Nō te 25 o Pēpuere o te tau 1905 i whānau ai a Iriaka Te Rio i Hiruhārama (Jerusalem) i te tai whakarunga o te awa o Whanganui. Nō Ngāti Hāua (Hāuaroa rānei) tōna pāpā a Te Rio Te Hihiri, arā, nō Taumarunui rā te nuinga o te iwi nei. Nō ngā hapū anō hoki o Ngāti Ruru o Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi a Te Rio Te Hihiri, ā, tērā pea he tūhononga anō hoki ōna ki a Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Ko Merania Te Karaute o Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi tōna whaea, arā, ko Te Uru Taiaha Merenia Te Karaute anō rā tōna īngoa, nō muri i karangatia kētia ko Delphine. Nō te iwi anō hoki o Ngā Poutama a Iriaka, me te hapū anō hoki o Ngāti Uenuku o Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. I kuraina mai ia i te kura o ngā none o te āroharoha (Sisters of Compassion) i Hiruhārama, ā, he mea ako rā ia ki te waiata me te whakatangitangi i te piana. He kōhine kamakama, pūmanawa, ātaahua kē nei hoki a Iriaka.

I te wā tekau mā ono pea tōna pakeke, i toro atu rātou ko tōna whānau ki te kite i tētehi o ō rātou whāea kēkē e pāngia ana e te mate i te tauranga pokapū o Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, nō muri mai i karangatia ko Rātana Pā. I te mutunga o te noho roa a te whānau ki reira, i tō rātou hokinga atu, mahue kē mai ana a Iriaka i tōna whānau. Waihoki te take i pērāka ai, he waiho i a ia hai rangatahi whakarōpū i ngā mahi kapa haka, piu poi, waiata atu hoki, hai tira mā te Māngai, arā, te īngoa ake anō mō Rātana, haere tahi ai rātou i ana haere huri noa i Aotearoa nei. I te toronga atu o Rātana ki ngā whenua o Peretānia, o Uropi me Hapana i te tau 1924, ko Iriaka tonu tētehi o te rōpū i hari tahi atu a ia. Riro ana ko Iriaka hai patu i te piana i te pēne whakatangitangi nei a ngā kōtiro.

I te kāinga tonu ake o Rātana a Iriaka e noho ana, ā, atu i te tau 1925, nā runga tonu i ngā akiaki ake a Te Urumanaao, e hia tau kē nei ko ia te hoa wahine o Rātana, i whakaritea ai a Iriaka hai hoa wahine punarua mā Rātana. Hai tautiaki kē nei hoki i te Māngai te take i pēnekitia ai, tautiaki rā i a ia mai i ngā taitamāhine a ngā manuhiri e mui ake nei i te pā o Rātana, i āna hui mīhana kē rānei. Waihoki rā i noho ake te īngoa karanga mō Te Urumanaao ko Te Whaea o te Katoa, me te īngoa karanga mō Iriaka ko Te Whaeaiti. Ko te tino mahi a Iriaka he whakaako i ngā wāhine o ngā rōpū mahi Māori, ā, i mau tonu ake tana haere i te taha o Rātana i ngā tau tōmuri ake o te tekau tau atu i 1920 me ngā tau tōmua ake hoki o te tekau tau atu i 1930. Nō te tau 1928 i whānau ai te tama a Iriaka, a Hāmuera. E ai ki te whakaaro o ngā mōrehu ko tana matenga i te mate kohi i te 22 o Oketopa o te tau 1934 te utu mō te rironga kē i a Rātana o te mana o ngā tohunga. Mahue mai ana tōna īngoa hai īngoa taitara mō ngā mema Rātana o te Whare Pāremata. Hoi anō nō te marama o Hune o te tau 1937 i whānau anō he tama ki a Iriaka, ko Rāniera Te Aohou Rātana nei tōna īngoa, taro rawa ake ki te takiwā mai i te tekau tau atu i 1990 ka noho mai ko ia hai Tumuaki mō te Hāhi Rātana. I te taenga atu ki te tau 1939 kua noho kē ko Iriaka tētehi o ngā wāhine tino ranga wairua e hautū nei i te kaupapa Rātana.

I te matenga atu o Rātana i taua tau anō, i moea ake e Iriaka a Matiu Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, tētehi o ngā tama tāmanga a te Māngai rāua ko Te Urumanaao. I raro i tētehi wāhanga kaupapa ahu whenua Māori, miraka kau ai ngā tokorua nei i Whangaehu. I te matenga atu o te tuakana o Matiu, o Haami Tokouru Rātana, ko ia nei te Tumuaki tuarua o te Hāhi Rātana, mema Pāremata atu hoki mō Te Tai Hauāuru, kōwhiria ake ana a Matiu e te Rōpū Reipa hai taua rā mō tōna tuakana. Nō te tau 1945 i toa ai a Matiu ki te tūru Māori o Te Tai Hauāuru. I te pōtitanga a te hīnota i te Tumuaki mō te Hāhi Rātana i te tau 1946, mahue ake ana te tāwhai nei a Homai Tamaiparea, pōti kētia ana ko Matiu. Ahakoa he wā nei haere tahi ai a Iriaka rāua ko tana hoa, arā, ko ‘te Rātana Tuatoru’ ki ana hui mīhana, auau tonu te mahue ake o Iriaka ki runga i te pāmu ko tana kotahi, nuku atu i te ono tekau ngā kau hei miraka māna, hīhiki kēne miraka atu hoki, me te tiaki mai anō i ana tamariki taiohi noa nei.

Nā te aituā i te motokā i te tau 1949 i tino whara ai a Matiu, ā, nō te 7 o Oketopa i pahemo atu a ia, kua hipa pea tōna pakeke i te toru tekau mā rima tau. Ahakoa i mahue ake a Iriaka, he pāmu nei tāna hai whakahaere, me te aua atu o tana hapūtanga i tana tamaiti tuawhitu, hua ana tōna whakaaro kia riro i a ia te tūranga o tōna hoa tāne. Kua pau katoa tōna pakeketanga e karapotia ana e ngā kaupapa tōrangapū a Rātana, ā, kore rawa kua ngaro i a ia he mea paku nei o te āhua o ngā whakapiripiringa o Rātana rāua ko te Rōpū Reipa. O ngā whakaīngoatanga i puta wawe ake ai, ko ērā rā mō Uruteangina Wakarua rāua ko H. Te Moananui Hovell; i āhua whakaaro anō hoki a Ralph Love ki te tū. Ahakoa te hiahia kē o te Rōpū Reipa ki a John Te Herekiekie Grace, nā runga i te nui o ngā pōti a te kaupapa Rātana i tautoko kē ai te rōpū nei i a Iriaka Rātana.

I te kōwhiringa i a ia, kōkiria ana a Iriaka e te kaihautū rā o Tainui, e Te Puea Hērangi. I tētehi hui iwi whānui nei i Tūākau, whakahē ana ia i te kaupapa, arā, te riro kē mā te wahine noa ‘a Tainui waka e kāpene’. He mea whakaatu anō e Te Puea, te tononga ake i a ia i te tau 1946 kia tū hai mema, ēngari nā te kaupapa ake i kore ai ia i whakaae. Hāunga rā i te pōtitanga mō ngā kaiwhakauru, tekau katoa nei rātou, i te 29 o Noema o te tau 1949, toa ana ko Iriaka Rātana; inarā, 9,069 kē ngā pōti a Iriaka, ka noho ake ko 6,317 kē te nui atu o ana pōti i ērā a te tāwhai rā i muri tonu ake i a ia, arā, a Hoeroa Marumaru, ko ia nei te kanohi o te Rōpū Nāhinara. Nō te marama o Tīhema o te tau 1949 i whānau ai tana pōtiki. I tana tomokanga i te Whare Pāremata, mahue ake ana i a ia ētehi o tōna whānau whānui hai āwhina i ngā mea pakeke o ana tamariki ki te whakahaere i te pāmu me te tiaki mai anō hoki i ngā mea tamariki.

Noho ake ana a Iriaka Rātana i te Whare Pāremata mō ngā tau rua tekau te roa. I ana tau tōmua ake he momo kaitōrangapū rerekē anō nei ia, ā, ahakoa tōna mātanga kore, he wahine wahapū, wahine hūmārika, huatau kē nei ia. Mau haere tonu tana kite i te taha pai o ngā mahi ake a te hunga tōrangapū mā te iwi Māori, ā, waihoki tāna he whakaatu i te taha tika ake o ngā mahi a te kāwanatanga. Ā, i te mutunga mai, whakarongo whakanui kētia ana a ia e ngā taha e rua o te Whare. Waiho kētia ana e ia te nuinga o ana kōrero mō ngā take toko i te ora, arā, mō ngā whare penihana mō te hunga Māori e taipakeke haeretia ana, te whakaakoranga, te mahi whakaako i te hunga tamariki Māori ki te mahi pāmu, me ngā raruraru e pā ana ki te maha o ngā tamariki Māori e hōrapa atu nei ki te kimi mahi i ngā tāone me ngā tāone nui. Hiahia ana a ia kia whai kāinga taupua te hunga nei, tae atu ki te whakahaere anō i te mahi whakangungu i a rātou ki ngā mahi ā-rehe.

Haehaetia ana te whatumanawa e ngā whakaatu mai a Iriaka i te āhua o te takarure noa o te tauoranga o ētehi Māori, e heke haere tonu atu ana ki te taiao o te rawakore, o te kore mahi, o te kore whiwhi mātauranga, kore whai whakaurunga noa iho rānei. Ki te whakaaro o Iriaka e taea noatia ana ngā raruraru katoa nei te whakatikatika e te Tari Māori me ana āpiha toko i te ora, me he atawhai matua kē nei te whakaaaro o te Tari; i tua atu i tēnā me tuku atu anō te mahi nei ki ērā atu o ngā rōpū pērā i te Rōpū Wāhine Toko i te Ora (Māori Women’s Welfare League). He mihimihi tonu te mahi a Iriaka ki te rōpū nei, ko ia tonu nei te tiamana o te peka o Whangaehu, me te kanohi tuatahi mō te rohe o Aotea i te rōpū matua. E tareka ai e te Māori te noho whakaurunga, e ai ki te whakaaro o Iriaka me wete atu anō hoki e te Māori he wāhanga nei o te tikanga noho ā-iwi, ēngari me mau tonu ki te reo me te tuakiri. Auau tonu nei tana whakahua atu ki te Whare Pāremata, ahakoa te rapu ake o te Māori i te ōritetanga, ko te hiahia tonu o te iwi Māori ko te kāwanatanga me te Tari Māori hai mātua tiaki i a rātou. Pūmau tonu tana tautoko i te Tiriti o Waitangi, ināra, hai ‘tohu tino whakamārama’ mō te mahi whakawhanaunga ā-iwi. He mema anō hoki a Iriaka nō te Komiti mō ngā Mea Māori (Māori Affairs Committee), nō te poari o te tahua ngore whakamaumahara ki a Ngārimu VC me te Ope Taua 28 (Māori) (Ngārimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarship Fund Board) me te poari mō te Tahua Moni mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Purposes Fund Board). I tua atu i tēnā he mea pōti atu hoki a ia ki ngā Poari Whenua Māori o te Rohe o Aotea me Waikato–Maniapoto (Aotea and Waikato–Maniapoto District Land Boards) .

I whakangākau pono tonu a Iriaka ki te whakatinana i ngā painga o ana kaipōti katoa. Tautohea ana e ia te rironga whakaturetanga atu o Ōrākei, ā, i kaha anō hoki tana whawhai kia whakamanatia tonutia ai te kirimina waipiro o te Rohe Pōtae me te whakatapu anō hoki i te mahi kai waipiro i taua whaitua. Whakatakotoria ake ana e ia ki te aroaro o te Whare ngā take hiahia o ngā kaupapa ahu whenua o Waikato–Maniapoto, ā, ahakoa kīhai ia i tae ki Wharekauri – arā, ki Rēkohu i te reo Moriori (Chatham Islands) – whakaarahia ake ana e ia te āhua o ngā whare noho me ērā atu take anō hoki. Nō te tau 1954 i mahi tahi ai rāua ko Tākuta Rangi Metekīngi me ētehi atu anō hoki ki te whakakaupapa i te Ture Whakahaere i ngā Whenua Whakareia Māori (Māori Vested Lands Administration Act), ko tōna tikanga he whakamutu i ngā mahi hoko, mahi rīhi rānei i ngā whenua tīpuna. I whai wāhi anō ia ki te mahi ahu i te poraka whenua tino nui kē nei o Ōhotu. I mahi tahi anō hoki ia me ngā kaiwhiwhi o te whenua o Morikau ki te whakatū i tētehi whare noho mō te hunga taiohi e mahi ake nei i Whanganui. He mea whakahaere anō hoki e ia te whakahokinga mai o ngā whenua o Pipiriki hai whakatū whare i te takiwā kāinga, arā, i te Kaitiaki Māori (Māori Trustee) kē aua whenua e pupuri ana.

I āhua tupu pokanoa mai nei te tupu haere ake o Rātana Pā i te whenua ake o te whānau Rātana. I te tau 1950 kāore anō i whiwhi huarahi tōtika noa te takiwā nei, whiwhi āhuatanga kawe atu i ngā parakaingaki, wai paipa mai rānei. He maha kē nei ngā whare taretare, he papa oneone tonu, ā, kāore hoki i whai wāhi hōroi, tunu kai kē rānei. Mōiriiri ana te mahi noho kikī a te tangata i aua whare, me te mate anō hoki o te tangata i te mate kohi me ērā atu mate noa nei. Ahakoa te whakahē a te tangata me te whakaputa anō a ngā kāwanatanga taua i ā rātou rīpoata, kore rawa i ahatia. Ko te mahi tino mīharo rawa atu a Iriaka ko tana takahuringa ake i ngā hē nei. Nō te tau 1951 i whakarauika haeretia e ia te tangata, whakawetiwetitia hoki e ia te Poari Whenua Māori o te Rohe o Aotea (Aotea Māori District Land Board) ki te whakatū whare ki Rātana Pā kē, tē whakatū whare noa ai ki Whanganui. Haere ana ia ki te kite i te Minita mō ngā Take Māori, i a Te Kōpata (E. B. Corbett) (ā, nō muri ake i a Waata Naahi (Walter Nash), ka Pirimia nei ia) ki te pōwhiri i a ia kia haere ki Rātana Pā hai kite tonu māna i ngā āhua nei. Oti atu ana i a ia te whakataunaki ake i te poari hauware noa nei, arā, te Poari Kaitiaki o Rātana (Rātana Trust Board), ki tētehi komiti ā-iwi. Ko te mana ake o te komiti nei nō mai i te Ture Toko i te Ora me te Pai mō te Iwi Māori (Māori Social and Economic Advancement Act) o 1945, ka āhei ai te tiki atu i ngā moni āwhina a te kāwanatanga hai whakatutuki i ngā mahi a Rātana Pā. Ko te mutunga mai o ana mahi kaha, mahi roa kē nei i te tekau tau atu i 1950, ko te whakatakoto i ngā paipa wai, ko te otinga atu o te mahi rūri, tirotiro taitara whenua, i tareka ai te mahi whakatū whare, mahi rōri, mahi whakapininga āhuatanga kawe atu i ngā paraikaingaki me ērā atu painga anō hoki.

Nō te tau 1958 i haere ai a Iriaka ki Barbados hai kanohi mō te kāwanatanga ki te hui o te rōpū mō ngā Pāremata o te Tōpūtanga (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association). Nā te tūtukitanga o te motokā i te tau 1959 i tino whara ai te uma me te māhunga o Iriaka, ā, kotahi tau a ia e kore rawa ana e āhei ki te mahi i ana mahi pāremata. Ahakoa i tupu heke tōna ora, noho ake ana ia kia tekau tau e mahi haere tonu ana. I te takiwā o te tekau tau atu i 1960, i tino whakahē nei ia i te kāwanatanga, me tana hono atu anō ki ngā whakahēnga atu hoki ki te Kaunihera Māori o Niu Tīreni mō ngā Kaiwhakahaere ā-Iwi (New Zealand Council of Tribal Executives). Tino kino kē tana whakawākanga i te Pire Whakatikatika i te Ture mō ngā Take Māori (Māori Affairs Amendment Bill) o 1967. E ai ki tāna, kātahi te pire whakawhana rawa atu ko tēnei! He turaki, he whakangaro kē atu tāna i ngā tikanga me ngā tino whakaaro o te Māori. Ki a ia anō, ko wai te Māori e ngākaunui ana ki tōna iwi ka tautoko i te mahi pēnei? Ēngari i tana whaikōrero whakamutunga kāore i mahue i a ia te tikanga o te kaupapa whakaurunga, tae atu ki te mariu o tana whakaaro mō te āhua anō o te whakawhanaunga ā-iwi.

Nō te tau 1969 i tukua ai e Iriaka tana tūranga pāremata, mutu ai hoki tana kitea ake e te iwi whānui, ka hoki atu nei ia ki te pāmu noho ai. Tekau tau ia e pānui pukapuka ana, e mahi kāri ana, ā, ko tētehi o ana tino mahi he mahi korowai (he mea whakapaipai ki ngā kihukihu pango). Nō te tau 1971 i tohua a Iriaka ki te OBE. Otirā, nō te 21 o Tīhema o te tau 1981 i mate ai a Iriaka Rātana i te hōhipera o Whanganui, e whitu tekau mā ono nei tōna pakeke. Mahue ake ana tokoiwa o ana tamariki me te maha atu hoki o te mokopuna. I tāpukena a ia ki te urupā o Aramuhu (Aramoho).

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārangi:

Angela Ballara. 'Rātana, Iriaka Matiu', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2000. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/biographies/5r7/ratana-iriaka-matiu (accessed 18 April 2024)