MAORI CLERGYMAN

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 92, 30 March 1936, Page 7

MAORI CLERGYMAN

Memorial to Late Rev. Pene Hakiwai UNVEILING THIS WEEK Representatives of the Ma art race from far afield will assemble at Omahu Pa next Thursday, to take part in the unveiling of a memorial monument in honour of tho late R«v. Pene Hakiwai, a Maori Church of England priest, who died last October. , The service will commence at > o clock and will be conducted by Bishop F. A. Bonnett, and will be attended hy representatives of the tribes at Ruatoki, Mhakatane (Bay of Plenty), East Coast, Poverty Hay, Hawke’s Bay and Otaki. At the service His Lordship wjH unveil a monument that has been erected at the graveside. The actual monument is one that will clearly indicate the high regard iu which the late Mr Hakiwai was held. Standing nearly six feet high, it hears a cross made of Italian marble cm marble bases, and at the foot there ts an open book of marble representing the Bible. The inscription, which is in Maori, when translated reads as follows :— This Stone is erected in memory of Rev. Pene Hakiwai Major-Chaplin N.Z.M.P.B. He died on October 27, 1935 j Aged 54 years. Then follow the names of the tribes, and it concludes with the text—- “ Asleep in the Lord.” The late Mr Hakiwai was educated at Ta Rau Theological College, Gisborne, and entered the ministry in 1908 as a deacon. He became a priest in 1910 and was at the mission station at Ruatoki from then until 1917, when he became vicar of the Moteo Maori district. In 1929 he was appointed assistant Maori superintendent of the Hawke’s Bay district in the diocese of Waiapu, and he remained in that office until his death, which followed a fairly long illness. He saw service in the Great War as major-chaplin to the Maori pioneers, and was also a representative of the Maori race during the coronation proceedings of the late King Edward VII. A man of distinct administrative ability, he was greatly respected by his charges and showed a high standard of churchmanship. In connection with the unveiling ceremony of the memorial, Mr. E. L. Cullen, M.P., intimated this morning that when in Wellington he would speak to the Prime Minister, the Hon. M. J. Savage, regarding a representative of the Government being present at the ceremony. Mr. Savage himself had been invited, said Mr. Cullen, but on account of Parliament being in session he would not be able to be present.