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Kōrero: Parore, Louis Wellington

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Parore, Louis Wellington

1888–1953

Nō Te Roroa, nō Ngā Puhi; he kaihautū, he kaiwhakamārama reo, he kaiwhakahaere nō te Kōti Whenua Māori

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Garry Hooker rāua ko Robert Parore, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 1998. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

I whānau a Louis Wellington Parore i te 26 o Tīhema i te tau 1888 ki te marae o Te Houhanga i Tākiwira (Dargaville). Ahakoa kārangarangatia ana ia e te nuinga o te tangata ko Lou Parore, ko te īngoa kē o tōna whānau mōna ko Te Rūma, nā te mea, e ai ki ngā kōrero tuku iho, ko ia te Māori tuatahi whānau kē mai ana i roto i tētahi whare, Pākehā kē nei te āhua. Nō ngā whānau rongonui o Te Roroa me Ngāpuhi tōna matua a Pouaka Parore, ā, ko ōna tino hapū ko Te Kuihi o Kaihū, ko Te Parawhau o Whāngārei me Te Wairoa ki te raki. Nō Te Patuharakeke o te takiwā ki Whāngārei tōna whaea a Mākerita Pirihi (Marguerite Preece), ā, he īngoa whakanui i tētahi o ōna whanaunga te take i mau tonu ia ki te īngoa o Wellington.

I pūkengatia a Parore i roto i te mahana o te marae kāinga, pūkengatia anō hoki i ngā whakaakoranga i a ia. Ko tōna pāpā he kōrero Māori anake, ēngari te whaea he reorua, ā, ko Parore tā rāua mea pakeke. Tīmata mai te kura o Parore i te kura tuatahi o tōna takiwā, ā, nō te tau 1904–5, ka whiwhi ia i tētahi karahipi hari i a ia ki te kura tuarua i Tāmaki-makau-rau (Auckland Grammar School). Hoki rawa atu ki Tākiwira ka noho ia hei kaiwhakatikatika motokā, ēngari haere ana tana pāpā, arā, te rangatira matua, tohunga rongonui ki ngā tikanga Māori o Tākiwira, ki ngā hui a te Kōti Whenua Māori, haere ana hoki a Te Rūma i tana taha.

Nōna i Tākiwira, nō te 2 o Āperira 1910, ka moe nei a Parore i a Emma Isabel Hart; ka whiwhi tamariki nei rāua, tokorua ngā mea tāne, kotahi te mea wahine. I te matenga o tana hoa, o Emma i te 20 o Āperira i te tau 1923, ko te hekenga atu tērā o Parore ki Te Kūrae-a-Tura (Devonport), takiwā o Ākarana (Auckland), noho ai. I reira moea ana e ia a Marjorie Grace Sisson i te 15 o Noema 1924, ā, tokowhā nei ā rāua tamāhine, kotahi te mea tāne. Kātahi mai i reira ka heke katoa atu rātou ko tōna whānau me tana hungawai anō hoki ki Tākiwira noho ai. I Te Houhanga marae noho ake ia i te taha o ōna mātua tatari ai kia oti rā anō tō rāua kāinga te hanga i te taha tonu o te marae.

Ko te take i rangatira ai a Parore ki tōna iwi o Te Tai Tokerau, he whakaaro nui nōna, ko te mahi māna, ko te whakahaere i te hoki mai o ngā whenua iwi. He āwangawanga nōna ki te āhua kūware o tōna iwi Māori ki ngā uauatanga o ngā ture whenua, i tonoa ai e ia te raihana hei kaiwhakamāori i te tau 1912. I tana whiwhi raihanatanga hei kaiwhakamārama reo, riro ana i a ia te taumata tuatahi mō te mahi pērā, āhei tonu atu ana hei kaiwhakahaere mō te hunga kawe take ki te Kōti Whenua Māori.

I te tau 1929, tērā tētahi take nui a Ngāpuhi ki te Kōti Whenua Māori i tū ai a Parore ki te whakatau i te whaitaketanga o te iwi i runga i ngā tikanga Māori ki te moana o Ōmāpere. Ki te titiro a te Karauna, e kore e whakaaetia e te tikanga Māori ahakoa te take ki ngā papa moana, ā, ki te Karauna anō, mutu mai ana tā te Māori tikanga ki te wai noa o ngā moana, arā, hei mahi kai, hei whakatere waka rānei. Ki tā te Karauna anō, kīhai he wāhanga o te Tiriti o Waitangi i whakaae kia riro ngā wai whakatere waka i te tangata noa. Ko te kaiwawao o Ngāpuhi mō ā rātou kerēme ko te rōia nei, ko E. C. Blomfield, ā, ko Parore tonu hoki i te āwhina i a ia. Hangaia ana e ia tana kēhi i raro i te tautiaki mai a te Tiriti o Waitangi i ngā tikanga Māori, arā, i te whakaaetanga ā-pukapuka tapu i waenganui i te iwi o Peretānia me te iwi Māori. He māia nōna ki te hurahura i ngā ture huhua a te Whare Pāremata, i kitea i reira tonu te whakaaetanga tautokotanga a te Karauna i ngā tikanga Māori e pā ana ki ngā moana, tae atu ki te papa o raro. He tohu tēnei arā noa atu tana mōhio ki ngā hōhonutanga o te ture.

Tautokona ana te tohe a Parore e te whakatau a Tiati Ātihana (F. O. Acheson), anā kē atu anō ngā kōrero e mea ana, e hōrapa katoa ana aua tikanga rā ki te mata whenua o Aotearoa katoa, ahakoa kapi i te wai, aha rānei. I tā Te Ātihana anō, he mea whakaaroaro anō e te Tiriti kia riro mā te Karauna ngā whenua katoa o Ngāpuhi me te moana o Ōmāpere e tautiaki. Nō te huinga a te iwi ki te whakatū kaitiaki mō te moana, ka noho ko Parore te tiamana. Nō te whakatauanga a Ngāpuhi kia waihotia te moana hei taonga mā te katoa, āmene katoa ana taua iwi. Kātahi te mahi tauhou a Ngāpuhi ko te kotahi o te whakaaro!

Ko te whānuitanga atu o aua kōrero nei i puta i roto i ngā nūpepa Māori. Hau ana te rongo o Parore, ā, i te tekau tau atu i 1930, puta noa mai te mahi a te Māori ki te kōrero take whenua i tana tari, he mea hanga e ia i waho tonu mai i tōna kāinga i Tākiwira. I reira, mā te māramatanga tonu o te kānara, ā, mā te pānui waea e whakapā atu ana ki te tangata, i pātōtuhia e ia tana petihana ki te Whare Pāremata i te tau 1934. Ka tautohetia e ia te rironga, kore kāpeneheihana, kore aha o ngā whenua Māori i riro nei mō te rerewē, ā, ko tāna i hiahia ai, kia kotahi tonu te ture mō te Māori rāua ko te Pākehā.

Ko tētahi take i manawanuitia e Parore ko te kite i te Māori e pāmu ana i te whenua. Heoi anō tāna, mō te taha ki tana pāpā, e rua ngā poraka whenua 50 eka te rahi i tukua atu e Parore i raro i te kaupapa pāmu iti (Small Farms Scheme) ki te kāwanatanga i te tau 1933. He whakaaro nō te kāwanatanga i te āhua kaha hē o aua whenua hei mahi pāmu, hore kau i whakaaetia. Hei manaaki hoki māna i te pīhopatanga o te Hāhi Mihinare, tukua noatia ana e Parore he whenua, 71 eka te rahi, ki te Hāhi.

Nō te taenga mai o te Kāwana Tianara, o Waikaute Korowe (Galway), ki Whāngārei i te tau 1935, ko Parore te tino kaiwhakahaere o te hui. Nō te pōtitanga mō te Whare Pāremata o taua tau, whakataetaetia ana e ia te tūru o Te Tai Tokerau i raro i te maru o te Rōpū Temo (Democrat Party). He aha te aha, kīhai i riro te tūru i a ia. Mutu tonu tāna i konā, kore ana i hokia.

Tērā tētahi take a Te Roroa i whāia ai e Parore, arā, e 50 tau rātou e pakanga ana kia hoki mai ngā whenua tapu e rua i murua noatia e te Karauna i te pari o Maunganui (Maunganui Bluff). Tangi ana a Te Roroa i te rironga. Nō te tukunga petihana ki te Pāremata i te tau 1939 kia whakamanatia te Kōti Whenua Māori ki te āta tirotiro i te take rā, tautohea ana e Parore te hoki mai o aua whenua. Arā atu, arā atu ngā whakaatu i puta i a ia. E ai ki tāna, kore rawa i whakakorea te mana i runga i ngā tikanga Māori i ngā whenua rāhui nō te mea he tini ngā tāpuketanga i tētahi, me te mau haere tonu o te noho ake a te Māori i runga i aua whenua. Ā, i tua atu i tērā, kei te whakaae tonu te Karauna ki aua rāhui e rua, ahakoa kua 30 tau kē te roa o te 'hokonga' o aua whenua rā.

Ahakoa te tautoko a te rīpoata a Tiati Ātihana i te kerēme a Te Roroa, kāre tonu i whakaaetia e te tiati tumuaki, e Te Hēpara (G. P. Shepherd), ahakoa mōhio tonu pea ia kua riro kē aua whenua rāhui i te tangata noa. Ko te hiahia o Parore, kia riro māna e whakaatu te rite o ngā pōauautanga o te Karauna i mua, koirā i hē ai a Te Hēpara, arā, hē ake ana ia i te taha ture, i ngā waiwai tika hoki. Kore rawa tōna hiahia i rite. I te tau 1943 hua kore noa ana tana petihana i te Pāremata, kia whakamāmāhia ngā tikanga o ngā rāhui, ā, pērā anō tana tono i tētahi kōmihana hei āta tiro i te take nei i te tau 1944. Taka rawa mai ki te tau 1990, kātahi anō ka tutuki te kerēme a Te Roroa mō ngā rāhui nei, i riro nā te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi (Waitangi Tribunal) te kēhi nei i whakahaere.

Nō te tau 1942, i āhua ranganui ai te kōkiri a Ngāti Whātua i tā rātou take mō te kāpeneheihana mō ngā whenua i Ōrākei, i Ākarana, e hia kē nei te roa e pakangatia ana. Tū ana a Parore i te Kōti Whenua Māori taki ai i te kēhi a Ngāti Whātua. E ai ki tāna i tautohe ai, kāore e taea te whakarite te kāpeneheihana me ka mahue te wāriu i ngā whare Māori, he wāhanga tonu hoki nō te kāinga papatupu, ko tōna wāriu kē i mahia i runga i te tikanga me te aroha Māori, kāore nei e whai wāhi i raro i te ture whakarite wāriutanga i te whenua (Valuation of Land Act) 1925. Tautokona ana e Tiati Ātihana ngā kōrero a Parore, whakaaetia ana e ia he kāpeneheihana nuku atu te rahi i te mea i whakaarotia e te tumuaki o te Tari Wāriu. Hei tā Te Ātihana, me āta whakaaroaro anō te ngākau manako o te Kīngi, kaua ko tana tahua moni anake.

E hia noa atu ngā mahi a te ao Māori i whakauru atu ai a Parore. Nō te whakatūnga o te whare nui o Rāhiri i te marae o Te Houhanga i te tau 1914, ko ia anō i te āwhina. I te tau 1927 he mema anō ia nō te Rōpū Māori o Ākarana (Te Ākarana Māori Association); e rua tau i muri mai, ka riro ko ia hei perehitini tuarua. Ka tūtaki ia ki te kaimātau tikanga tangata nei, ki a Hōri Kereama (George Graham), ki a Te Puea Hērangi me ētahi atu. Nō te tomokanga o te whare pupuri taonga i Ākarana (Auckland War Memorial Museum) i te tau 1929, ka noho ko ia tētahi ki te whakarite i ngā rangatira hei pōwhiri ki reira, ā, noho tonu ko ia te kaiwhakamārama reo o taua hui. Ko ia te māngai o te Rōpū Māori o Ākarana ki te komiti whakaora i te ngahere o Waipoua (Waipoua Preservation Committee), he mea whakatū hei ārai i te tua haere o te ngahere, i te tau 1947 ka petihanatia e ia te Whare Pāremata, ka tono atu kia whakamutua te waiata mai a te toki me te kani i te ngahere o Waipoua. Nō te tau 1952 te whakaruruhautanga i a Waipoua hei ngahere rāhui. Nō te rīhainatanga mai o tana hoa, o Apirana Ngata i te rūnanga kāwanatanga i te tau 1934, tonoa ana a Parore ki te mau atu i te kōrero tautoko a te Rōpū Māori o Ākarana ki a ia. He tangata mātātoa nei a Parore ki ngā mahi whutupaoro i Te Tai Tokerau, ā, he wā nei ia e mema ana i runga i te poari tohutohu Māori (Māori Advisory Board) o te Kotahitanga Whakahaere o ngā Mahi Whutupaoro Rakapī o Niu Tīreni (New Zealand Rugby Football Union).

He tangata tāroaroa, toa whakataetae nei te hanga o Te Rūma Parore, he ngākau ngāwari, whakahoahoa, whakakatakata nei tōna. Rua tekau ngā tau e kōkiri ana ia i ngā kerēme nunui a Te Tai Tokerau ki te Karauna, ko ia tonu tō rātou tino kaiwawao. Ahakoa kāore ia i āta akona ki te ture, he hinengaro hōhonu nei tōna, ā, aua atu te mātauranga, me te arotau. Tāpiri atu ki tēnā, he tino tohunga hoki ia ki te Māoritanga, ki ngā kōrero tuku iho mō te Tiriti, tae atu ki te ture whenua. He whakapau nōna i tōna kaha ki te mahi mā tōna iwi, i kitea ai te tohu o te rangatira. Nō te matenga o Parore i Ākarana i te 3 o Maehe i te tau 1953, ka mahue mai ko tōna hoa wahine, ko Marjorie, me ngā tamariki tokowaru. Kei waenganui ia i tōna whānau i Te Wharau, i Ōunuwhao e takoto ana, kei te takiwā e haere atu rā ki te raki o Tākiwira.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Garry Hooker and Robert Parore. 'Parore, Louis Wellington', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1998. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/4p4/parore-louis-wellington (accessed 30 March 2024)