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Kōrero: Māwhete, Rangiputangatahi

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Māwhete, Rangiputangatahi

1880–1961

Nō Rangitāne; he kaihoko whenua, he kaiwhakamāori, he kaitōrangapū

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

I whānau a William Arthur Moffatt (Māwhete) ki Tiakitahuna (Jackeytown) i te tonga o Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North), i te 4 o Maehe i te tau 1880, ko ia nei te tama a Ēmiri Mōkena (Emily Morgan) rāua ko tana tāne ko William Moffatt. He mokopuna a Ēmiri – ko Ārani, ko Ārini ētahi anō o ōna īngoa – nā Wiremu Kīngi Te Aweawe. Ko tōna iwi tūturu ko Ngāti Hineaute o Rangitāne, ā, i whai pānga anō hoki ia ki a Mua-ūpoko, ki a Ngāti Apa, ki a Ngāi Te Ūpokoiri, ki a Hāmua me ngā iwi o Whanganui. He mataaro pūkaha te mahi a tōna pāpā, he mea patu e ngā Māori i Taumarunui i Noema o te tau 1880, i a ia e mahi ana i te Rohe Pōtae. I tōna rā iriiri i Āperira o te tau 1881, ka hoatu ko Rangiputangatahi hei īngoa mōna, ā, i muri mai ka noho ko Rangi Māwhete tōna īngoa tino kārangaranga.

I pakeke ake a Rangi i ngā kāinga Māori o te rohe o Karere, ā, i mua i tana haerenga ki te Kāreti o Te Aute i te tau 1890, i Rangiotū ia e kuraina ana. I te 11 o Āperira i te tau 1903, i Aorangi (Feilding), ka moea e ia a Ērana Ruta Durie o Ngāti Rangitepaia o Rangitāne me Ngāti Kauwhata; ko ia te tamāhine a Robert Te Rama Durie rāua ko tana wahine, ko Hurihia (Hēni), ka mokopuna nei hoki ki a Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū. Nā tēnei pākūhā, i tūhonoa ai ēnei whānau rangatira o Rangitāne. Kāti, mate atu ana a Ērana i te 3 o Pēpuere i te tau 1904, rua tekau tau tōna pakeke. Kāore rāua i whai tamariki. I te 1 o Mei o te tau 1906 i moea e Rangi a Kathleen McGlone i Rangatira (Westport) i Te Tai Poutini, inarā he wahine tēnei i whānau ki Poihākena (Sydney), he tamāhine hoki nā tētahi whānau kari waro o Denniston. Tokorima ā rāua tamariki.

I ngā rohe o Rangitīkei me Manawatū a Rangi e noho ana, he kaiwhakamārama reo, he kōmihana, he kaihokowhenua nei āna mahi. Nā ēnei mahi āna auau tonu te taupatupatu mai o ētahi o ngā whānau o Rangitāne ki a ia. I te tīmatanga ko Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North) tōna wāhi mahi; nō muri iho he pāmu miraka kau tāna i Awapuni. I a ia e taiohi ana, ko tōna whānau tonu te awe whakamina i a ia; riro ana nā tōna kuia, nā Ērini (he tuahine ki a Te Peeti Te Aweawe, he manukura nō Rangitāne), me tōna māmā, me tōna whaea whakaangi me Rewanui Apatari, ia i tō mai ki roto i ngā mahi whenua a te whānau. Nō te tau 1912, i puta ai te poropiti a Mere Rikiriki, he wahine whai mana nō reira, tērā e maranga mai he tino kaiārahi mau i te taha wairua, ā, he wā anō nei i mea ai ētahi ko Rangi tonu te whakatinanatanga o taua kupu whakaari. He tangata ātaahua, tāroaroa, whai mana nei a Rangi, ā, noho ngana tonu ia ki te whaitaki i ngā mahi; i whakataetaetia tuatahitia e ia te tūru Pāremata o Te Tai Hauāuru i ngā pōti o te tau 1914, ēngari karawhiua ana ia e te mema tū tonu, e Māui Pōmare.

Ahakoa tōna kore i tū i te pōti o te tau 1919, i te taumaha pea o ngā mahi i te taha ki tōna whānau, i tū a ia hei 'takawaenga' (te īngoa o taua wā mō te tū motuhake) mō Te Tai Hauāuru i te tau 1922, ā, ko te mutunga mai anō he aha te aha. Ēngari arā noa atu anō ngā mahi tōrangapū ka tīmata te taea atu e ia. I reira te Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa e hīkaka ana ki te whakanui atu i te hunga tautoko mai i a rātou, ka tīmata te huri nei ki ngā kaipōti Māori ka toro atu i a Rangi. I te tau 1924, ka tohua ko ia hei kaiwhakataetae i te tūru o Te Tai Hauāuru mō te Rōpū Reipa. I te 20 o Tīhema ka karangatia e ia te hui tuatahi i waenganui i te Rōpū Reipa me ngā Māori ki Parewanui e pātata ana ki Te Ara-taumaihi (Bulls). I taua hui anō hoki a Te Hōrana (Harry Holland), te tumuaki o te Rōpū Reipa i te Pāremata, me ngā mema o te rōpū whakahaere o te motu. Ko te take o taua hui ko te whakatakoto i te pūtake o te kaupapa Māori e taea ai te heri ki te hui ā-tau a te Rōpū Reipa i te tau 1925.

I tīmata te whakatika a Rangi mō te hui, ka toro atu nei ia i Aotearoa ki te kimi māngai he mea āta pōti, hei noho i runga i te komiti tohutohu Māori o te Rōpū Reipa. I tua atu i a Waikato me te Rohe Pōtae – e kaha katoa ana te tautoko i a Pōmare, te tangata a te Kīngitanga – kitea ana e ia he tangata i ngā rohe katoa. I te huinga o te minenga nei i Te Ara-taumaihi i te marama o Maehe, ko Rangi te hēkeretari a te komiti, ā, nō te 13 o Āperira i taki haere atu ai rātou ki te hui i Pōneke (Wellington). Mahi ake ana a Rangi rātou ko ana hoa tokorua, noho komiti iti nei ki te hanga rīpoata hei whakatakoto ki te hui, he mea whakaae i muri iho hei kaupapa Māori mā te Rōpū Reipa. Ko ētahi o ngā take o taua kaupapa ko ngā raruraru o ngā reiti, ko te whakatau i ngā take whenua i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ko te hanga houtanga i ngā take pōti Māori, me te whakatū i tētahi kaunihera Māori hei tohutohu i te kāwanatanga ki ngā take Māori: ko te tūmanako, koinei te reo ki te kāwanatanga e tutuki ai ngā wawata Māori. Kāore noa iho i roa ka karawhiua e Māui Pōmare te kaupapa nei i te Whare Pāremata; i te whakapaunga o Hūrae ka karangatia e Māwhete he hui ki Parewanui, e toru rā te roa. I reira i whakatūturutia anō hoki e ngā kaihautū o te Rōpū Reipa tō rātou paihere nei ki te kaupapa.

I ngā pōti o te tau 1925 ko Rangi te tangata kātipa a te Rōpū Reipa mō Te Tai Hauāuru, ko ia nei hoki te tino kaiātete ki a Pōmare. I ngā hui tūāpapa ko rāua ngātahi e whakahauhau pōti ana mō rāua, ēngari i te mutunga mai 1,287 noa iho ngā pōti a Rangi, 4,010 wā Pōmare. Kāore hoki te kaupapa Rātana i whakatū tangata hei whakataetae i te tūru, ā, me te mea nei hoki kāore te nuinga i pōti: ki te whakaaro nei kāore te Māori i oreore i te kaupapa, me ngā whakaari noa rānei a Reipa. Nuku atu i tēnei ko te kaupapa whenua a te Rōpū Reipa i taua wā – he tautiaki kē i te pupuri me te whakamahi a te kaitango rīhi i te whenua – whakamataku kē ana tēnei i te Māori kei murua kētia ko ngā whenua.

I mua tata atu i ngā pōti o te tau 1928, ka whakaūngia anō e te Rōpū Reipa tā rātou kaupapa Māori, me tō rātou hiahia anō ki te whakamana i ngā kaiwhakataetae, ēngari kāore nei he āwhina atu i ā rātou utu. Ahakoa kāore a Rangi i tū, i puta te whakaaro nāna i whakatauira te kaupapa a Rātana, i te mea he rite tonu tana kaupapa ki tā te Rōpū Reipa kaupapa Māori. Tuarua mai ana ngā kaiwhakataetae katoa a Rātana i ngā tūru Māori e whā. Tino mate noa ana ngā kaiwhakauru takawaenga o te kaupapa Reipa. I te matenga o Māui Pōmare i te tau 1930 i tāwāhi kē a Rangi, kāore i taea te toro atu. Riro atu ana te tūru o Pōmare i a Te Tāite Te Tomo.

Otirā, tērā pea kua tau kē te whakaaro o Rangi ki te whakapau i ōna kaha ki te whakakotahi i a Rātana me te Rōpū Reipa – i muri iho, i whakaae rāua, nā Māwhete i tino tōtika ai te mahi whakarōpūpū i a rāua. Ka taka mai nei ki te tau 1930, kua kaha kē te titiro a te Rōpū Rātana ki te Rōpū Reipa; ka tiro nei te Rōpū Reipa ki te kaha o te mana pōti o Rātana, ka tīmata te kimi huarahi e takoto ai he kirimina. Ahakoa te pai ki a Rangi o tana noho takawaenga, i māharahara tonu ia; he rite anō ēnei ki ngā āwangawanga o ētahi atu Māori e tautoko ana i a Reipa, hāunga rā a Rātana, tēnā e kore pea e taea ngā kaupapa whānui kē atu a te Māori te tika ake o te whakamahi i raro i te whakahaere kotahi a te Rōpū Reipa me te kaupapa Rātana. Ahakoa te mahi whakatata haere a Māwhete i ngā rōpū nei ki te whakatutuki kirimina, e pupū tonu ana te manawa-pā.

Ka tata haere mai ngā pōti o te tau 1931, whakakāhoretia ana te tono tautoko a Reipa i ngā kaiwhakataetae o Rātana, ahakoa anō te mea a Rātana ki te uru tana tangata, tērā pea tautokona ana e taua tangata te Rōpū Reipa i te Pāremata. Whakamātautia ana tēnei kōrero i te tau 1932, i Ākuhata, ka riro nei i te pōti motuhake te tūru o Te Tai Tonga i a Eruera Tirikātene. Kua whakamōhiotia kētia e Rangi a Reipa ki te waiho noa mai i a Rātana ki waho i ngā mahi kōwhiriwhiri. I konei ka tīmata ia ki te whakatikatika, i te whakahaere o tētahi hui e whā rā te roa, i te hōro o ngā uniana i Pōneke (Wellington Trades Hall) hei kōrero i te kaupapa Māori a te Rōpū Reipa. I mōhio tonu ia me āta whakapakari anō te kirimina whakamātau i waenganui i a Reipa me Rātana, me tōna hiahia anō hoki ki te whakawhānui haere me te kōkiri hoki i ngā kaupapa ake a te Rōpū Reipa i waenganui i ngā Māori hore kau nei he pānga ki a Rātana. Uru atu ana ia ki te ope kawe i tēnei kōrero ki ngā māngai o te Rōpū Reipa me tā rātou kōrero anō ki te whakatū kaunihera Māori hei tohutohu i te kaiwhakahaere o te motu. I tūmanako anō hoki ia kia riro mā taua hui e whakaara ake ngā komiti Māori Reipa e kapi katoa ai te motu. I ngā tau e toru, e whā rānei o muri atu, ahakoa te kore ū tika o te whakahaere, i whakatū tonutia ētahi peka. I waenganui i ngā tau 1934 ki te 1936, nōna tētahi o ngā reo e areare ana kia whakatūria he nūpepa Māori mō te Rōpū Reipa; kore rawa i tutuki.

Nō te putanga o te kupu a te kaihautū hou o te Rōpū Reipa, a Te Hāwiti (Michael Joseph Savage), he whakaaro rangatira, atawhai hoki nei ōna, me te whakaōrite i te mana o ngā iwi katoa, i tākare tonu te tautoko a Rangi i tēnei kaupapa ka tū mai nei ngā pōti o te tau 1935. Ko te āhua nei nāna i whakamāori te kaupapa Māori a te rōpū, ā, i tēnei wā kua nuku kē atu te whakawhānui. I te rironga o te pōti i te Rōpū Reipa, ka puta te whakatūpato a Rangi me ka waiho he kirimina anake tēnei nā Reipa rāua ko Rātana, he whakawehewehe kē tēnei i ā rātou kaitautoko, whakakaikiri hoki i a Te Puea Hērangi me te Kīngitanga. Otirā, whakaurua ana e te Rōpū Reipa ngā mema a Rātana, a Eruera Tirikātene rāua ko H. T. Rātana (i riro i a ia te tūru o Te Tai Hauāuru), ki tā rātou hui uepū tuatahi i te marama o Tīhema. I reira anō hoki a Rangi. I Maehe o te tau 1936, ka whakatūria a Rangi hei mema mō te Kaunihera Ture (Legislative Council), he utu rā tēnei ka roa kē nei ia e taituarā ana i te Rōpū Reipa. He mema hoki ia nō te komiti whakahaere Māori (Māori Organising Committee), ā, i muri mai, ka tū ko ia hei perehitini mō te kaunihera tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Council) i huri rā i te motu ki te toro kaitautoko i kō atu i te hunga Rātana. Nō muri ka puta te kōrero a Rangi huhua ana ngā kāinga i kite nei ia i te tino kino o te momo noho o te Māori.

Ahakoa te kōpā o te noho tautāwhi i te Rōpū Reipa, o te hunga Rātana me ērā ehara i te hunga Rātana, i ngana a Rangi kia mahi tahi tonu rātou ko ngā mema tōrangapū o Rātana ki te whakaū i ngā whāinga Māori. Kitea ana te ngoikore o te kāwanatanga ki te whakatutuki i ēnei whāinga i te pito o te tau 1936, karanga kētia ana e rātou ngā tohunga Pākehā hei whiriwhiri i ngā raruraru Māori, ā, takahuri kē ana ki te whakawhānui atu i ngā kaupapa kua oti kē i te kāwanatanga o mua atu te mahi. Whakatūria ana e te Rōpū Reipa Māori he hui tuarua kia riro mā rātou tonu e kōrero ngā hiahia o te iwi Māori. Nō muri i te rironga atu o ngā toenga tūru i ngā kaiwhakauru a Rātana i te tau 1938 me te tau 1943, ko Rangi anake te Māori tōrangapū ehara i te kāhui Rātana i te Whare Pāremata.

I te tīmatanga o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao ka uru atu ia ki ngā kōrero werowero i te kāwanatanga kia kaua e māperetia ngā Māori ki te haere ki te pakanga. Nā reira i whakatūria atu ia hei mema mō te komiti Māori o te Pāremata he mea āwhina nei e rātou te hanga i te rōpū tautoko i ngā Mahi Māori mō te Whawhai (Māori War Effort Organisation); koia nei te paku hua a te kāwanatanga mō ngā tono a ngā Māori kia tū motuhake rātou. Tutuki ana i te rōpū nei ā rātou whāinga ki te whakataritari tāngata mō ngā taua a Tūmatauenga, me ngā mahi o te wā kāinga, tae atu ki te whakahau i ngā komiti ā-iwi puta noa ki te āwhina i ngā mahi mō te pakanga. I haere katoa ngā tama a Rangi ki te pakanga, tokorua he paerata waka rererangi taua.

I a ia e mahi ana i te Kaunihera Ture, he mema ia nō te Komiti mō ngā Take Māori (Native Affairs Committee, i muri mai i takahuri te īngoa ki te Māori Affairs Committee), ā, i noho tonu ia ki reira pau rawa te wā i whakaritea mōna. Ahakoa ko ia anake te Māori i runga i te Kaunihera Ture, he tangata māia ki te kōrero, kāore e hipa he mokamoka he aha i a ia, he tangata i pūmau kaha nei ia ki te whakamōhio me te ako i te Pākehā. Haere tonu āna mahi tautoko i te kāwanatanga Reipa me te whakaatu anō i te hua o ā rātou tino kaupapa e pā ana ki te whenua, ki ngā whare noho, ki te hauora, tae atu ki te mātauranga. Ka haere ngā mahi whakatutuki, whakawhānui a te kāwanatanga i ngā ture mō tā rātou kaupapa toko i te ora, tohua ake ana e Rangi ngā tikanga aukati i te Māori, me te whai ki te mahi kē mai hoki i ētahi tikanga whāitiiti pērā i te whakamāori i ngā pepa ōkawa. He tikanga tēnei i āta whāia e ia, whakatakoto atu māna ki te Tari Penihana (Social Security Department).

He mea āta whakaaro rawa e ia tana whakatairanga i te whai manatanga o te Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi, arā hoki tāna i tino kōkiri ai ko te whakahaerenga o te Ture Penehīni (Petroleum Act) o 1937. Ka noho ka āta pānuitia e ia ngā wāhanga katoa o te Tiriti ki ngā mema o te kaunihera, me te kī atu anō, ki tā te Māori titiro, he taonga nō mai i te whenua tonu te hinu me ngā hua ā-papa, ā, tohea ana e ia kia utua ngā kāpeneheihana; ā, kāore hoki tēnei i te rerekē atu i ngā papa aumoana me ngā papa roto. Pū ake anō ōna manawa-pā kia tutuki ngā mana i raro i te Tiriti, i te putanga o te kerēme e pā ana ki te awa o Whanganui me te take raupatu a Waikato. Ko tētahi kaupapa tino takeo nei ki a ia, ko te ngoikore o te kāwanatanga ki te hanga i tētahi rārangi īngoa Māori mō ngā take pōti. Ahakoa tōna hīkaka kia ōrite te Māori ki te Pākehā, otirā i mau tonu tana whakatūpato. I puta tonu tana whakaohiti me ka hīkina te whakatapu i te inu i te Rohe Pōtae, ka nuku kē ake ngā raruraru ka toko ake i te waipiro. Ki tāna anō, hei pēhi i ngā mahi takahi ture me whakature te whakauru o te hunga taitama katoa ki ngā taua hōia. Ka taka ki te tau 1949, ka puta tōna koa ki te haere whakamua a te Māori i raro i te kāwanatanga Reipa.

I noho tonu a Rangi ki runga i te Kaunihera Ture tae noa ki te tau 1950, i mua tata atu i te turakitanga i taua kaunihera. Ko ia tētahi o ngā Māori tuatahi i whakatūria hei kaiwhakawā tūmatanui, ā, ka taka nei ki te tau 1959, whakawhiwhia ana a ia ki te tohu o te Emepaea o Peretānia (OBE). I Te Papa-i-ōia a ia e noho ana i ōna tau mutunga, ā, ka mate nei ia ki reira i te 24 o Hūrae i te tau 1961. Ka mahue pani iho ko tana wahine me ā rāua tamariki, tokorua ngā tamāhine, tokorua ngā tama. I mate atu tētahi o ā rāua tama ki te pae o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao.

Nā tana kite i te pai o te kaupapa whakaōrite iwi a te Rōpū Reipa, e 30 tau e kaha ana tana mahi kia whiwhi i te Māori he tūranga mōna i roto i ngā mahi tōrangapū a te motu, kia tarea e ia te kōkiri ngā kaupapa tōrangapū nā te Māori anō i hanga. Kōhikohiko ana te pai o ngā hua i puta i raro i a Reipa. Kāore anō kia pau i a ia te kotahi tau i te Whare Pāremata, ka kite tonu ia i te mahuetanga o te kaupapa nāna nei i āwhina ki te hanga. Ko te mana motuhake i whāia ai e ia i te tīmatanga, iti noa nei te hiwa ake.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Claudia Orange. 'Māwhete, Rangiputangatahi', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4m48/mawhete-rangiputangatahi (accessed 29 March 2024)