Whārangi 1: Haurongo
Love, Rīpeka Wharawhara
1882–1953
Nō Te Āti Awa; he wahine whai mana, he kaihautū hapori
I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Angela Ballara, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1996. I whakahoutia i te o Āpereira, 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.
Nā runga i ngā kāwai me ngā moemoe, ka whanaunga a Rīpeka Wharawhara Love ki ngā rangatira o Te Āti Awa i Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), ā, i muri i te taenga mai o te Pākehā i te takiwā o te tau 1840, i mau tonu tō rātou mana ki reira. Inarā ko tā te piki tūranga, tā Rīpeka, he whakaū rā tāna i te tūnga rangatira tuku iho e mau tonu nei. Tāpiri atu ki tēnā, ka riro mā rāua tonu ko tana hoa tāne e whakaū te mana whakahaere me te mana tūturu o ngā whānau rangatira o Te Whanganui‑a‑Tara. E ai ki ngā kōrero a tōna ngare, i whānau ake a ia i te motu o Kapiti i te 28 o Hune 1882, ā, i taua wā he mea tapa ia ko Rīpeka Mātene (Rebecca Martin). Nā Mātene Tauwhare rāua ko Roka Te Puni, ka puta ko tā rāua tama tuatahi ko Paati Mātene (ko Pāti, ko Patrick rānei), te pāpā ake o Rīpeka, he tangata mahi pāmu nei tāna mahi. He rangatira a Mātene Tauwhare nō Ngāti Te Whiti, he karangatanga hapū nō Te Āti Awa, ā, hei tamāhine a Roka Te Puni mā Wikitōria Muritūwakaroto rāua ko tana tāne, ko Hōniana Te Puni‑kōkopu. He ariki nui a Te Puni nō tōna whakatupuranga o roto o Ngāti Te Whiti me te hapū o Ngāti Tāwhirikura. Ko te whaea o Rīpeka ko Anihaka Paaka (Ani Haka Park rānei), hei tamāhine mā Robert Park, he kairūri nō te Kamupene o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Company), rāua ko tana wahine, ko Terenui. He tamāhine a Terenui nā tētahi rangatira o Ngāti Ruanui; ka irāmutu hoki ki a Tītokowaru. I whakaīngoatia a Rīpeka ki a Rīpeka Wharawhara‑i‑te‑rangi Te Kakapi, te mea tuakana o ngā tuāhine o tana tupuna koroua, te matua rā o tana pāpā, ā, hei irāmutu anō hoki ki a Te Wharepōuri.
I mua i te whānautanga o Rīpeka e hia kē nei ngā tamariki a ōna mātua, kei te tamariki tonu ka mate. I tā rāua whakapānga atu ki tētahi tohunga ka kīia mai, kia whānau ake anō, kia kaua ki te tuawhenua, ki te takiwā rānei o tō rāua kāinga i Pito‑one (Petone), ēngari tohungia kētia ana rāua ko te motu o Kapiti te wāhi tika. I pakeketia a Rīpeka i Pito‑one, ā, kuraina ana ki te kura tuatahi i Te Awakairangi (Hutt Valley). He huarahi kāta pukepuke noa nei ngā huarahi e haere atu ana i tō rātou kāinga, ā, he kaha paru kē nei nō ngā taiepa whakawhiti atu, hari haere kētia ana e ngā tamariki te nuinga o ō rātou kaka, kia tae rawa atu ki te kura kātahi anō ka kuhukuhuna.
Tērā tētahi rangatira ko Wī Hapi Pakau Love tōna īngoa, he tangata mahi pāmu, he mea taumau tā rāua whakamoetanga ko Rīpeka. Tekau mā iwa wōna tau, tekau mā rima wō Rīpeka. Ko tōna pāpā ko Tāniora Mana Love, hei mokopuna mā te tangata hopu wēra, mā Kāpene Hakirau (John Agar Love) rāua ko Mere Rure Te Hikanui, he wahine rangatira nō Taranaki. Ko te whaea o Hapi Love ko Te Amo (Hōhipene) Wī Tako, te mea i ora ake o ngā tamariki a Wī Tako Ngātata. I te mārenatanga o Rīpeka rāua ko Hapi i Te Awakairangi i te 14 o Tīhema o te tau 1897, i tūhono ēnei whānau rongonui o Te Āti Awa. Nuku atu i te 2,000 ngā tāngata i puta ake ki te mārena, rātou ko ngā kanohi o Te Tai Hauāuru, o Taranaki, me ērā nō mai rā anō i te raki o Ngāti Maniapoto. Ko ētahi anō i reira ko Ngāti Kahungunu o te tai rawhiti o Te Mātau-a-Māui (hawke's Bay) me Te Wairarapa, ko Ngāi Tahu, ko Ngāti Rārua me Ngāti Kuia o Te Waipounamu. He nui anō ngā Pākehā rangatira i tae ake. Nō te hemonga o te pāpā o Rīpeka i muri tonu mai i te hākari, ka whakapaetia nā ngā taumahatanga o te hui te take i mate ai. Whakakorea ana te kanikani i whakaarotia mō taua pō.
Tekau ngā tamariki a Hapi rāua ko Rīpeka, ēngari tokotoru e nonohi tonu ana ka mate. He wā nei rāua i te motu o Arapawa e mahi pāmu ana, arā, i Ōnauku (East Bay), ā, nō te tau 1911, ka hoki rāua ki Pito‑one. I runga ake o Korokoro whakatūria ai tō rāua kāinga rahi a Taumata, e hia kē nei ngā rūma, ā, tiro tonu atu ai ki te moana. Nō taua wā nei, ka tīmata tā rāua whakapau i ō rāua kaha ki ngā mahi whakarato, kaiārahi hoki. I tino whakapono rāua ki te Hāhi Mihinare, ā, ko te wāhi whakahaere mō ngā hui karakia a ngā Māori o Pito‑one me Waiwhetū, ko tō rāua kāinga tonu, ko Taumata. Karangatia ai e Hapi rāua ko Rīpeka ngā minita Māori kia noho i tō rāua kāinga i ngā wā o ngā hīnota Mihinare.
I runga i tō te rangatira momo manaaki ka tuwhera tonu tō rāua kāinga i ngā hui nui, hei karanga tonu i ngā Māori me ko wai hoki. Ā, i kō atu i tēnā, tukua tonutia ana he kai me te moni e rātou ko ōna whanaunga ki ngā marae o tō rātou rohe, tae atu ki te taha mahi. Hōrapa rawa atu te āhua o ā rāua mahi ki roto o Taranaki me ngā kokorutanga o Te Wairau (Marlborough Sounds); he tokomaha te hunga whanaunga he taki haere tonu tā rātou mahi ki ngā hui me ngā tangihanga.
Kāti he whānau whai rawa, rangatira rawa atu te whānau Love. Ahakoa nā ngā whakatupuranga o mua i heke haere ai te rahi o ōna whenua i te mahi hokohoko me ngā rīhi mutunga kore, ko Hapi tonu te tino rangatira whai whenua i Waiwhetū tae noa pea ki te tau 1942; āpiti atu ki tērā, he pānga anō ō rāua ko Rīpeka i te nuinga o ngā poraka whenua huri mai i Te Whanganui‑a‑Tara ki Te Awakairangi, tae atu ki Taranaki me Te Wairau. Ko te wāhi nui o ō rāua whenua e noho rīhi ana, ā, mā runga paki haere ai a Hapi rāua ko Rīpeka ki te kohikohi i ā rāua moni rēti. Kāore i ārikarika te āhua o te whakarau o te taputapu i roto i a Taumata. Kāre ā rāua tūmau; riro kē ana ēnei mahi i ā rāua karanga maha, ā, ohu ai te mahi.
Ko Rīpeka tētahi o ngā tino kaiārahi i te wā e takitahi ana ngā rōpū toko i te ora. Riro ana nā Rīpeka me ērā atu o ngā wāhine kaiārahi te mahi ki te tiaki i te iwi, ki te torotoro haere i te hunga e māuiui ana me te tohutohu i ngā whāea ki te tiaki tamariki, whakatau hoki i ngā māreherehe o roto o te kāinga. Nō te tīmatanga o te Pakanga Tuatahi, i pau katoa ōna kaha ki te āwhina i ngā mahi hāpai i ngā hōia i te whawhai, ā, kātahi ia ka noho hei mema mō te komiti whakahaere i te Tahua Hōia Māori a Reiri Riwapūru rāua ko Mīria Pōmare (Lady Liverpool's and Mrs Pōmare's Māori Soldiers' Fund). Nā tēnei komiti ka kotahi ai te whakahaere a ngā komiti Māori 28. Ko tētahi mahi a Rīpeka i Mei o te tau 1918 he whakatū tēpu hoko, me te whakahaere mahi ngahau i te tiriti o Boulcott, i Pōneke (Wellington); i haere ngā moni hei tuku pūhera atu ki ngā hōia Māori i Parani me ngā tāngata o Rarotonga i Īhipa. Ko tētahi mahi anō a Rīpeka he torotoro i ngā tāngata taotū, māuiui rānei i te puni hōia i Māwaihākona (Trentham Military Camp). I tua atu i tēnā, ko tāna anō he haere ki te tūtakitaki, ki te manaaki i ngā hoa wāhine o ngā hōia e taetae mai ana i ngā wāhi huri i te motu, kimi kāinga atu hoki hei nohanga mō rātou. I pāngia katoatia te whānau o Rīpeka e te mate urutā nui i te paunga o te tau 1918, ā, noho noa ana ko rāua anake ko tētahi o ōna tāina kāre i māuiuitia; riro ana nāna katoa rātou i nēhi, ā, ora katoa ake ana rātou. I te tau 1919 he mea whakahōnore a Rīpeka ki te tohu OBE mō āna mahi aroha pūmau ki te iwi me āna mahi toko i te ora.
Kāre i ārikarika te nui o ngā mahi i wahaina e Rīpeka i waenganui i ngā pakanga e rua. I konei ka tīmata te hekeheke mai o ngā iwi o Taranaki ki Pōneke ki te kimi mahi, ā, ko te take haere mai anō a ētahi ki Pōneke he tuku mai i ā rātou petihana ki te Komiti mō ngā Mea Maori (Native Affairs Committee). I tua atu i tēnā e hia kē anō te nui o te iwi o Rīpeka i taetae ake ki Pōneke ki te whakarongo ki ngā whakahaere a te kōmihana roera o te tau 1927. Ko Te Hīmi (W. A. Sim) te heamana o taua kōmihana rā, ā, ko tā rātou e tiro ana, ko te murunga o ngā whenua o Taranaki me ētahi takiwā atu hoki. I hou tonu atu a Hapi ki roto i te mātotorutanga o ēnei mahi me ērā anō mō te taha ki ngā whenua rāhui 'haungahuru' o Pōneke. I riro anō hoki a Rīpeka hei mema mō tētahi rōpū toko i te ora, ko Ngā Pani o Te Whanganui‑a‑Tara te īngoa, he mea whakatū ki Te Awakairangi, hei āwhina i ngā iwi e hanake ake ana ki Pōneke kāre kau he whānau hei manaaki i a rātou.
Ka tokomaha ake ngā iwi Māori i noho ki Te Awakairangi, ka whakaarohia he wāhi waengarahi, hei whakahaere i ngā mahi me ngā huihuinga mā ngā iwi o Te Āti Awa. Riro ana nā Rīpeka me ētahi o ōna whanaunga tētahi whenua i tuku atu, ko Pukeariki te īngoa. Tāpiri atu ki te tahua moni a te Poari Kaitiaki Māori o Taranaki (Taranaki Māori Trust Board), ka whakatūria he whare nui i te huarahi nui o Te Awakairangi (Hutt Road), ko Te Tatau‑o‑te-Pō te īngoa, he mea ohu tonu nei te mahi. Nā te Kāwana Tianara, nā Rōre Bledisloe, i whakatuwhera i Oketopa o te tau 1933. Nō muri mai, nō te putunga o tētahi tahua moni i kohia e Rīpeka me ētahi atu, i runga i ā rātau mahi kōnehete, kanikani me ngā taputapu i hokohokona i Pito‑one, i Waiwhetū me Te Awakairangi, ka whakatūria he whare kai me tētahi whare kāuta. He nui ngā rōpū Māori i haere ake ki Pōneke i manaakitia ki reira. I te taenga mai o Makeanui Ariki me ētahi atu anō o ngā rangatira o Rarotonga, koirā anō te kāinga whakanoho i a rātou i te tau 1934.
E whakatikatika tonu ana rātou i tō rātou kāinga nei, ka āta rēhitatia tā rātou rōpū ko te Rōpū o Te Whanganui‑a‑Tara; riro ana te mahi whakahaere o te whare o Te Tatau‑o‑te-Pō i te komiti me ngā kaitiaki, ko Rīpeka nei tētahi; whakatūria rawatia he komiti whāiti hei whakarite atu i ngā mahi hākinakina, kanikani, kōnehete, te mahi toi, whakahaere karakia atu. I whakatūria anō e Rīpeka me ētahi atu wāhine rangatira, tētahi rōpū whakapiri, arā, ko te Rōpū Māori Girls' Club. He mea tautāwhi e ngā kōhine nei te Hāhi Mihinare, otirā, ko te whare karakia i Rangiātea i Ōtaki te tino whiwhi.
I noho a Rīpeka hei mema mō te komiti whakamaharatanga mō te rau tau o Te Awakairangi (Hutt Valley Centennial Memorial Committee) i te tau 1939, ā, ko rāua ko tana hoa ko Hapi, ko ia te tiamana mō te komiti rau tau Māori (Māori Centennial Committee) ā‑rohe, ki te āwhina i ngā mahi whakanui i te rau tau i Pito‑one. I āwhinatia anō hoki e Rīpeka te wānanga wāhine o Belmont (Belmont Women's Institute), he mema tonu rā ia nō taua rōpū, inarā he whakahaere hui nei tāna ki Te Tatau‑o‑te-Pō i te 7 o Hune 1939, hei kohi moni mō te whakanui i te rau tau o Te Awakairangi. I te mahinga i te whare whakamaharatanga i te ākau i Pito-one, hei tohu mā ngā kaiwhakanoho whenua i tae wawe mai ki konei, tukua ana e te whānau Love tā rātou tahua moni hei āwhina i te kaupapa rā.
Katoa ngā tamariki tāne a Rīpeka, tokowhā i riro hei hōia, tokorua i whakauru atu ki te taua rererangi, ka noho tokorua anake i tae ki te whawhai i tāwāhi: ko tana tama tuarua ko Kānara Eruera Te Whiti Love te Māori tuatahi i whakatūria hei toihau mō te Ope Taua Māori 28 o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion), ā, nō te tau 1942, i hinga atu ia ki El Alamein; ko tētahi atu anō, ko tana tama o muri rawa, ko Rangi, i waimarie te hokinga mai o tēnei ki te kāinga. I te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua, ka kari anō a Rīpeka ki te hāpai i ngā mahi mā ngā hōia, he mea taki mai e ia mā roto i te komiti pūhera mō ngā hōia Māori (Māori Soldiers' Parcel Committee) he wāhanga nō te Rōpū o Te Whanganui‑a‑Tara. Nō te whakahokinga mai ki te kāinga o ngā hōia i taotūria, he auau tonu te haere a Rīpeka rātou ko tana komiti ki te kite i a rātou i te hōhipera.
Nō muri mai i te pakanga, he taetae tonu atu te mahi a Rīpeka rāua ko Hapi Love ki ngā hui nui i te karapu o Ngāti Pōneke, ki te tautoko i a rātou. Ko Hapi tonu i te wāhi i ngā kōrero, ā, noho tonu te īngoa kārangaranga a te hunga rangatahi mō Rīpeka ko 'Aunty Rebecca'. Nō te 10 o Hepetema o te tau 1951 i pōtitia ia hei kaiwhakaruruhau mō te Kaunihera ā‑Rohe o Pōneke, he wāhanga tēnei nō te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women's Welfare League), ā, i tae anō hoki ia ki te hui tuatahi a te Rīki atu i te 25 ki te 27 o Hepetema o taua tau.
Nō te 8 o Ākuhata 1952, ka mate a Hapi Love, ā, nehua ana hoki ki te urupā i te tiriti o Te Puni i Pito-one. Ka ruarua nei ōna marama e toe ana, ka tahuri a Rīpeka ki te tuhituhi kōrero mō āna nei mahi i mahia e ia, he mea whakaīngoa ko 'In Retrospect' (He Hokinga Mahara). Mahi tahi ana rāua ko tana tama a Wī Hapi i te mahi nei. I mate a Rīpeka Wharawhara Love i te 6 o Āperira o te tau 1953 ki Te Awakairangi, ka tanumia ki te taha o tana hoa rangatira. Tokorima āna tama tāne me tana tamāhine kotahi e ora tonu nei ka mate ia. Ko tāna i ōhākī ai, he mea whakahoki e ia ki tā Te Wharepōuri i waiho ai ki runga i ōna uri, arā, me mau tonu rātou ki te whakaaro o te tū rangatira.