A GREAT NAVIGATOR

Patea Mail, Volume LIII, 4 August 1933, Page 2

A GREAT NAVIGATOR

Punctually at 2.15 p.m. a procession moved off from liutiand street,- Leaded by tlie Patea. Municipal Brass Baud, and consisting of a squadron ox gueen Alexandra Mounted liitics, under Lieut. Honeylield, a platoon oi Territorials under Lieutenant Huddo w; Hawcra and Waverley Legion ol Frontiersmen, under Lt.-Colonel Viceridge; Boy (Scouts under Scoutmaster Pauling; Girl ’Guides under Miss V. yheild and Miss I. Gibbs; and Brownies under Miss M. Hamcrton; the Haworn Highland Pipe Band, and the various Maori tribes, carrying banners bearing the titles, ‘ ‘ Wainui-a-rua," •‘Kauru, “Atiawa,” “Kuauui,” and “Taranaki. ” Warriors were garb'ed as nearly in conformity with the dress of their ancestors as was possible. Wahincs, wearing the green leaves of karaka, chanted and bailed in those pathetic tones usual on ceremonial occasions of this type. Warriors carried spears and the maidens of the tribes, were equipped with pois. On arriving at the platform in front of the memorial, the Ministerial party was greeted with a chant of dedication by Tama Keliu, Taurua, and Tc Kauhui, after which the visitors were welcomed by the Mayor, ■ whrt, speaking in clear and wringing tones, said: Ladies and gentlemen and all native friends, it gives me great pleasure to give you all a hearty welcome to-day, and particularly our friend, the Hon. J. A. Young, who, as you all know, was with us during our jubilee cclc r brations, when wc took him to sec the place where Turi landed and afterwards lived. There is ouc / point 1 would like to make quite clear. I do not want any people to think dliat the erection of this memorial, was done by us to boost the town. , Nothing of the sort. The erection of the memorial is due to the efforts of Mr, Pancuui, Hr. Tupito, and Mr. Wakarua. The idea of erecting the memorial was brought iuto being- during our jubilee celebrations, when wc invoked the aid of our native friends. Later on Messrs. Campbell and Chisholm came to Pa-' I tea and inquired of us how we made such, a success of our jubilee function, as they were having a jubilee in Hawcra. Wc replied that it was largely due to the assistance rendered by our native friends, and as a result the natives were asked to assist in the Hawora jubilee celebrations. So successful were .their efforts that the natives journeyed to New Plymouth and gave a display in Pukekura .Park, Realising the sum of £IOO, which was placed in the hands of Mr. Campbell and Mr. Kongonui as trustees, and this formed the nucleus of the Turi memorial fund, tlie ‘ natives deciding that they could not put the money to a. better purpose than to enable a memorial to be erected to their ancestor Turi. It was a very worthy thing to, commemorate the work of so great a. navigator as Turi. The' natives present that day, the descendants of Turi, werßj a credit to him, and- if he -could be present that day he would say that he was proud to be their ancestor. (Applause.) • . The following apologies for unavoidable absence from* the gathering were then read:

From the Kt. Hon. J. G. ; Cohtes, Acting Priulc Minister: "T’eua. koutou e to iwi. In sending greetings to those present, at to-day's ceremony, I want to "say how gratifying it is to observe the spirit of co-operation between MaorK and pakoha and pakchaMaori. Goodwill has long been established, but there remained some need for closer co-operation and for greater appreciation, the one by the other, of the qualities, difficulties, and aspirations of the two rae.es, which together form the nation. It is greatly to be desired -that the history of the Maori should be preserved by written records or by other means, and it is interesting to link up, as is being dono to-,day, the early Maori discovery and settlement of various parts of Now; Zealand with several hundred years later. Those at Patea, where the famous voyage of Turi and his settlement of the district arc now being commemorated, will recall the names of leaders of Maori modern civilisation, and among those they will remember with affection, is the late Sir Maui Pomarc, who represented them faithfully and well for many years. The Government is pleased to associate itself-witlrto-day’s ceremony and to be -represented by the Hon. Mi\ J. A, Young, Minister of Internal Affairs. —Kia Ora Kent arc."

Prom Mr.- Taitc tc Tomo,? M.P. for Western .Maori: “Sorry cannot come to-day, am leaving to-night on business up north.”

From Mr. W. T. Katana: “Greetings! Thanks for invitation to Turi memorial ceremony. Ibctoiul my greetings to citizens of Paten. Regret' I am unable to come to join in celebrations to the great, chief Turi.”

ypecches in ‘ Maori were thou de

TURI MEMORIAL UNVEILED A MEMORABLE DAY' Wednesday \Vas a memorable day in the history of Patea, when the unique memorial to the great navigator Turi was unveiled by the Hon. J. A. Young, Minister of Internal Affairs. The memorial, which takes the shape of a canoe 55feet long, the; following inscription on it in Maori as well as English: This is a token of Remembrance. Erected by the descendants living throughout Aoteakoa Of their ancestors, . Turi and Rongorongo, Their family and fellow voyagers Erected 1933.

livcred by Messrs. Tupito Maruorii, Kauenui, Kama, -Pact-aka, ami Kinu, vVukaruu, the latter addressing tJu. gathering also in. English. In addressing the gathering in English, Mr. Wakarua said; “Yout Worship the Mayor of Patca, I greet you on' behalf of xuy people. \ our Worship the Mayor of Hawera, I greet you also. As a' representative of the tribe to which I belong I extend a hearty welcome to all who arc here to honour the great canoe that braved the Pacific, and which lauded ijx New Zealand. I also welcome the honourable gentleman, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and I am pleased to know that the Minister is going to unveil a memorial to our great ancestor Tun.” 1 Mr. Wakarua then presented the Mayor With the painting of the arrival of, Turi and his by Mr., Hay-Campbell and Mr. O. Haddon. Mr. Eamsbottom accepted the gift"'' and stated that it would tyj safely kept so long as Patca remained Jin existence.

Mr. Kamsbottom tvas also tendered two large canoe paddles, a cuube pole, and a number of Maori mats and piupius as token of ‘'Aroha” for the great canoe.

,The Eev. Haddon, .-father-of Mr. Hay-Campboll’s co-artist, Mr. Oliver Haddon, told of the coming of Turi to the mouth of the Patca Elver.'and the establishment of his pa. ‘‘Later," Mr. Haddbu went on, ‘ ‘you pakchas visited, these shores, and instantly the Maori and pakeha grasped hands with love. Less than twenty years passed before they agreed to live as one people. Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the Great -Mother of the Maori, race and of the Empire, drew up a proclamation that was called the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed in 1840. It transferred this country the British Empire hnd tho Maori people agreed to become loyal subjects of that Empire, while the Queen agreed to do everything to protect, her- Maori .people, Little troubles grew, up -'later. There were faults on both sides,, buithosc days arc gone' and arc dead for ever, and the proclamation of the Queen remains., Descendants -of Tun and descendants of the great pakchas; are here as one race, for the good' ol* New Zealand. Let us stick together and work together for t&o .betterment of this laud. ■ To-day we planted a tree in * memory of' Turi; Let pakeha and Maori remain side sidtf, work together, and carry- (Applause.)

Mr,-H. G. Dickie, M.P., next-spoke and stated that -although hc<»wtis -not a' descendant of Turi ho was ji , UjiiSvt, ‘of _Ncw Zealand and a great admirer of the Maori ra«je. Ho thought it only right that* they should honour so great a. navigator as Turi, who, without chart or compasses, had successfully navigated the Pacific. As Britain had honoured her navigators in i the past, so the Maoris had decided to honour their grciflP navigator Turi. Ho would-not detain them, but would usk the Hon. J. A. Young to address them prior to unveiling -the monument. (Applause). The Horn J. A. Young said it gave him pleasure to be once again in Paten. He had the most pleasant recollections of his visit to the, town during the jubilee celebrations, when he had visited the site of Turi’s home and the spring known as Wai-o-turi. As he said then, he thought it only right that the site of 'Turi’a home should be kept as a reserve for the people for all time. The Minister then proceeded to give a long and interesting account of the voyage of Turi to Now Zealand, his trip overland and his arrival in Patca, and stated that he would like to see similar monuments to ;the memory of nil, the other wonderful pioneer migrations to New Zealand associated with the names of the great navigator leaders and their canoes. , -

Mr. Xlsung concluded with thcwfol-' lowing words: “Jt is in the knowledge of the great deeds of the groat men and women of the past that the people of this generation find inspiration to go forward and do their-- best for humanity; and the advancement ot mankind. The Maori people in - early days ihad their differences; later they and the pakeha had theirs. Those differences are- incidents of the past, and to-day the Maoris, as British citizens, are all one people entrusted with u common destiny to live happily together. It is right and proper that we of the two races living in these islands should honour the memory of those who have gone before us, for the good which they have done, and of the reminder it is to us,, the of the good which we can (Applause.) In unveiling the monument, Mr, Young said; "I unveil this monument tp the memory of that great navigator Tari, and dedicate it to the members of the Maori and European races who now live together in peace and harmony in this .ctmntry. ’ *

At the conclusion of the speeches, the following programme was rendercd: (1) Haka by Whaixganui Tribe led by Tama Kehu. (2) Ngatapapawhcro led by J. Tai ■ area. ■= - (0) Poi dance led by Maihi Manx- * era. (1) cNgati-Euanui poi led by Pancnui Haurangaranga. - (5) Poi dance by Eangitaawhi tribe led by Pakirikiri. (6) Poi dance by the Wallaby Boys " led by Tuteri. (7) Poi dance led by Paua Tamarapa (8) Poi dance by Ngarauru tribe led by Kiwa. Jacob. (0) Taiaha display led by P. Hihuroi and . Key. Eongonui. (.10) Pixialc, haka Tewhatewha by Ngauru tribe led by Where.

Prior to the, ceremony His Worship the Mayor, accompanied by the Minister, presented a banner to each of the following football teams: Waiuui-a-rua, Eauru, Euanui, Atiawa, ami Taranaki.

In the evening His Worship: attended at the Domain shed and presented a model of Turi'a .canoe "in wood tot the Euanui team, the winners of the competition, Euanui having .defeated Wainui-a-rua by 6 points and Eauru by 9 points to nil, the other two teams not competing. The canoe model is to be called the, Turi-Eongo-rongo canoe in memory of Turi and his Wife, and is to be competed for annually -by teams from the Eauru, Atiawa, Euanui, Taranaki, and Wai-nui-a-rua tribes. ■ v .... ■■ THE ORIGIN OF THE MEMORIAL. , The idea of a memorial .to Turi had been mooted for some years past, a suggestion being put forward that it ‘be erected at the Patca Heads, near the spot w’here Turi stopped and smelt the soil, a spot which is now a native reserve. It xvas suggested that the memorial take the form -.of a Canoe, but after a while the . subject was dropped; The project was next mooted during' the Haw r era Jubilee proceed*, ings last year, when a. large gathering of natives foregathered to take part in the festivities.

After a preliminary discussion, it was decided that a memorial be - erected, its ■ site being .left. in abeyance. Among" thosei keenly 'interested in the erection of the memorial was Paneuui, who expressed' his determination to have the memorial erected. As an outcome of the Hawera decision, a haka and poi "troop was or : > ganised and proceeded to New Plymouth, where an exhibition was given of hakas and poi dances, £IOO being netted, Mr. J. Campbell and JRongohui "being appointed trustees. . The Maori Trust .Board were then ap- - preached, and they decided to arrange for' the balance of the funds for the inemorial, the members being particu-. larly enthusiastic. "The board receives money's from the Government as com- i pensation for the lands confiscated in . the past, and it distributes funds ,in whatever manner it deems fit for the benefit of the natives. The meeting house, and dining hall recently opened at the Whcnuakur'a pa arc evidences of the board’s activities in this direction. The board consists of r Tupito Marucra : (chairman), Wakarua, Pou Wharemu, Hapi Love, and Hupe. As a result of the board’s generosity, the memorial has been erected at a cost of approximately #SOO. X . .* >yi ■■ ■ ?] '-j-if POI SONGS OP TUBI. The 0 following are two. karakias, or' poi songs, sung during Turi’s vpyago, ! and which were, sung at the- - ceremony:, ** , . ;.■ . * HU KABAKXA POL * POI SONG (TUTAKI TAIvl INGA- ’ WAKA). Give'car, oh Tribes, whilst the world' looks on, * - And the Hosts of Heaven illuminate " the sky. - Lol The beckoning- glimmer of Taitorq (Orion’s belt) .As it sets forth its challenge from on high • Firstly to the constellation of Apipiri t Second to Binuumu, Thirdly to the'great white milky way, fourthly to 'the reflections of the -■ . dawn 1 • ..;■■■■ ■ ■ ■ And the source of its origin. Alas I My insignificance, for I am but from the' excavations of Kaitaugi Ariki Of the contingent of Ngai-tu-Tuta- . wake. . ■

Defeat and death are not for mo. I am of.the seed sown hither from upon Eangiatca. Thus did Toto cater the domain of Tano CGod of the Forests)^ And felled, he a tree from which were made' these two canoes. Matahouma he gave to Kummarotini, Aotca-roa to Rongorongo. So stand and chant the I‘anio of Taiuui. • .Ghaut the fame of ‘To Arawa, Chant the fame of Matatua,^ Chant the feme of To Komaru, Chant the fame of Kurahaupo, Chant the fame of Taketumu, Chant the fame of Aotea-roa. Chant in battle—Chant in peace, Chant in meekness—Chant in love. Let it asefend like vapour to the hoa- *• vena and remain Above in all creation’s space In light supreme, in blaze of day,A pendant in the sky, Hold fast, for it is soul of power, Soul of earth and heaven, Ah, and life unlimited. Translation by Orima ;T. Hadden.