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Kōrero: Keiha, Kīngi Āreta

Whārangi 1: Haurongo

Keiha, Kīngi Āreta

1900–1961

Nō Rongowhakaata, nō Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, nō Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti; he karaka ture, he kaiwhakamāori, he hōia, he āpiha toko i te ora, he tangata ahu whenua

I tuhia tēnei haurongo e Maata Rewanga Keiha, ā, i tāngia tuatahitia ki Ngā Tāngata Taumata Rau i te 2000. He mea whakamāori nā Ngā Tangata Taumata Rau.

Nō te 24 o Tīhema o te tau 1900 i whānau ai a Kīngi Āreta Keiha, he mea karanga tonu nei ia ko Reta, i Tūranga (Gisborne), te tama a Mīkaere (Mīkaera) Pare Keiha Tūrangi rāua ko tana wahine, ko Maraea (Maria) Hōkiwi Ward. Ahakoa te hōrapa atu o ōna pānga iwi haere atu i Te Wairoa ki Waiapu, ko ōna iwi tūturu ake kē nei ko Rongowhakaata, ko Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki me Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti. Ko ōna tūpuna ki te taha ki tana kōkā ko William Ward, he tangata whai, rāua ko Taraipine Hōkiwi Ward o Te Whānau-a-Rua o te kokoru o Tokomaru (Tokomaru Bay). He mea kawekawe ake te whakatipuranga mai o Reta e te tuahine o tōna matua, e Hēni Materoa rāua ko tana tāne, ko te kaitōrangapū rā ko Tā Timi Kara (James Carroll).

I kuraina a Reta Keiha i Tūranga, ā, atu i te tau 1916 ki 1919 he mea kura anō ia ki te kura tuarua mō ngā taitama o Ōtākou (Otago Boys’ High School); i reira rā ka whai ia i te akoranga arumoni me te reo Wīwī. He tauira tuakana nō te whare o te Tumuaki, ā, he haihana paratunu ia ki te rōpū hōia tauira o te kura. Matangareka rawa atu ia ki ngā mahi tākaro, he toa kē nei ia ki te kauhoe me te purei whutupaoro, arā, he mema nei ia nō te tīma whutupaoro matua o te kura. I tana hokinga atu ki Tūranga, mau ana tana tākaro whutupaoro, kirikiti, korowha hoki.

Nō te tau 1920 i uru atu ai a Reta ki te rōpū ture o Nolan rāua ko Skeet, he karaka ture nei tāna mahi. Nō muri ake i whiwhi a ia i tana tohu kaiwhakamāori, tohu mātauranga taumata tuatahi. Nō te 5 o Āperira o te tau 1926, i Te Wairoa, i moea e ia a Mabel Ida Hinekauia Peakman, te tamāhine rā a William Henry Peakman, he kaiwhakahaere pāmu hipi, rāua ko tana wahine, ko Taraipine Pango Huka o te hapū o Ngāi Te Ipu o Ngāti Kahungunu, o Te Whakakī ki roto o Te Wairoa. I kuraina mai a Mabel i te tāone o Heretaunga (Hastings), ā, noho ake ana ia hei kaipatotuhi mā te umanga ā-ture o Te Wairoa, mā Sainsbury rāua ko Logan, ko Williams.

I muri mai i te whakapuakanga atu o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, hui ake ana ngā māngai o ngā rohe iwi ki Te Poho-o-Rāwiri i Tūranga, he tautoko nei tā rātau kia whakatūria tētahi hokowhitu Māori. He mema taketake nei a Keiha nō te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion, arā, te hokowhitu Māori) ā, nō te 13 o Maehe o te tau 1940 i a rātau e kao nei i Te Papa-i-ōia (Palmerston North), ka kīia rātau he ope hōia whawhai. He rūtene tuarua nei te tūranga o Reta i te Kamupene C, he mea taki ake ngā tāngata i ngā rohe iwi o Te Tai Rāwhiti, tīmata ake i Tūranga tae atu ki te taha rāwhiti o Te Moana-a-Toi-te-huatahi (Bay of Plenty). Nō te 1 o Mei o te tau 1940, i Pōneke (Wellington) i whakaeke atu ai te hokowhitu Māori i runga i te kaipuke, i te Aquitania. Nō te 16 o Hune i tae atu nei rātau ki Koterana, ā, whakanōhia mai ana rātau i te rohe o Kent me te takiwā o Aldershot tae noa ki te 3 o Hānuere o te tau 1941, ka wehe atu ai rātau ki te Rāwhiti Pū (Middle East). I Kariki (Greece), i Kariti (Crete) me Awherika ki te Raki a Reta e whawhai ana. Mō tōna toa i ngā pakanga i Arameina (El Alamein) i ūhia ai a Kāpene K. A. Keiha ki te tohu o te Rīpeka mō te Toa (Military Cross), i āianei rā ko ia te āpiha tumuaki o te Kamupene C. Ko te whawhaitanga i hiwa ai tōna toa ko te whana whakairitanga a rātau i a Whīra Maihara Erwin Rommel e nana nei kia tae atu ia ki Kairo (Cairo) me Arekehānara (Alexandria). E ai ki te kupu hautoa mō Reta, ka nui kē nei te pai o tana whakatika i a ia mō tēnei mahi uaua, ā, tino pai ana hoki te oti i a ia.

I Noema o te tau 1942 kua noho kē ia hai kaingārahu tuarua mō te hokowhitu Māori, he meiha nei tōna tūranga. I te pākaha o te taotūnga o Rūtene Kānara Pēneti (C. M. Bennett) i Takrouna, tohua ana a Reta ki te tūranga o te rūtene kānara, ka riro nei i a ia te whakahaere taupua o te hokowhitu Māori, mai i te 22 o Āperira ki te 11 o Hepetema o te tau 1943. I te whakatahinga atu i a Reta ki te hōhipera, riro ana te whakahaere o te hokowhitu i a Rūtene Kānara M. C. Fairbrother.

Nō te marama o Noema o te tau 1943 i whakahokia mai a Keiha ki te kāinga mō tētahi wā nei, ā, he mea puri atu ia hai kaiwhakarite i te hokinga taihoa ake nei o te hokowhitu Māori ki Aotearoa. I tua atu i tēnā ko tana mahi anō he āwhina i te mahi whakatū i te tari matua Māori o te Tari Whakanohonoho Hōia (Rehabilitation Department) ki Pōneke (Wellington). Nō te tau 1944 i whakatūria a ia hai āpiha whakanohonoho hōia Māori. I ngā tau tōmua atu o te tekau tau atu i 1950 i whakawhitia atu ia ki te Wāhanga Toko i te Ora (Welfare Division) o te Tari Māori (Department of Māori Affairs), ā, whakatūria ana a ia hai āpiha toko i te ora mō te rohe Māori o Te Tai Rāwhiti i Tūranga.

I whai wāhi atu anō hoki a Reta Keiha i te mahi whakatū i te tāpui pāka i te puke nei o Kaitī, te wāhi papanga tonu hoki o te pā rongonui rā o Titirangi, he mea koha atu rā ki te iwi o Tūranga. Ahakoa he tamariki rawa ia ki te haere ki te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, kōwhiria ana a ia hai kaitiaki, hai mema anō hoki mō te rōpū mōrehu o Te Hokowhitu-a-Tū (Māori Veterans’ Association), ā, whakatūria atu anō hoki a ia hai mema mō te komiti tautiaki mō ngā hōia Māori (Māori Soldiers’ Trust Committee). Nō te tau 1958 i hui ai ngā hōia mōrehu o ngā pakanga e rua i Te Wairoa ki te whakatū i te rōpū o te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa (28th New Zealand (Māori) Battalion Association), ā, pōtitia ana hoki a Reta hai perehitini mō te peka o Tūranga. Hai mema anō hoki a Reta mō te rōpū whakahaere o te rōpū mō ngā hōia mōrehu (RSA) o Tūranga.

I wātea ai a Reta ki te whakahaere i ōna whenua pāmu i Hexton i mutu tana mahi mā te kāwanatanga, ā, noho ake ana ia ki reira ā mate noa ia i te 29 o Mei i te tau 1961. Mahue ake ana ko tana wahine me ngā tamariki tokowhā. I te hui ā-iwi o te rōpū o te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) o Aotearoa, whakarauika mai ana ngā hōia mōrehu ki te urupā o ngā whānau o ngā Keiha me ngā Kara (Carroll), e pātata tonu ana ki te urupā i Mākaraka, ki te whakatau i te kōhatu whakamaharatanga ki a ia, nā te āpiha kaiārahi tuatahi o te hokowhitu Māori, nā Pirikitia George Dittmer i hura.

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Maata Rewanga Keiha. 'Keiha, Kīngi Āreta', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5k6/keiha-kingi-areta (accessed 29 March 2024)