Te Taua Whakaora | Te Ope Whakaora

The Salvation Army commenced ‘work’ among the Māori in 1888. It was officially announced in The War Cry of 16 June 1888 under the descriptor ‘Te Taua Whakaora’. Support for this 'work' had been requested the previous week, 9 June 1888. Use of Te Taua Whakaora lasted more than a year - the descriptor then changed to ‘Te Ope Whakaora’ as titled in The War Cry of 26 October 1889 pg5.

'Te taua whakaora' meaning 'the same healing' or 'the same recovery'.

The War Cry 9 June 1888 pg1.

The War Cry 16 June 1888 pg2.

The War Cry 9 November 1889 pg3.

Adjutant Holdaway wearing a guernsey with the words Te Taua Salvation.

'Te ope whakaora' meaning 'the rescue force' or as used by The Salvation Army 'the army that brings life'. (Whakaora means 'save')

However, it is interesting to note that in The War Cry of 13 October 1888, referring to Commandant Herbert Booth campaigning in Auckland, 'The Maori Contingent' were described in this way: Everybody roll up for The March! Clear the way! the Maori contingent"Te Ope Whakaora".

This is the very first exclamation in The War Cry of Te Ope Whakaora. It seems, spontaneously stated by 'The Maori Contingent'.

In 1892 it was announced in The War Cry that Māori ‘cap bands’ have arrived featuring Te Ope Whakaora and on 28 May Bonnet Bands were included. While there appears to be no written record that explains the use of Te Taua Whakaora and/or Te Ope Whakaora, both books Fight the Good Fight (Bradwell) p81 and Te Ope Whakaora (ed. Hill) p63, mention a significant conversation Captain Holdaway had on a Christchurch street with an observant boy, who enquired as to the meaning of the 'W' on his uniform collar. He wondered why Holdaway was not wearing the letter 'S' for 'salvation'. The 'W' represented 'Whakaora', for 'Te Taua Whakaora', the Army that causes life. Later 'taua' was changed to 'ope', the Army that brings life. An illustration of Adjutant Holdaway in The War Cry on 9 November 1889, shows him wearing a guernsey, with the words 'Taua' and 'Salvation' visible under the korowai.

The first Salvation Army Songbook in Māori was published in 1889. This copy was used by Captain John Nicholls on the Whanganui River.

Captain Alexander Armstrong (right) with his Te Ope Whakaora cap placed on the side table. Possibly photographed in 1892 - no sooner, as the Te Ope Whakaora cap bands were not available before 1892.