai tana tama, a Tirikatene (e kīia ana ko Tiri) i te tau 1974. I tautaia wā rā, he minita a Whetū, ā, e whakaarotia ana he tuatahitanga tērā mō tētahi minita i ngā Whenua Maru o Ingarangi. Nā ēnei mahi a Whetū, ka kite haere te motu he hanga māori noa iho te whai tahi a te wahine i te aramahi me te whakatipu tamariki; nāna i para te huanui mō ngā mema pāremata i muri i a ia, otirā mō ngā wāhine katoa o Aotearoa.

I ōna tau tuatahi i te whare pāremata, ka kōkiri a Whetū i te mana wahine i ētahi o ngā take e pā ana ki te wahine. Ka tae atu ia ki te whakarauikatanga a te Kotahitanga o ngā Whenua o te Ao mō te Tau Whakanui i ngā Wāhine o te Ao i tū ki Mehiko i te 1975, ā, ka tino mihia mōna i whakahē i ngā rāwekeweke tōrangapū i mukua atu ai ētahi tino take mana wahine i te rārangi o ngā mea kia mātua kōrerotia i tautaia hui. I te tau 1977 ka tātāhia e ia te Pire Tikanga Ārai Hapū, Tapahanga Ārai Hāpu, Whakatahe (e whakararu ana i te ara ki ngā ratonga whakatahe). Hai tāna, mā te āhei ki te whakatahe, ‘mā reira rawa e rite ai (ki te tāne) te wātea o te wahine ki te whai wāhi ki te porihanga’.2 Heoti anō, ka taka te wā, ka rerekē ōna whakaaro, he māharahara nōna i te tokomaha o ngā wāhine Māori me ō Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa e whai ana i te ara whakatahe. Ko Whetū tētahi o ngā wāhine ruarua ka tū ki te kōrero i te marae o Rātana i te wā o te pōwhiri. Waihoki, i a ia e tū ana hai Minita mō ngā Mahi Tāpoi, ko ia te wahine tuatahi kia tū ki te kōrero i te marae o Tūrangawaewae.

Te wahine Māori tuatahi kia uru ki te kāhui minita, 1972–1975

Nō te toanga o Reipa i te 1972, kopoua ana ko Whetū hei Minita mō ngā Mahi Tāpoi, hei Minita Tuarua mō te Toko i te Ora. Ko ia te wahine Māori tuatahi kia eke ki te tūranga minita. Ko te tikanga, mā tana pīkaunga toko i te ora, ka pai tana whakatinana haere i ngā take a Rātana e rite ai te mana ā-ture o te Māori, e whakatikahia ai ngā hē kua tau ki te Māori. Engari i te mutunga iho, uaua ana te whakangāueue i te minita, i a Norman King.    

I tana tū hei minita mō ngā mahi tāpoi, e whitawhita ana a Whetū ki te whakarerekē i te ahumahi tapoi e kawea nuitia ana e te tāne me te whakaaro tāne i autaia wā. Ka āta hapahapai ia i ngā mahi tāpoi o Aotearoa ake, ka whakatuwhera whare whakatairanga i ngā mahi tāpoi o Aotearoa ki Tōkio, ka akiaki hoki kia kaha te komohia atu o ngā toi o Aotearoa me ngā toi Māori ki ngā toa hokohoko manatunga. Nō te whakakeukeunga o te kāhui minita i te tau 1974, noho ana ko Whetū te Minita mō te Taiao mō tētahi tau.

Tōrangapū, tūranga pūeru

Mai rā anō te ngākaunui o Whetū ki te hoahoa me te tuitui weruweru. Ko te taera o ōna kākahu, kāore ōna ritenga i Aotearoa. Tū tārake ana a tuawahine ki te Pāremata, e mau ana ōna weruweru ātaahua rirerire, he tauira Māori ngā whakanikoniko. Me tana mōhio pai anō ki te kōrero tōrangapū e kawea ana e ōna kākahu. I te tau 1972 ka āta taunaki a Whetū rāua ko Denis i te tipu o te ao hoahoa kākahu Māori, he whakatū nō rāua i tētahi toa hoko weruweru ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, nō te ao Māori me Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa ngā awe hoahoa, nō Aotearoa ngā ringa waihanga.  

Me kōrero anō ngā pūeru o Whetū i te taenga atu o te hīkoi mō te whenua Māori ki te Pāremata i te tau 1975. Ko Whetū ki mua o ana hoa pāremata tū ai, wheriko ana te iri iho o tana kaka tapotu, he mea hoahoa nā Kura Ensor, he kōwhaiwhai te tohu nui o runga, ko te whero, te mā me te pango ngā kaikawe. He weruweru māia, nō te ao hou, nō te ao Māori pū anō, hei waitohu i te tū ngātahi ā-wairua o Whetū ki te ranga nei kua takahi i te nuku o te whenua. Kātahi anō ka whakamanaia te ture whakatū i te Taraipiunara o Waitangi, ā, ahakoa ko Whetū tētahi i āta whai wāhi ki te tārainga o te ture, e whakahē ana ia i te aronga whāiti o te ture ki ngā nawe anake mō ngā hē o te Karauna i muri i te tau 1975.

Ana mahi pāremata o te 1975–1996

I te 1975, ka riro anō a Reipa ki te paepae āpitihana o te Whare, ka noho tonu ki reira mō te toru pōtitanga. Ko Whetū te māngai mō ngā āhuatanga toko i te ora me te whānau, tae noa ki te 1980. Ka tohe ia kia nui ake ngā hōtaka me ngā kaupapa Māori i ngā mahi pāpāho, kia whakatūria he puni pouaka whakaata Māori, kia tika anō te whakahuatanga o ngā ingoa wāhi Māori. Nāna anō i huataki ētahi pire mema pāremata e whai ana kia āta whakamanatia te reo Māori i raro i te ture (nō muri ka ea tēnei i te pounga o te Ture Reo Māori 1987). Ko ia anō te tumuaki o te Komiti Kaupapa-here Māori o Reipa mai i te 1979 ki te 1986. Ka hōhā a Whetū i te korou kore, i te ngoikore o tana rōpū tōrangapū ki te hāpai i ngā mōtika o te tangata whenua i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Nō te aranga ake o te kāwanatanga Reipa tuawhā i te 1984, kāore a Whetū i whai tūranga minita. Heoti anō, ka kaha tonu tana kōkiri i ngā take e ngākaunuitia ana e ia: ko te tohe kia kuhuna he kōrero mō te Tiriti o Waitangi ki te Ture Hinonga Tūmatanui tēnā, ko te whakatairanga i ngā mahi whakamahere a te kāwanatanga ā-rohe tēnā, ko te whakatū ārai hei tiaki i ngā tauranga ika Māori anō tēnā. Ka hia tau ia ki te komiti whiriwhiri take Māori, ture pōtitanga, i puta ai he ture e whakaae ana kia pōti te Māori ki tōna wāhi i hiahia ai o roto i tōna rohepōti Māori.   

Ka mau tonu a Whetū ki ngā whakaaro o te hāhi Rātana, e mātua aro ana ki te iwi Māori whānui. Hai tāna, he mate kei roto i te mātua aro ki tēnā, ki tēnā iwi motuhake, he whakawehewehe. Nō reira ka pōraruraru ia i te waihanga hou a te kāwanatanga Reipa i te Tari Māori i ngā 1980, e tukua ai te mana whakahaere ki ngā iwi tonu mō ētahi āhuatanga ko te kāwanatanga kē te kaiwhakahaere i mua. Ka tū ngātahi ia ki ētahi rōpū pērā i Te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora me te hāhi Rātana, ka tohe kia āta whai wāhi a ngāi Māori kua kore e mōhio ki ō rātou whakapapa Māori ki te tukanga tōrangapū.  

Ka taka ki waenga o ngā 1980, ko tā te ao pāpāho whakaata i a Whetū i ētahi wā, me te mea nei kua rarata kē a ia, ina whakaritea ki ngā kaiwhakatūtū huru pango o ngā tāone nui. Whakaae ana a Whetū ehara ia i te ‘tangata whakarae’, engari ‘kei muri kē’ a ia e pukumahi ana.3 He mea whakarangatira ia e te kāwanatanga Nāhinara i te tau 1993 mō āna whakapaunga kaha i roto i ngā ngahuru tau, ka tukua ki te apārangi 20 tāngata e uhia ana ki Te Tohu Hiranga, te tohu whakamānawa taioreore o Aotearoa.

Te hononga ki a Ngāi Tahu

I ōna wā anō whēuaua ana, pūraurau ana ngā hononga o Whetū ki ētahi o ngā rangatira o tōna iwi o Ngāi Tahu. Kua ara mai he tētē hou o roto o Ngāi Tahu, me tō rātou whakaaro ko ētahi o ngā ture i tautokona e te pāpā o Whetū, e hē ana, he atawhai tātāmi nā te Karauna, he ‘whakamatua’, nō te ao kōhatu kē. I te tau 1969 ka petihana te Poari Māori o Ngāitahu kia whakakorea te Ture Whakataunga Kerēme o Ngāitahu 1944, engari ka titikaha te whakahē a Whetū. Hai tāna, e ui ana te petihana i te tika, i te mana o tōna matua.

Ka whakahē anō ia i te oke a te poari kia whakamanahia te iwi ā-ture nei i mua i ngā whiriwhiri whakataunga tiriti a Ngāi Tahu ki te Karauna i ngā 1990. Ahakoa te whakaae o te tino rahinga o Ngāi Tahu ki te Pire mō Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, ka tohe tonu a Whetū. Ki tāna, kāore i whai wāhi te katoa o te iwi ki te tārainga o te pire, kāore hoki i te kāhui hautū te mana ki te mahi i tā rātou e mahi ana. He rite tonu tana whakapuaki i ēnei whakahē i ngā tautohe pāremata me ngā whiriwhiringa komiti whāiti. Ka mea ā, ka kuhuna ētahi whakatika e ngata ai tōna ngākau. Ka tae ki te pānuitanga tuaruatanga o te pire, kīhai i whakahētia e Whetū. Hua mai ana ko Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu hei māngai mō te iwi. Heoti anō, ka whakatewhatewha tonu a Whetū i ngā mahi a te rangapū nei, ā mate noa.

I muri i ngā mahi tōrangapū

Ka tae ki te pōtitanga ā-motu o te 1996, kua tata te 30 tau o Whetū i te whare pāremata – te hua rā o ngā pōtitanga tekau. Heoti anō, koirā te tau i hinga ai ia, ahakoa tata, i te whakataetae mō tōna rohe. Riro ana tōna tūru, otirā ngā tūru Māori katoa ki a Aotearoa Tuatahi. Nō konei ka rītaia ia i te ao tōrangapū. Ko te hurumutunga tēnei o te 64 tau e kawe tāhuhu ana te whānau Tirikātene i ngā mahi pāremata. Engari nō te pōtitanga o te tau 2011, ka kawea ake anō e tana irāmutu, e Rino Tirikātene. Ka mutu te noho tautini a Whetū ki te Pāremata, ka wātea ake ia ki te aro ki tana whānau, ki tōna hauora anō. Heoti anō, ka mahi tahi tonu ki ētahi tāngata o tana rohepōti kua mōhio roa ō rātou whānau ki tōna. I te tau 2004, nō Whetū te reo karanga ki te Hīkoi mō te Takutai i te marae ātea o te Whare Pāremata – me he toaitanga o te hīkoi mō te whenua o te tau 1975. 

Nō te 20 o Hōngongoi ka mate a Whetū i te ikura roro, ki Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara. E 79 ōna tau. I runga anō i tāna i tono ai, ka tahuna tōna tinana i muri i tētahi karakia tūmataiti mō te whānau anake. Heoti anō, karapinepine mai ana te rau tāngata ki te karakia whakamahara tūmatanui i te 12 o te Whā hei whakanui i tōna oranga me āna mahi nui ki te ao. I tōna matenga, e ora tonu ana tana makau, ā rāua tamariki tokorua, me te kuku o tōna manawa – ngā mokopuna tokorua.

Kupu tāpiri
    • Keith Newman. Ratana revisited: an unfinished legacy. Auckland, 2006, p.416. Back
    • New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): 19 August 1977, vol. 412, p.2367. Back
    • Lesley Lundy. ‘First woman on bench likes sewing, cooking and gardening’, New Zealand Woman’s Weekly, 6 October 1975, p.5. Back
Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Helen Brown. 'Tirikātene-Sullivan, Tini Whetū Marama - Tirikatene-Sullivan, Tini Whetu Marama ', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2018. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/6t6/tirikatene-sullivan-tini-whetu-marama (accessed 29 March 2024)