Te Kopara 10
[1] Te Kopara, Number 10, Gisborne, July 1914.
‘Iti te Kopara, kai takirikiri ana i runga i te Kahikatea.’
Although the Bellbird is small, he plucks at the Kahikatea. [cf Nga Pepeha 908]
THE OPENING OF THE NEW TE ARAWA CHURCH.
On 14th April, 1914, the new Bishop of Waiapu and the country’s tribes came to Ohinemutu for the opening of the new church and the Hui Topu of the Diocese of Waiapu.
The names of the Tribes that came to Ohinemutu.
Ngatikahungunu
Ngatiraukawa
Ngatiwhatua
Ngatimaru
Rarotonga
Ngaitai
Te Whanau Apanui
Te Whakatohea
Matatua
Tuhoe
Ngaiterangi
Rongowhakaata
Porourangi
Whanganui
And the many hapu of Te Arawa.
Te Arawa and the Tribes welcome the Bishop.
On Thursday 16th at 10 o’clock in the morning the new Bishop of Waiapu was welcomed to Te Papaiouru, Ohinemutu, along with his fellow clergy, Archdeacon Herbert Williams of Gisborne and Arthur Williams representing Heretaunga. Their escort was Archdeacon [Tihitara] of Rotorua. As they neared the marae the people came out to welcome them. Te Arawhata recited the following powhiri:
Put everyone aboard, put everyone aboard,
Put all the tribes of the country aboard Te Arawa, floating here.
Swing your paddles down, swing your paddles skywards.
His tribe is exalted, his canoe is raised up.
Aue, aue, aue, ha.
Haul the canoe!
The canoe to the resting place!
The canoe to where it will sleep!
The canoe to the place where it will lie!
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After the powhiri the Bishop and his companions sat in the porch of Tama-te-kapua to listen to the greetings and the speeches to them which were translated into English by Pererika Peneti.
Henare M Amohau (Arawa)
Bishop, we welcome, we welcome, we welcome you, our shepherd. Come to help your flock; if it should be that some of the fences of your sheepfold have been broken here. But I know that you will not find any broken fences in this part of your Maori flock. The reason why the fences of this part of your Maori flock survive is the ability of the carers who do not sleep day or night. I and the Maori Church are indebted to the Pakeha people for they brought the Gospel to the Maori People. Therefore, our new Bishop, welcome.
Wi Hapi (Arawa)
To the new Bishop, welcome, the Father of the Church in this generation, to encourage, to raise up the banner of the faith. Here we are sitting here, we the descendants of our parents whom embraced the faith. There are also, sitting beside you, the descendants of the first missionaries who brought the faith to these areas, the descendants of Mr Williams. They were the ones who planted the first seeds of the faith and nurtured them and spread abroad these three great things – Hope, Faith and Love, things which each person has acquired.
Rev R Te Awekotuku (Arawa)
To the new Bishop, welcome. Our hearts and souls rejoice that you have come to us. I also salute the descendants of Mr Williams and the great work done by their ancestors, work they continue to this day.
Te Tumu (Arawa)
At this time our thoughts go back to the work our forebears did in former times for now there has been raised up the fruit of their work, of their faith, the new church which stands here. Therefore, welcome, new Bishop.
Te Wheoro Poni (Arawa)
Ka rukuruku tu u, te wanawana tu u, te wanawana tu u, te whakaokorau; wera hoki ra Tangaroa ihutu, i tawhaki ai tu u:
Mau tiina, mau rupe, mau whana, mau whakaturia te rangi e tu u nei.
Rukutia te kiato o Tane ka whena, rukutia te kiato o Tane ka whena, rukutia nga tangata ka whena,
ko Tu u ki taha maui, ko Rongo ki taha katau.
Mau tiina, mau rupe, mau whana, mau whakaturia te rangi e tu u nei.
Rukutia te kiato o Tane ka whena, rukutia te kiato o Tane ka whena, rukutia nga tangata ka whena,
ko Tu u ki taha maui, ko Rongo ki taha katau.
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Welcome Bishop to the birth of this child. For six years the mother of this child has been in labour and on this day it is born. Yes, a boy is born or a girl, and the mother may live or die. Welcome, Bishop. May God protect you.
Keepa Waata (Arawa)
New Bishop, welcome. Come to see the faith of Te Arawa as revealed by this new church standing here, a witness to the faith and a sign of the great work of the Spirit of God in the heart of each person.
Mohi Te Atahikoia (Heretaunga)
You, Te Arawa, have the honour of being the first to welcome our new Bishop. Many tribes have come to our marae from every part of our Diocese. Therefore, we, the tribes that have come have not come to blow our own trumpets but to support Te Arawa, as Te Wheoro Poni says, to further the work Te Arawa has done on their church. So people from my area, from Ngatikahungunu have come. Greetings, Bishop.
Hori Aterea (Tuhoe)
We welcome the new Bishop. I stand before this gathering like a new-born child. I, Tuhoe, was in the womb of my mother, caught up in mistaken ways. Now I have been born and have seen the wonderful light. And so I am here gazing upon you, the new Bishop. Therefore come to help me, to feed me, so that I may live and that my body and soul may be satisfied and I shall be strengthened to fight against the world, the flesh and the devil.
Otene Paora (Ngatiwhatua)
He spoke of the situation of the Maori and the Pakeha as regards the expressions and the progress of the faith. As he saw it the situation of the Pakeha was one of great weakness while that of the Maori People was one of great strength – ‘I speak about Auckland.’
Otene (Torere)
To the new Bishop, welcome. We salute you with great sincerity. And I am very glad that I came to this hui in your presence and that of the descendants of Mr Williams who are with you. Mr Williams was a Bishop I liked very much. However, in this hui we have many people from all parts and we are all now sitting together, a sign of the unity within our Church.
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Tauha Nikora (Opotiki)
I who stand here am part of Te Arawa, but because of mistakes and foolishness I fell away during the activities and events of 1865. Now I have returned to take up the work of our faith. I was deceitfully lured away into the ignorant doings of the Ringatu, now here I am seeking the way of faith and of truth.
Wharehuia (Galatea)
I salute the new Bishop and express the hope that you will be like our previous Bishop, Averill, in showing goodness and love to the Maori People. And also my heartfelt hope that you will seek out us, those tribes that live in desert places.
Waikai Maoate (Rarotonga)
I who stand in your presence am of the same colour as the Maori people sitting here, for, although I come from a different island, I know that I am the same. Bishop, although he is your Lord, he is ours too – although he is your God he is ours as well. Although Christians in various places are separated there is but one God over all of us. Therefore I am very happy that I have come to the opening of this church.
Wiremu Hona (Whakatane)
My heart salutes you, the new Bishop. You have come to confirm the good work and the remarkable achievements of Bishop Averill amongst the Maori People. Therefore I earnestly commit myself to praying to God that his blessing may rest upon you as I prayed for Bishop Averill.
Herora (Tauranga)
I am very pleased that I have come to this hui to see you, our new Bishop, and I am also delighted that I have seen the descendants of the Williams family who preached the Gospel in these parts.
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THE NEW BILL ON THE LIQUOR VOTE.
On Tuesday, 21st July, Parliament will deal with this Bill. If this Bill is passed then there will be a single vote by the whole Dominion for the Prohibition or the Continuance of Liquor Sales and there will be no votes for separate areas as in past years. In the proceedings on the Bill in Parliament three of the Maori Members opposed it and only Apirana T Ngata supported it.
Critical Telegrams.
Critical telegrams were sent by some of the members of the Te Aute Students’ Association, now known as The Maori Party of the New World, to those three for going over to the side that opposes the new Bill. Te Rangihiroa and Parata have not responded to the critical telegrams addressed to them. Only Pomare has replied to the telegram sent to him. These are the telegrams followed by the replies.
‘These members of the Maori Party of the New World and others committed to advancing our Maori People are sorry to see that you have voted to defeat the new Bill about the Liquor Vote. By doing so you are opposing the objectives of our Party. We remain hopeful that you will change your minds in the remaining two votes.’ (Signed: Wi Paraire Rangihuna)
The telegram in reply from Pomare.
‘You have got caught up in sadness. Every year the sale of liquor brings £950,000 into the Dominion. Are you agreeing that Maori lands be taxed to make up for that money that will be lost if alcohol is prohibited; would you approve of the setting-up of illegal breweries; do you agree with doing away with intoxicating wine in churches; do you agree with increasing the illegal sale of liquor; do you agree that our Dominion should be an exhibition to outsiders who will say that if alcohol is prohibited then this strange country does not trust its own people in this matter to drink sensibly this beverage – alcohol?’ (Signed) Pomare.
Response to the telegram.
‘I am surprised at the flimsiness of your reasons. The tax that is striking down the Maori now is the alcohol weapon. There are illegal breweries in existence now and perhaps they will continue to exist if alcohol is prohibited but the bad effects will be nothing like those seen now when alcohol is allowed. There would be no problem in having a law allowing the use of wine in churches. The same can be said of a law allowing the use of alcoholic drinks medically on the prescription of the doctor. Perhaps you are forgetting that New Zealand is not the only country seeking to prohibit alcohol since nine of the large States of America have absolutely prohibited this ‘food’ and many of the countries of Europe are almost ‘dry’. There is nothing wrong with these members of the Association being saddened by those actions of yours.’ (Signed) Wi Paraire Rangihuna.
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Pomare’s answer.
‘I am happy that you agree with the things I have set out but I am sorry that I am not able to congratulate you. You have not answered a single one of my questions. I asked you if this thing was wicked in itself or only in reference to beer for if it is wicked then it is not right for it to be drunk in churches. How do you make a distinction between Christ’s miracle when he made wine and also the recommendation to ‘take a little wine for your stomach’ and the total prohibition of alcohol? And let me not forget the nine states in America. I have visited all those places and I observed there that it is indeed the case that the bad things spoken of did happen when alcohol was prohibited. I am not afraid to vote on the basis of what my heart thinks and the understanding that has been given to me. I will not be carried away by the ideas of another person.’ (Signed) Pomare.
Reply to this Telegram.
‘Not a single person would condemn the drinking of alcohol in accordance with the law as laid down, but what are to be condemned are the afflictions that result from the demands of the throat. It is right that ways should be sought to avoid these afflictions. It is remarkable that you visited the nine states of America because before you were living there the first six went dry and it is only in the last two years that the number has gone up to nine.’ (Signed) Wi Paraire Rangihuna.
Pomare’s Reply.
‘Your attack that you make on me is the kind of thing done by a ill-motivated person like you, and to be silent and to deride is the proper response to such thinking.’ (Signed) Pomare.
There are some other telegrams but we stop here because Te Kopara doesn’t have the strength to carry them. Perhaps we should stop because my friend Pomare has become very angry. It would have been better had he remained silent at the beginning like Te Rangihiroa and Parata; but those two are well-informed and truthful people.
A DEATH FROM TE RAU
On Thursday, 9th of this month (July), Wiremu Taratana entered upon the long sleep. This young man was from Kaikohe, Ngapuhi. He was nineteen when he died. He was made much of by his parents who sought to bring him up as a man who would take his place amongst the chiefs, and to fulfil this hope they agreed to send their son to Te Rau College, the school for ministers. When the college started last March he arrived. He had been studying for three months when his life and the hopes of his parents and his tribes were cut off.
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The pain and the sorrow felt by all the people of Te Rau were unrestrained. They were distressed because he was a man who showed goodness and gentleness and humility and generosity to people, as well as a whole-hearted commitment to the work placed in his hands by his parents and his tribes. Secondly, similar distress was felt by the people of the College who had great affection for him because of the characteristics spoken of above. He participated in their entertainments and we saw his goodness and his pleasantness; there was no anger of any sort in him. The thing that was most distressing was that he was ill for such a short time before his life was cut off, and his student friends were not present when his eyes closed and they were not able to say their farewells to him, nor was he able to speak to them. His illness was typhoid fever; he was eleven days in the Gisborne Hospital before he died. When he entered the hospital his thoughts began to be confused, he did not recognize people, and he could only blink his eyes. It was heart-rending when his father arrived. When he arrived it was not known when he would return. However he determined to wait until the day of his death. But unexpectedly his son recognized him and tried to talk but the illness confused his speech and it was not clear. On the evening the young man died his father was invited to join the people of the College so that they could weep with him, the father of their friend and younger or older brother in the Lord. The people of the School did not neglect to grieve for their friend and his father as if he were one of the remnant slain in a far country. After supper the formal speeches and farewells by the people of the School continued. All were involved in the speeches and farewells. The stabbing pain meant that not one did not want to express his distress. They had many things to make clear to the father since the gnawing of the pain was very great like the edge of a sword piercing the side. But he is a very patient man, a man who had thought things through; this was seen in his ability to subdue his suffering heart, his sorrowing heart. Some other people in the circumstances might have been disheartened or beaten down. What was life-enhancing for the people of the School was to see him putting a brave face on things even though they knew that inside he was suffering the ravages of pain.
He is conveyed to the College.
On the Friday evening the body was placed in the metal coffin; outside this was the beautiful wooden coffin. It was then carried to the College to lie there. When it arrived there a tent had been erected by the men of the School who were waiting to receive their dead one. When it was set down the weeping and speeches began.
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Then they were able to conclude their lamenting. For two nights the College’s dead one lay amongst them. People did not sleep but watched over the body; all took part in the vigil.
On the Saturday morning the students of the School expressed their love for their younger or older brother by spreading three Maori cloaks over the coffin, and by planting a decorative Pakeha flower in the grass as an unfading memorial together with a card containing the inscription:
‘The people of the school have placed here this token of their love for their friend, Wiremu Taretana, who died on 9th July, 1914.
“Our friend has departed,
Been taken to heaven;
Leaving us behind to weep.
Have pity on us.”’
The Body is taken to Ngapuhi.
After the death of his son, the father asked the elders of the College to allow him to take the body with him and, if they were willing, to urge the doctor and the Health Inspector not to retain the body on the grounds that death was caused by typhoid fever. Mr Chatterton made every effort to forward this matter out of love for the father of the deceased and the family at home and as a result of his persistence permission was granted. His assistant, Wi Paraire Rangihuna, he sent as a companion with the father to take the body. At half-past one on the Sunday their ship sailed and at twelve noon on the Tuesday they arrived at Kaikohe, the deceased’s home. Ngapuhi expressed unbounded appreciation to the School and to all the tribes of the country represented at Te Raukahikatea for the welcome given to their representative, their face, at that place. The important thing for Ngapuhi was that the body of their child was returned home even though he had no longer the breath of life in him.
The Actions of the Tribe that Walks in the Light.
Had it been a different tribe things may have been done differently and other ways used of clearing away part of the grief by harsh and wicked utterances. But Ngapuhi, being enlightened, said that it was good that he had died and was in the hands of God. And Ngapuhi also said that had their child not been returned to his own place that would have cut off the way to the College; as it was that way is still open. It is not possible to speak of all the kindnesses of Ngapuhi but the myriads and thousands of good wishes are heaped up in one’s heart. It was the noble idea of the mother and father of the young man and of all Ngapuhi and also of their minister that he should be buried by Wi Paraire Rangihuna. It was thought that
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because he had closed the eyes of their child he should also perform the final acts over him, committing him to the bowels of the earth. Thank you, Ngapuhi, for welcoming your elderly father and our representative whom we sent along with your son, who was also our younger and elder brother in the Lord.
May his Spirit give you understanding and support you who are living with this great sorrow. This article has been written by those who had the oversight of our friend.
NEWS OF FIGHTING.
During the closing days of this month (July) we received news of fighting between Austria and Serbia. These are not very large kingdoms but there is anxiety lest their activity extends to all parts of the world and other major powers are drawn into their fighting. Their dispute is a dispute about land; Austria is critical of Serbia for making a claim to a very large area following the war last year against Turkey, parts they have no right to take but which by right should be divided between it and some other nations which have a claim. According to some explanations Austria is envious and it wants to stop the expansion of the Kingdom of Serbia. Serbia demanded that Austria open up for it access to the sea so that it would have the benefits of the sea but Austria would not. The aim of this refusal on the part of Austria is to restrict Serbia’s breath of life. It is thought that this will be a major conflict. If it does grow and spread to all parts then this will be the line-up:
Austria, Germany, Italy v Serbia, Russia, France, England
England has the most power to suppress this war and bring it to an end, that is, to bring it to a peaceful end.
RULES OF THE PAPER.
1. Te Kopara is published monthly.
2. The subscription for the paper is five shillings (5/-) a year paid by postal note or stamps.
3. Anyone wishing to take Te Kopara should send the money with the covering letter.
4. Articles are welcome from all parts of the country, but the Editor reserves the right to decide on what to print. Write clearly.
5. Address all letters to:
Te Kopara,
Te Rau,
Gisborne.
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A NOTICE
To those wanting a Prayer Book or Hymn Book. I now have plenty of books. The prices are:
Large, soft cover 2/6
Large, red cover 3/-
Large, hard cover 4/-
Large, superior cover 5/6
Small, soft cover 1/-
Small, red cover 1/6
Small, hard cover 2/6
Small, superior cover 3/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, soft cover 1/6
Prayer Book with Hymns, red cover 1/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, hard cover 3/-
Prayer Book with Hymns, superior cover 4/-
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, red cover, 3/6
Prayer Book, New Testament and Hymns, superior cover, 5/6
Hymns 6d
Words for the Prayerful Heart 3d
I will pay the postage to send the books to you
H W Williams,
Naurea, Gisborne
People wanting a Bible or a New Testament should apply to the Bible Depository Sunday School Union, Auckland.
Bible, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 1/-.
New Testament with explanatory headings. 2/6, 3/-, 4/6. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
Small New Testament with the Psalms. 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/-. Enclose a postage stamp for 3d.
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