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Pipiwharauroa He Hokinga Whakaaro
Helen Pomana
e manaaki ana tētahi i tētahi. Koinei te tohu o te kaha o te iwi ki te mahi tahi, kai tahi, moe tahi i raro i ngā manaakitanga a te Runga Rawa.
I heke mai i ngā kāwai rangatira o Rangitukia Whakatōhea me Te Whānau a Kai. I whānau i te tau 1958 ka haere ki te kura o Patutahi.
Tekau ma tahi rātou ko ana tūakana, tungāne teina i pakeke mai i te whārua o Waituhi i raro i te maru o te maunga o Ōkahuatiū. I pakeke mai i te awa kaukau o Waipāoa, i te marae o Takitimu. He maha ngā tamariki i pakeke mai i Waituhi nō reira mā te rua pahi rātou e kawae ki te kura ia rā, ia rā. Ka oho ake i te ata, ko te awa te kāinga mai i te whitinga o te rā ki te tōnga o te rā. Ko ngā kai tipu noa i te whenua ngā kai. Ka hamuhamu kanga haere ka tunu i te awa.
Ko tana Kōka Charlotte te kaiwhāngai i a rātou ka matekai ana rātou. Ehara i te mea kāre ā rātou kai i te kāinga engari he tata ake te whare o Kōka Charlotte ki te awa me te mea hoki ko ia te tuatahi ki te whiwhi pouaka whakaata. Te tuatahi ki Waituhi. Ka muia te kāinga o Kōka Charlotte e te mahi a te tamariki ara ki te mātakitaki i tana pouaka whakaata. Ahakoa nō wai te whare ka peka ayu mātou ka whāngaihia. Koira te tikanga o te whārua me te maumahara anō hoki, ki te mahi hē koe, ka whakatikatikahia koe e aua kōka. Ka pakeke haere ahau ka mauria ahau ki te taone kura ai ara ki Elgin. Engari i hoki mai anō ahau ki Waituhi, ka haere ki te kura Tuarua o Tūranga. Tekau ma waru aku tau ka mutu mai taku kura ka moe ahau i taku tāne i a John Pōmana ka puta a māua tama ko Brent rāua ko Jaime. Kua puta he mokopuna he tuarua hoki. Āe, ngā whetu o taku ao. He tāngata marae mātou. Ahakoa he aha kei te marae, ka kii mai tō mātou māmā kia haere ki te āwhina, ki te tautoko. I te tīmatanga o te whakatū i te wharenui akiakinga mātou e Tupai kia teretere te hanga he aitua nui kei te haere mai. E rua marama ka tūtū ngā pakitara, ka oti te tuanui ka kii ano ia, “Whakairi he kuaha, he wini, kaua e maharahara ko te mea nui kia kapi ngā puare. Arā, me pāpāti noa. I te mutunga ka tīmata te āwha, ara ko Bola tēra. Karawhiuwhiu ana te ua. Kāre i roaka waipuke, te tohu a Parawhenuamea. Ko taku pāpā te whakatenetene ki te hiki ki te marae. Kua tae kē te wai ki tana moenga, mahara ka nuku, auare ana. Heoi ano ko taku māmā, tere tonu rāua ko tana mokopuna te whakawātea kei mau mai i te waipuke. Nā Willie taku tungāne i tō mai he poti mō tana pāpā, me tana ki atu ,” he caravan tōu kei te marae” Katahi anō taku pāpā ka nuku. Kore a ia i pīrangi ki te moe i waenga i te huhua. Huri rawa ake ahau ki te piki ki te marae kua ngaro katoa te whenua i te wai. Tino mataku ana. I te marae ka kitea te noho tahi a te whānau o Waituhi. Tata ki te ono marama e nohotahi ana,
George Tūpara, me mātou ana tauira
The Waipaoa River in flood during Bola
Ko tētahi mahi ko te whakaemi pūtea mo ngā marae. Ara ko te purei kāri, purei wharewhare me te hokohoko rāwhara. Ka emi katoa ngā whānau ki te marae ki te āwhina. Ētahi ōna kaumātua ngā toki o mua te kaha ki te mahi māhunga, noho taiepa, ara atu. Ko te kai hāngi taku korōria. I ēnei mahi kua kitea ngā whānau tino kino mo te tunu. Keke, ki te hanga kākahu. Ka puta katoa o rātou pūkenga. Kei runga noa atu.
I was born here in Gisborne in 1958. There were eleven of us children in my family and I was one of a twin, sadly my twin sister passed a few years back. We lived an easy life and were happy. Our grandmother on Mum’s side lived close to us and she had some of us children living with her in her little house. She had come back to Waituhi after my granddad Reid passed away in Rangitūkia when he was only in his early thirties. She was a Teka, born and bred in Waituhi and married the eldest of the Reid whānau which meant that our Mum Julia was highly regarded by her cousins. Mum was a humble person and her cousins from Rangitūkia paid her the utmost respect when she died. It was really beautiful the way they performed the funeral rituals while she was lying in state. A real Ruahine send off.
Nō te tau 1985 ka tīmata te Kōhanga Reo o Takitimu. He nui ngā kaumātua o taua wā hei awhi, hei poipoi i ngā mokopuna. Ahakoa kua ngaro rātou, kua kati te kōhanga ko ngā mokopuna kei te kawe i te reo.
My Dad Francis Jones was from Whakatōhea and his mum lived in a two storey house on the Waioeka straight. Her father was Billy Oates from Opotiki who was a cabinet maker and also made coffins.
Ko taku mahi i nāianei ko te tiaki kaumātua i o rātou kāinga. Ia ata i te ono karaka ka haere ahau ki te horoi, ki te whāngai ki te whakatikatika i o rātou whare katahi kahaere ki tētahi atu. He tino pai ki ahau tēnei mahi. Ka aroha ki a rātou, ka noho mokemoke, ka hiahia hoa hei korero ki a rātou. Ahakoa taku hiahia ki te noho ki te korero kāre e taea e ahau, nā te mea he tangata anō kei te tatari mai ki ahau.
Like many couples my Dad met Mum at a dance, they used to have dances at every Marae back then. My parents were hard working and we frequently had to look after ourselves while they were away working but that was fine. We were out a lot and never knew fear, hunger, cold or pain. We swam unsupervised all day and during my time no one drowned. We were out there from first thing in the morning until late at night. Even though there was always food in our cupboards at home it was more fun to grab fruit from the local orchards and vegetables from the gardens and cook and eat them down at the river. We could also just walk into Aunty Charlotte’s house and she would feed us. In fact we could call in to any house along Lavenham road for a kai and that also gave the whānau in the homes the right to tell us off when we did something wrong.
John Pomana me Helen
He maha ngā huawhenua me ngā huarākau te tipu haere noa. Ki te kore, ana, kua peka ki te kāinga o tētahi o ngā kōka, ana kua whāngaihia rātou.
Ko te kemu ngakaunuitia e Waituhi ko te haki. Ahakoa kāre noa he papa tākaro o Waituhi ka haere rātou ki ngā pātiki paopao poro haereai. E hia taima te tīma e toa ana. Tino taikaha ngā wāhine ki te whakataetae. E kore e piko. Ka purei rātou i te taone ki ngā kura me ngā tīma hoki o Hīruharama ara Te Aowera me Paikea. Tino kaha ēnei tīma ki te purei engari a te mutunga atu Kotahi noa ka toa. Koinei te korōria o Waituhi.
He nui i piro, he nui auare ake. Ko te whakataetae nui ko te whakataetae Māori mo te Hiira o Te Hanakoniwa. E toru rā rātou e karawhiuwhiu ana mo te mate tonu atu.
I ēnei wā kei te hahau poro ahau. Korowhā! Koinei te kemu tino kaingakautia ana e ahau, nō reira koinei ahau. Ngā mihi nui mo te tau hōu. Noho ora mai.
Aunty Charlotte Tuhou’s house was the place to be in those days because she had a black and white television set. Looking back now at our little house and how we live today, I wonder how we managed to fit. But we did because our Mum always cared. That was her motto, feed the hungry, care for anyone with nothing but most of all she made sure the Marae was open to anyone who needed a place for the night such as the drovers who went through Lavenham Road. They put their stock into holding paddocks and she sent them to the marae for the night. Phoebe taku māhanga, Hinty taku tuakana, ko ahou, tō mātau māmā Julia
Water levels during Bola were like this throughout areas of the district
I remember going to Sunday school with Mr and Mrs Krull of the Open Brethren Church. It was good because we all got lollies after the service. But I don’t remember any Ringatū movement when I was younger, only Mr Krull. However every Wednesday night we went up to Uncle Paruru Kaa’s home for church. I first remember Ringatū gatherings when Uncle Mala, then Rangi Haenga and Boy Tuhou started them off. Of course John got hooked then we had a large following of Ringatū. My Mum was open to all religions. Even though we were Anglican we attended all different services and she always encouraged us to do so.