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Pipiwharauroa He Raumahara - I Whakaaronuitia
would cough to let us know he was watching us. When we came out with our mates we used to try and lose Dad but we never could. At aged 15 and 14 after attending Hatearangi Native School, a schoolteacher there at the time took Kath and me to Wellington to what we thought was to further our education, but in fact we were put to work helping in a private home where I worked until I started my nursing career at 17 years old.
Tokomaru Bay always held a special place in my heart but I never lived there again because whilst The farm in Mangahauini Valley at Tokomaru Bay as it is today I was living in Wellington, my parents moved my the wood and fixing the fences. I caught the horse in family to Manutuke.” the mornings before we went to school to round up the cows to be milked ten and after school. Dad was Paddy and Nellie Hokianga (front left) at their wedding. Photo Another of Wiremu’s daughters, Merekaraka Te very strict, once he showed us kids what and how to taken outside Toko Toru Tapu Chuch, 3rd May 1952 Rerehorua passed on to her daughter some brief do something we had to remember as he had a very recollections of her father before she passed away heavy boot which we never forgot as, not only once, seven years ago. but quite a few times we copped the end of it. I was about seven years old when Dad died so I really don't know much about him. What I do remember My father spoke to me in Māori giving me a love Living on the farm at Tokomaru Bay there were though is he would always take my younger brother of Te Reo which I continued to speak throughout always heaps of jobs to do especially during the Hemi and me on his cart to get fire wood at George my life. I remember working with her sisters, Emily shearing seasons. We helped Dad chase the sheep into Browns beach and stack it when we got home. I and Kathy in his huge garden on our property in the yards and had a lot of fun trying to ride on them. remember riding the horse Blighty when he used the Mangahauini Valley planting out and harvesting We had fowls and pigs which we had to make sure to weed the garden with some contraption that mārakai and gaining skills that I used later in were fed. We also had a marakai and an orchard of the horse pulled; I think it was called a scarifier. I life when I founded the community gardens at fruit trees. While Dad and my brothers Bill and Tom don't know how old I was when, at the table having Mangaere, Auckland. I remembered him riding his worked on preparing the ground for planting I had dinner, I reached out for the bowl of jam. He hit me white horse which he also used to pull our cart to to do the smoko starting off boiling the water in a on the hand with his fork and told me to sing out take us to church and that he was very religious billy over a made up fire. Roma tea leaves were used for it, so I sung “Mary had a little lamb...” Well you taking karakia at the Marae. For me our valley was to make the tea and I made corned beef sandwiches can guess what he did to me after that. Today I am the ‘centre of the universe’ and I have passed that with butter and onions that had a smoky taste. 70 years old and a lot wiser. I remember Dad always sentiment onto my children. sitting on the veranda with his army coat over his Money was scarce and even though we went without shoulders. If he was not there he would be on his Keriana (Kath) Pohatu: a lot of things and had to make do with what we had bed near the open fire place in the sitting room. He there was always food on the table, Dad made sure fed us a lot on fish heads and when he died Mum I was named after my father’s mother Keriana and of that. Mum and Dad sung some awesome waiata brought us younger ones up on corned beef stew, really love my Dad and my Mum, she was quite a together before going to sleep and I remember the corned beef stew and corned beef stew. The only bit younger than him. He was a lovely man, very first ever movie my Dad took me to see was Nellie time we had a change from corned beef stew was kind and very religious. He spoke Māori most of Kelly, a musical comedy on my ninth birthday. when she would go into town once a month on her the time. I went everywhere with him on the farm benefit to do her monthly shopping and she would in the Mangahauini Valley on a horse and helped Lena Riki remembers her father being a gently spoken bring home a big parcel of fish, sausages and chips. him with his work like getting manuka for firewood person who rarely said much but was always available We would all have a big feed and then back to good that he sold. We lived in a big old farm house that to whaikōrero (speak) on his local Marae. ole corned beef stew. sadly burnt down but he replaced it with a smaller place.
Heneriata Whakataka Nellie Hokianga, nee Kouka who now lives in Manutuke was born on 1 November 1935 at Tokomaru Bay and grew up in Maungahauini Valley. I am one of my Mum and Dad’s 16 children, most of us were brought up in a two bedroom house which Dad built on an extra room to house all of us tamariki. We also had a kauta with a Raupo and Manuka thatched roof, sheets of corrugated iron on the walls, a dirt floor and a big fire place which was used to cook our meals. There were always a couple of big pots or dixies hanging on hooks over the fire to heat the water. Dad took us for our lessons firstly in the kauta and there was always a strap or a stick handy if we didn’t listen. Once the extra room was built on the house we moved our lessons into there as the kauta was really smoky and stuffy. We all had our chores to do and look out if you didn’t listen or do what we were told to do. I learnt a lot from my Dad and I remembered all that he taught me, it certainly came in handy when I got married. He named me Tomboy as I did all the boy’s jobs like chopping
We were not well off and I enjoyed going with him to many occasions at the Marae in Manutuke as there we experienced the luxury of eating round wine biscuits. Christmas for us was the usual hangi hakarai with the all its normal trimmings like stuffed chicken, pork, kumara, pumpkin and so on, yum. The specialty of Christmas was eating Madeira cake and jelly. Our special treat was blackball lollies.
Wiremu is survived by nine of eighteen children from Maira Te Oriki and Maani (Ani) Paku Taiapa and many many mokopuna. Pīpīwharauroa sincerely thanks and acknowledges the members of the Kouka Whānau who have contributed their research and memories making for a lovely story about a very interesting man, his contribution to rugby, the war, his community and his family.
Due to our mixed farm there was always an abundance of fresh fruit. Taken at Kouka Whānau renion in Tokomaru Bay. Aorere, Te Atakura and Apiranga Meat was in plentiful supply like Pewhairangi with their Mum and Dad Mr Tu chicken, pork, beef and lamb. We even and Mrs Irene Pewhairangi had our own seperator to make milk! When in season, watermelon and grapes were always delicious. Of course, Dad was always handy in getting Bibliography: a supply of eels. Yes, our table was always laden and Dairy Exporter, Elaine Bell April 2014 we were spoiled in that respect because we lived off Mulholland Malcolm, ‘Beneath the Māori Moon’ Huia Publishers 2009 the fat of the land. Kia ora! Anaru Rongowhakaata Kouka was born in 1944 and he was quite young when his father died but does still have a few memories of him.
Te Whānau ā Wiremu Kouka rāua Ani Taiapa me ngā whānau Maira Te ōriki Rāwhira hoki me ngā mokopuna katoa
Poverty Bay Herald 1913 Ngā tamariki katoa ā Wiremu Kouka Ngā mokopuna katoa ā Wiremu Kouka Ngā Tama Toa: The Price of Citizenship and Many thanks to Mr Andrew Kouka Sr. for all his research