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Kōrero: Durie, John Mason

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Durie, John Mason

1889–1971

Nō Ngāti Kauwhata, nō Rangitāne; he kaihautū, he kaiwhiringa reo, he kaimahi kāwanatanga, he tangata mahi pāmu, he kaiārahi hapori

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Mason Durie, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1998. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

I whānau a John Mason (Meihana) Durie i te 1 o Hūrae 1889, i te pāmu a tōna pāpā i Aorangi, kei kō tata tonu atu ki Feilding. Ahakoa i karangatia ia i te nuinga o te wā ko Mason, ko te īngoa o ngā Māori mōna ko Hoani Meihana Te Rama Apakura. Ko tōna pāpā, ko Robert Durie, arā, ko Te Rama Apakura, nō Ngāti Tahuriwakanui, he hapū nō Ngāti Kauwhata. Ko tōna whaea, ko Hurihia (Hēni rānei) hei tamāhine mā Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū, he rangatira nō Rangitāne. Nā ōna kāwai tiketike me ōna pūmanawa tonu, i aro ai ia kia puta hei kaihautū.

Ka mutu mai tana kura i Taonui ko tōna haerenga tēnā ki te Kāreti o Te Aute. Hangaia ake ana e ia tētahi rekoata ki reira, ka puta nei ia i tana tau tuarua noa iho i te whakamātautau e āhei ai te ākonga ki te haere ki te whare wānanga. Ahakoa tana hiahia ki te ako i te mahi rongoā i te whare wānanga o Ōtākou (University of Otago), nā runga i te tono a ōna mātua kia kaua e tawhiti atu i te kāinga, i kore ai tērā i taea. Hoi anō, whai kē ana ia i te mea tuarua i hiahiatia rā e ia, ko te ako i te ture, pai ana ki a ia te noho mai i Pōneke (Wellington). Nō reira i tīmata tana mahi hei ākonga mā te Tari Whakahaere Ora mō te Katoa (Department of Public Health), ā, i tūpono atu ko tana kaitohutohu i reira ko Māui Pōmare. Nō te tau 1910 i riro atu ia ki te Tari Māori mahi ai, ā, i te tau 1914 kua noho kē hei karaka mō te Kōti Whenua Māori, raihanatia ana hoki hei kaiwhakamārama reo. Nā runga i āna mahi, whakahirahira ana te mōhiotanga i riro mai i a ia ki te āhua o ngā taitara whenua Māori me ngā uaua e taumaha ana ki te hunga Māori mahi pāmu. He mātau, he pūkenga nōna i tino taea e ia tōna ake iwi te whakahirihiri. E hia kē ngā tau e āwhina ana ia i te mahi whiriwhiri nō wai te whenua, whakatatū hoki me riro i a wai ngā pānga. I tua atu i tēnā ko tana mahi anō he hāpai i te mahi whakatū haere i ngā whenua rāhui me ngā tahua tōpū. Nuku atu i tēnā he kaititiro wira anō tāna mahi, whakapākehā atu hoki i ngā pepa tūmatanui.

Nō te marama o Tīhema o te tau 1909 te moenga o Meihana Durie i a Kahurautete Matawhā i Feilding; nō Ngāti Rangatahi me Ngāti Toa tana wahine. Mutu noa ana tāna mahi mā te kāwanatanga i te meatanga me hoki atu ia ki te mahi i te pāmu a tana wahine, kei Kākāriki, kei te raki atu o Feilding. Ka kaha kē nei te āwhina a Meihana i te whānau o tana wahine, o Kahu, tiaki hoki i ō rātou pānga whenua i te poraka o Reureu, me tana tiaki, whakanui atu hoki i te marae o Te Hiiri. Nō muri i te matenga o tōna pāpā i te tau 1916, haria ana e ia tōna whānau ki Aorangi noho ai.

I ngā tau rua tekau atu i 1920, mōhio whānuitia ana a Meihana hei rangatira rērehi hōiho, tangata tereina hōiho hoki. Ahakoa i whakapātaritaritia mai āna mahi pāmu i te wā o te korekore, kore rawa atu ia i pōhara. He mōhio nōna ki te whakahaere i āna mahi i taua wā ahakoa te uaua, mau pū tonu ana ō rātou whenua hei poraka kotahi, tae rawa atu ki te wā ka tino nui nei te utu mō te wūru i te tekau tau atu i 1950. I te wā e ora nei ia, hui katoa 250 eka te rahi o te whenua he mea heuheu e ia, ka kari i ōna awakeri, ka mutu mai te pai o te tipu o te karaihe i a ia. Hui katoa ngā kararehe e taka ana i tōna whenua, 50 pea ngā kau miraka, 1,000 ngā hipi uwha, 50 ngā kau mīti, nuku atu rānei. He mātanga nōna ki te mahi pāmu me tana mōhio hoki ki te taha ture o ngā whenua Māori, ka tika tonu te meinga atu i a ia ki runga ki te Poari mō ngā Take Māori (Board of Māori Affairs), he mea whakatū i te tau 1953 hei whakahaere i ngā mahi ahu whenua a te Māori.

I te wā anō o te whakahekenga ka riro i a ia te whakahaere i tētahi kaupapa hei tiaki awa, ā, i konā tere tonu te huri atu ki te whakauka i te awa o Ōroua, whai mahi ana hoki ngā tāne Māori. I tēnei wā ka meinga te pāmu a Meihana hei kāinga ruruhau mō te tini o ngā Māori, e pōhara, e kore mahi ana. I te horinga atu o te korekore riro ana te kāinga o Meihana hei kāinga mō ngā tamariki e tukua atu ana ki reira e te wāhanga oranga mō ngā tamariki (Child Welfare Branch) o te Tari Kura (Department of Education).

I te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua ka whakatūria te rōpū mō ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai (Māori War Effort Organisation), ka riro ko Meihana Durie hei tiamana mō te komiti ā-rohe o Raukawa, arā tana rohe atu i Āpiti ki Waikanae. Ka mutu tā rātou torotoro haere, haina atu hoki i ngā tāngata mō te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion), ka huri te komiti nei ki te whakahauhau i ngā mea wāhine, tāne hoki kia whakauru atu ki ngā wāhi waiwai mahi ai. I kō atu i tēnā, i tiro anō te komiti me pēhea te Māori e whai kāinga, whai mahi anō hoki. Ina koa rā, riro ana ko ngā rōpū hāpai i te whawhai ka tauira ai mō ngā komiti ā-iwi, komiti ā-rohe, he mea whakakaupapa tonu i raro i te Ture Toko i te Ora me te Pai mō te Iwi Māori (Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act) o 1945. Pau noa ōna rā ka noho tonu ko Meihana hei tiamana mō te komiti ā-iwi o Kauwhata (Kauwhata Tribal Committee) me te komiti matua hoki, arā, te rōpū whakahaere ā-iwi o Raukawa (Raukawa Tribal Executive). I te whakatūnga i te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ikaroa (Ikaroa District Council), riro ana ko ia te tiamana tuatahi.

I ngā tekau tau atu i 1950 ka whakahaerea e te rōpū whakahaere o Raukawa tētahi take tino nui, he whakatū i tētahi taonga whakamaumaharatanga ki te Hokowhitu Māori. Whakaritea ana kia whakatūria he whare hōro, he whare kai, he rūma kauhau, he kāinga noho hoki ki Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North). Ahakoa he karahipi whakaakoranga, karahipi maumaharatanga kē te mea i hiahiatia e Meihana, kua mārō kē te whakaaro o te iwi me whakatū he whare hei wāhi hui. Kāti, i runga i tēnā e hia kē nei ngā tau i pau i a Meihana rāua ko tana tuahine, ko Adelaide Poananga e whakakaupapa ana i te mahi nei, kohi moni atu hoki. I te whakatuwheratanga o te whare i te tau 1964 nā Meihana tonu i whakahaere te hui. Ko te Kāwana Tianara, ko Tā Perenata Whēkihana (Bernard Fergusson) me ētahi o te Hokowhitu Māori ngā manuhiri i taua hui. He mema anō a Meihana nō te komiti whakahaere i te taha Māori, whakanui hoki i te haerenga mai o te Kuini o Ingarangi ki Aotearoa nei i te tau 1953.

Ahakoa āna mahi pā kau ana ki ngā rohe katoa o te motu, kāore i wareware i a ia te hunga noho kāinga me te hunga Pākehā hoki o te tāone o Feilding. I whai wāhi anō hoki ia ki ngā rōpū, arā, ki a Birthright, ki te karapu tioke o Feilding (Feilding Jockey Club), ki te rōpū ahu whenua o Manawatū me Te Tai Hauāuru (Manawatū and West Coast Agricultural and Pastoral Association). Meinga atu anō hoki ia hei mema tūturu mō te karapu o Rangitīkei (Rangitīkei Club) ā mate noa. Ko ia tētahi o ngā Māori tuatahi i uru hei mema mō te whare meihana i Feilding (Feilding Masonic Lodge), ā, ko ia anō hoki te mea tuatahi o ngā Māori i whakatūria hei kaiwhakawā manaiti.

Pūmau tonu te noho a Meihana Durie hei tangata whakahaere i ngā mahi a Ngāti Kauwhata, hei tiamana mō ngā komiti marae o Rongomai, o Te Hiiri, ā, hei wātene iwi hoki mō te minitatanga Māori (Māori Pastorate) o te Hāhi Mihinare i Manawatū me Rangitīkei. I riro tonu nā rāua ko tana hoa wahine, ko Kahu, te mahi tiaki i te marae o Aorangi hei marae whānau tonu, ā, i reira i whakatūria anō hoki te whare karakia iti o Ruka (St Luke's Chapel). He mea whakaū anō hoki e rāua a Aorangi hei marae pū tonu mō te minitatanga Māori, noho ake ana hoki te kāinga o Meihana e hia kē nei ngā tau hei wāhi hui ā-tau, wāhi whakangahau mō te Hāhi Mihinare. I te wā e minita taiohi tonu ana a Pīhopa Manuhuia Pēneti (Manuhuia Bennett) rāua ko Pīhopa Whakahuihui Vercoe, nā Meihana rāua ko Kahu tonu ngā tokorua nei i whakahiwahiwa. Nō te tau 1928 i tū ai he hui nui a Meihana rātou ko Apirana Ngata, ko Pererika Pēneti (F.A. Bennett) me ētahi atu ki te Rūma Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori i te Whare Pāremata ki te whakarite me Māori, me Pākehā kē rānei te pīhopa tuatahi o Aotearoa. I muri mai ka noho anō ko Meihana hei kaihāpai i te mahi whakaora i te whare karakia nei, i a Rangiātea i Ōtaki, whakatakitaki hoki i te hui whakanui i te rau tau o taua whare karakia i te tau 1950.

Ko tētahi mahi nui anō a Meihana ko tana whakahau i te taha whakaakoranga o te Māori. Nō te tau 1946 ka eke atu ia ki runga ki ngā Poari Kaitiaki o Ōtaki me Porirua, e whakahaere ana i ō rātou whenua i Ōtaki me te kokoru o Tītahi (Tītahi Bay). Ko ngā hua o ēnei whenua hei āwhina i te whakaakoranga o ngā tamariki i ngā kura tuarua, arā, i ngā tamariki o Ngāti Raukawa, o Te Āti Awa me Ngāti Toa. Nō te tau 1962 i whakatūria ia hei tiamana mō te komiti porowini hei kohi moni mō te Kaupapa Mātauranga mō te Iwi Māori (Māori Education Foundation). Nuku atu i tērā, he kaitautoko taketake ia i te Kāreti Māori o Ōtaki, te kura tuarua ahu whenua o Feilding (Feilding Agricultural High School) me ngā kāreti o Te Aute, o Hukarere me Hato Pāora.

E hia kē nei ngā tekau tau a Meihana e whakahau ana i tōna iwi me ērā anō o ērā atu rohe kia mau tonu ki tō rātou pānga hapū, pānga iwi. Mō te taha ki ngā mahi whakapapa, ka mutu mai te tangata mōhio ko ia, arā tonu ki ngā whakapapa o Ngāti Raukawa, o Ngāti Kauwhata me Rangitāne. Nō mai i ngā mauhanga tonu o tana tupuna ki te taha o tōna whaea, o Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū, te pūhanga mai o te nuinga o ana mōhiotanga. Ā, i kō atu hoki ko āna ake tuhinga anō, he mea āta kohikohi mai e ia, i a ia i ngā hui kōti whenua, hui whānau, huihui noa rānei. Nā te mea he kaha mōhio nōna ki ngā mahi tuku whenua o wai ki a wai, ka riro tonu hoki nāna i whakarite ngā kaitiaki mō ngā marae me ngā urupā hoki i Kauwhata, i Whakaari, i Rongopai, i Te Iwa me Aorangi.

Nā runga i āna mahi mō te iwi Māori ūhia ana ia ki te tohu OBE i te tau 1955. Ka tika tonu tēnei whakanui i a ia, te kākākura o tōna reanga. Hāunga anō tana mahi whakapakari i a Ngāti Raukawa me Ngāti Kauwhata ki te whakatūtū komiti marae, komiti iwi, ko tētahi mahi anō āna he taupua tonu i tana whanaunga he taiohi nōna ki a ia, i a Wiremu Kīngi Te Aweawe ki te whakapūmau i ngā tāhuhu kōrero me te mana o Rangitāne. I te whakawahitanga i a Te Atairangikaahu, arā, i te Kuini Māori i te tau 1966, ko tētahi o ngā tino pou tuarā tonu i a ia ko Meihana Durie. I mua atu hoki nā rāua ko Kahu i āwhina a Te Puea, kohikohia ake e rāua he moni mō te marae o Tūrangawaewae i Ngāruawāhia.

Nō te tau 1965 i hinga ai a Kahu, ā, nō te 20 o Āperira 1971 i whai atu a Meihana Durie i tana hoa, i mate tonu ki te kāinga i whānau rā ia. Tokowhā ana tamariki e ora tonu ana ina ka mate ia, hāunga rā tana tamāhine kua mate kē atu i te tau 1929. Māmā noa te taka haere o Meihana Durie i ngā ao maha, whakatau ai i te Māori rāua ko te Pākehā, whakatau ai hoki i ngā iwi. I tutuki ai āna mahi nō te mea ko tāna tonu me māhaki te tangata, me mahea te titiro. He pai kē atu ki a ia te ngāwari i te whakaangaanga, te āta whiriwhiri rawa i te take, kātahi anō ka whakatauria. Kei ōna uri tonu te pāmu i Aorangi, ā, pēraka i a ia, kei te mau tonu rātou ki te taha ture whenua, te taha mātauranga, ngā mahi a te Hāhi me ngā mahi rongoā.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Mason Durie. 'Durie, John Mason', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4d25/durie-john-mason (accessed 29 March 2024)