In Search of A House Te Mahi Rapu Whare

Te Ao Hou, June 1963, Page 15

In Search of A House Te Mahi Rapu Whare by Sid Mead naa Hirini Moko Ko wai o koutou e moohio ana ki to teenei mahi ki te rapu whare? Ahakoa kei whea te taaone he mahi nui teenei. Naa, mehemea he taaone tino nui peenei i a Aakarana nei, kaatahi ka tino uaua rawa atu. E hara hoki i te mea he Maaori anake kei te kimi whare. Kaaore, he Haamoa, he Rarotong, he Hainamana, he Mangumangu, he Paakehaa, me ngai taaua. Ngaa momo tangata katoa o te ao e piirangi whare ana, inaianei tonu, moo raatou. I te marama o Nooema i te tau 1962 ka tiimata maaua ko taku hoa wahine i te mahi nei. Tuatahi ka tuhia e maaua he karere hei paanui i roo nuupepa. Ko nga koorero o te paanui nei i haere peenei. ‘E hiahia ana teetahi whaamere moohio ki te tiaki whare, noo Hamutana, ki teetahi whare e toru oona ruuma moe, moo te tau kotahi e rua raanei. Me tuku ngaa whakautu moo te paanui nei ki too maaua kaainga. Ko te waea 89613.’ Naa, ka tatari maaua ki ngaa whakautu. Tino kore rawa teetahi i tae mai. Tuarua, ka tiimata maaua ki te titiro i ngaa nuupepa o Aakarana ki te waahi paanui i ngaa whare moo te tuku. Naa eenei ka moohio maaua i ngaa utu moo te wiki e piirangitia ana e ngaa kaituku—e ono paauna, e whitu raanei, e waru, e iwa, tekau tae noa ki te tekau maa rua paauna i te wiki. Ka raruraru o maaua whakaaro i te nui rawa o te utu. Ka tiimata te whakaaro mehemea ka taea e maaua Who of you have experienced this task of searching for a house? No matter in what town, this is an arduous affair. If the town should happen to be a very large one like Auckland then the task becomes even more difficult. You see, it is not only the Maori people who are searching for houses. No, there are Samoans, Rarotongans. Chinese, Hindus, Europeans, as well as ourselves. All breeds of men are today wanting houses. In the month of November 1962 my wife and I started. We began by publishing an advertisement in the newspaper. The message of the advertisement went like this. ‘A good living family from Hamilton would like to rent a three bedroom house for one or two years. Send replies to our home address or ring 89–613, Hamilton.’ Then we waited for the replies. Not a single one came. Next we began examining the advertisements section of Auckland newspapers. From these columns we learnt how much rent was being demanded by the owners—six pounds, or may-be seven, eight, nine, ten and upwards to twelve pounds per week. The high rents troubled us somewhat. We began to wonder whether we could still manage to pay our bills, for food, power, telephone rentals, and such like. We looked at the papers every day. Now here is one which may be all right—six pounds ten shillings is the weekly rental.

te utu o a maaua nama, araa moo te kai, moo te hiko, moo te waea, me eeraa atu mea. Ia raa, ia raa, ka titiro maaua, ka titiro. Teeraa pea he pai teenei e ono paauna, tekau herengi te utu. He whare e toru ngaa ruuma moe, kei Henderson e tu ana. Ka riingi atu maaua. Ko te whakahoki mai, kua riro kee. Aa, kaati, me titiro anoo. Anei teetahi kei Te Atatuu. He whare e rua ngaa ruuma moe. E ono paauna te utu i te wiki. Engari ko te tangata naana i paanui he tangata hokohoko whenua, hokohoko whare. Me peehea, me riingi atu? Aae. Ka riingi atu maaua. Ko te whakahoki, ‘Kaare e taea te koorero atu inaianei. Me haere rawa mai koe ki te reehita i too ingoa ki roto i o maatou pukapuka. Naa, kia mutu teenei, kaatahi taatou ka koorero’. ‘E kii, me peenei kee!’ Ko ahau teenei. Ka titiro anoo maaua i te nuupepa. Kei Maungawhau teetahi whare hou, e toru oona ruuma moe, kaaore he taputapu o roto, e tata ana ki ngaa toa, ki ngaa pahi, ki te kura moo ngaa tamariki. He karaati toona moo te motokaa. Ka whakaaro maaua, ka pai hoki teenei. Me riingi atu kia moohiotia te utu moo te wiki. Naa, ka riingi atu. Ka kii atu au, ‘Teenaa koe. I kite ahau i too paanui i te nuupepa o te rangi nei, araa, too paanui i too whare hei tuku. E rapu whare ana ahau. He aha te utu moo te wiki moo too whare i paanuitia nei?’ Ka whakahoki mai te kaituku, ‘Tekau paauna i te wiki!’ Kaa kii atu au, ‘Aa, teenaa anoo koe, e hoa! Hei konei ra!’ E toru herengi me te hikipene te utu moo te waea nei. Ka roa e peenei ana, ka whakaaro maaua me tuku anoo he paanui ki te nuupepa. Teeraa pea ka kitea e te tangata, ka riingi mai. Ka tukua taa maaua paanui Ka ahatia? Kore rawa i arotia e te tangata, ka riingi mai. Ka tukua taa maaua paanui Ka ahatia? Kore rawa i arotia e te tangata. Tekau maa toru herengi eenaa kua haere ki te poo tangotango, ki tua o te aaral. Kua wehe atu i a maaua, kua haere pea ki teetahi whenua aataahua, nui atu te whare! Naa, ka whakaaro maaua kaaore he painga o te mahi nei. Kua riingi atu maaua i ngaa taangata maha, kua paanui maaua i o maaua hiahia i roo nuupepa. Kaaore rawa he painga. Ko te koorero inaianei, me haere maaua ki Aakarana ki te kite aa tinana i ngaa taangata tuku whare, aa, kia kite hoki i ngaa whare. Ka riingi atu ki te aapiha toko i te ora, ka koorero atu i too maaua hiahia. Ko taana whakahoki, aae, me haere mai maaua ki Aakarana, maana hei whakatikatika. It is a house of three bedrooms and it stands at Henderson. We rang through to the owner. His reply, the house had already been taken. Well then, there is nothing to do, but to start looking again. Here is one at Te Atatu. It is a two bedroom residence. Six pounds per week. The man who advertised it is a land agent. What should one do, ring him? Yes. We rang him. And his reply, ‘We cannot tell you anything more about it. You come in to our office and register your name in our books. When this is done we shall tell you all you want to know.’ ‘Is this how you do things?’ This was me asking. We looked at the newspaper again. A new house at Mt Eden was advertised with three bedrooms, unfurnished, handy to the shops, to buses, to a school for the children. It has a garage for the car. We thought, this looks good. We should ring through and find out how much the weekly rent is. We rang through. I said, ‘Good morning; I saw your advertisement published in today's newspaper. I refer to your house to let. I am wanting a house. What is the rent for your house?’ The owner replied, ‘ten pounds a week!’ I said, ‘Well, good morning again, friend’. ‘Goodbye!’ The ring cost me 3s. 6d. We had been going like this for some days now when we thought we should publish another advertisement. Perhaps people will see it this time and they will ring us. So we sent our advertisement. What happened? Not one person saw it. Thirteen shillings crossed into the night of blackness, across the great divide. They parted from us, going perhaps to a glorious land where there were lots of houses! We thought this was no good. We have rung numerous people and we have advertised in the newspapers. Absolutely no luck. The plan now is that we should go to Auckland so we could deal personally with the agents or owners and actually see the houses. On the Saturday we set off in our car for Auckland. On arrival we discovered the name of a land agent who might be able to supply our need. Then we went to the man's office at the bottom of Queen Street not far from the Chief Post Office. We entered. The fellow said, ‘Good morning! Wait a bit, it shan't be long. Would you mind waiting outside here please.’ We waited for some time and then out came an old Paakehaa man who looked a bit shabby. What he wanted was of course the same as we wanted. Now that the land agent was clear we entered his office, and we all

I te Haatarei ka whakatika mai maaua, maa runga i too maaua motokaa, ki Aakarana, ki te kaainga o taua taangata. Tae atu, ka koorero mai ia ko wai te tangata kaihokohoko whenua, hei whakarite i o maaua hiahia. Naa, ka haere maaua ki te kaainga mahi o te tangata nei, kei raro o Queen Street, tata tonu ki te Poutaapeta Nui. Ka kuhu atu maaua. Ka kii mai taua tangata, ‘Teenaa koorua! Taihoa, kaaore e roa ka waatea ahau. Me whanga mai koorua i waho naa!’ Ka whanga maaua, aa ka puta mai ki waho teetahi koroheke Paakehaa, paruparu nei te aahua. Ko taana hiahia peeraa anoo i too maaua. Naa, ka waatea te tangata tuku whare, ka haere atu maaua ki tana ruuma, ka taki noho ki raro. Ka koorero mai taua tangata, ka rere aana paatai. He aha te momo whare e piirangi ana maaua? Tokohia ngaa tamariki? He aha te utu ka taea e maaua, ia wiki, ia wiki. He motokaa anoo too maaua, me eeraa atu paatai. Kii tonu tana ruuma i te toroa mau kaari. Ka haere toona ring ki teetahi o ngaa toroa, ka kumea mai ki waho. Kei roto i te toroa nei eetahi kaari aahua nui ake i te kaari purei moni. He tuhituhi kei runga i ngaa kaari nei, e paa ana ki ngaa whare tuku kei a ia. E hia ngaa ruuma moe, peehea te tawhito, he kaainga pai wehi raanei, he karaati raanei, te ingoa o te tangata noona ake te whare, te nama o toona waea, te utu i te wiki, me eetahi atu koorero—kei runga i ngaa kaari nei. Ka tirohia e ia ngaa kaari nei, me te koorero mai ki a maaua moo te uaua o te mahi nei, moo te nui hoki o te utu moo te whare tootika. I kii ana ko ia, teeraa anoo teetahi mea nui ki a ia ki te kaituku, ko te moohio o te tangata ki te tiaki whare. Kia pai tonu, kia maa, kia koa ai ngaa ngaakau o ngaa kaituku. Ko eetahi taangata hoki he paruparu, he waawaahi taonga, he turituri. He paatii tonu te mahi, ka umere ngaa waha, ka takahi ngaa waewae, ka patua ngaa waahine, ka rere te kangakanga. Naa, ka kino ngaa taangata noho tata atu ki aua mahi, ka kohete i te kaituku. Ka mea atu ahau, ehara maaua i te taangata mahi peeraa. Ka whakahoki ko ia, e moohio ana ia. Ka kumea mai e ia, eetahi o ngaa kaari nei hei titiro maa maaua. Ko ngaa utu moo raatou e rima paauna tekau herengi, e ono paauna raanei. Ka tuhituhia ngaa koorero moo ngaa whare nei, me ngaa tohutohu kei hea. Ka kii mai taua tangata, ‘Naa, me haere koorua ki te titiro i ngaa whare nei. Mehemea e pai ana teetahi ki a koorua me riingi mai koe ki ahau, aa, me utu mai ki ahau ngaa moni sat down. He spoke to us, asking many questions. What kind of house did we want? How many children? What rent can you pay each week? Have we a car, and so on. His room was full of filing cabinets. His hand went towards one of these and he pulled it out. In the drawer were some cards a little larger than playing cards. Upon the cards were some writing concerning houses to let, which he had. How many bedrooms, the age, whether it was a good or undesirable home, whether it had a garage, the name of the owner of the house, the number of this telephone, the weekly rental and some other facts—this is what was on the cards. He perused the cards, talking to us as he did so of the difficulties of this business and how expensive decent houses were. He said a big thing as far as he was concerned, was whether a person knew how to look after a house. He should be careful and clean so as to gladden the hearts of the owners. Some people were dirty, destructive, and noisy. They were always partying, yelling their mouths off, stamping their feet, breating their wives and using foul language. This kind of thing angers the neighbours and they have arguments with the owners. I assured him we were not people of that kind. He replied that he knew we were not. He pulled out several cards for us to look at. Rentals for these were £5 10s. to £6. He wrote down some facts about these houses together with some directions to locate them. The man said, ‘Now you go and have a look

moo te wiki tuatahi. Mehemea he wehi rawa ngaa whare nei, kaaore koorua e piirangi, ana, e pai ana teenaa, kaaore he utu moo te titiro.’ Haere ana maaua. Naa, ko teetahi o ngaa whare nei, i Birkenhead e tuu ana, i raawaahi o te taaone o Aakarana. Ko te whare nei kaaore i tino pai ake i te whata kaanga, i te whare kurii raanei. Ai, ko te paruparu, me te karukaru, me te tino koroua o teenei whare, ka whakaaro ahau mehemea moo a maaua heihei te kaainga nei ka tika taa maaua hara mai ki te titiro. Ko te utu moo te wiki moo taua whare kurii nei, e rima paauna tekau herengi. Teeraa anoo teetahi o ngaa whare nei, i te tahataha o te hiwi kei reira nei te kaareti o Kuini Wikitooria. Ko te mate o teenei kaainga he teitei rawa, he uaua moo te piki atu, kaare i tino pai moo te tamariki. Kaaore maaua i piirangi ki ngaa whare a te tangata ra. I te ahiahi ka hokona mai e maaua te nuupepa moo te ahiahi, ka titiro i ngaa paanui mo te whare tuku. Ka haere maaua ki teetahi pouaka waea ki te riingi atu ki ngaa kaituku. I muri mai ka haere maaua ki te titiro i ngaa whare nei, aa, poo noa. Naa ngaa mahi o teenei raa, ka moohio maaua e kore e taea te whare tootika i te ono paauna i te wiki, i te ono paauna tekau herengi raanei Me nuku atu te reti i teenei, kaatahi anoo ka tata atu ki ngaa whare papai. Mutu ana te Kirihimete, ka nuku mai maaua ko taku hoa, ki Aakarana noho ai. Ko te whakaaro me noho tata tonu ki ngaa whare nei, kia maamaa ai te haere ki te titiro. Ko teenei mahi hoki e rite ana ki te omaoma whakataetae. Ka tae wawe ngaa mea kakama ki te oma, araa, ngaa mea noho tata; ka mahue ki muri ngaa mea tawhiti ngaa kaainga. E toru ngaa raa he riingi te mahi, he haere ki te titiro whare, he hoko nuupepa. Te kitea teetahi whare moo maaua, kore rawa! E haere ana maaua i te taaone i teetahi rangi, ki te haereere, aa, ki te maatakitaki hoki i ngaa taonga miharo o Aakarana, ka kite maaua i teetahi paanui he mea peita ki runga i te wini. Ko te paanui nei e whakaatu ana i te ingoa o eetahi taangata reti whare, hokohoko whare. Ka whakaaro maaua he pai tonu pea me haere atu maaua kia kite he aha ngaa whare kei a raatou moo te reti, kei tuupono noa, kei a raatou eetahi whare aataahua, ngawari te utu. Ka whakatika atu maaua ki te kuaha, aae, e puaki ana. Ka kuhu atu maaua. E rua ngaa waahine e whakahaere ana i te mahi nei. Kii tonu too raaua i te auahi o a raaua hikareti. Ka rere ngaa mihi, me to at these houses. If you find one which you like ring me, and then pay me the rent money for the first week. If the houses are funny and you don't like them, that would be all right as there is no charge for booking.’ So off we went. Now one of these houses was at Birkenhead on the other side of the city of Auckland. This house was not much better than a shed used for storing corn, or a dog kennel. It was dirty, raggedy and so ancient that if we were looking around for a house for our hens, then this was the place. The weekly rental for this dog keenel was £5 10s. Another house was on the side of the hill where stands the college of Queen Victoria. This place was too high up, difficult to get to, and quite unsuitable for children. We didn't like any of the houses that man offered. In the afternoon we bought an afternoon paper and looked up the advertisements section. We went to a telephone box and rang some of the owners. Later we went to look at the houses until dark. The activities of this day convinced us that we could not get a decent house for £6 per week nor even £6 10s. We would have to pay higher than this to get the beter kind of house. Soon after Christmas my wife and I shifted in to Auckland to stay. The idea was that we should stay close to where the houses are so it would be easy to go and see them. This business is somewhat like a racing competition. Those smart off the mark get there first, that is, those who live close by; the folk who live a long way out are left behind. For three days we rang people, we loked at houses and we bought newspapers. Do you think we could find a house for ourselves, no! We went to the city one day, for a stroll and to do some window shopping, when we spotted a sign painted on the window. The sign was advertising the name of some people who let and sell houses. We thought perhaps we should go and see them just in case they have some good houses with reasonable rent. So we headed towards the door, yes, it was open. We entered. There were two women running the business. Their room was full of cigarette smoke. The greetings flew and so did the hand which held the cigarette. From behind the smoke of her cigarette one of the ladies asked, ‘What can we do for you?’ My wife replied, ‘we would like a house to let. We thought that perhaps you had some

haere tonu o ringaringa mau hikareti. I muri i ngaa auahi o toona hikareti, ka paatai mai teetahi o ngaa waahine nei, ‘He aha too koorua piirangi?’ Ka mea atu taku hoa, ‘He whare reti too maaua hiahia. I whakaaro maaua teeraa pea kei a koorua eetahi whare tootika, ngaawari te utu, hei titiro maa maaua.’ Ka koorero anoo te wahine nei, me te auahi mai, ‘Nui atu ngaa whare kei a maatou, engari mehemea e hiahia ana koe ki te titiro i eetahi o ngaa whare nei, me utu mai koe i too moni reehita—e toru paauna me te toru herengi. Maa teenei e whakapuaki mai ki a koorua, ngaa koorero moo ngaa whare nei. Nui atu ngaa whare kei a maatou. Ahakoa he aha too hiahia, kei a maatou he whare moou. Ko ngaa utu mai i te rima paauna tae atu ki te tekau maa rua. Kia moohio mai koorua e kore o maatou whare e piiti i eetahi atu o Aakarana nei. Utua mai te moni reehita, ka hoatu e au, ngaa korero moo ngaa whare nei.’ I a ia e koorero nei e puta mai ana te auahi i toona ihu, i toona waha, tata tonu i oona taringa. He auahi te kai! Ko teetahi mahi anoo aana he whakatikatika i oona moohiti, ahakoa te tika o te noho mai i rung i tana ihu. Ka whakaaro ahau, naa te aorere kee te haere a teenei wahine! Kua kite ahau i te wahine peenei i roto i ngaa pikitia Amerikana. I teenei raa kua kite aatiana ahau. Ka koorero atu taku hoa, ‘He pono too koorero e koorero mai naa koe? He whare tootika aau hei titiro maa maaua, kaaore raanei?’ Ko te wahine auahi, ‘Utua mai too moni reehita, ka kite ai koe’. Naa, i paatai peenei ai taku hoa, naa te mea kua rongo maaua i ngaa korero whakatuupato a oo maaua hoa. Ko taa raatou korero mai i peenei naa. Kauaa e utua he moni kia kite raanoo koe i ngaa whare. Mehemea ka utu koe i too moni i mua, ka tonoa koe ki te whai whare keehua, araa, he whare kua riro noa atu i te tangata. Ka moumou too moni, ka kataina koe e te iwi whaanako nei, naa too rorirori ki te hoatu noa i too moni. Ko te koorero o aa maaua hoa, he tino mahi naa te hanga nei teenei, ki ngaa Maaori, me oo taatou huaanga o Haamoa, o Rarotonga, me eetahi atu whenua o te Moananuiakiwa. Naa, kia tuupato koorua, kia tuupato, kia tuupato. I a maatou e koorerorero nei kei te paatootoo mai ngaa koorero whakatuupato nei ki oo maaua maahunga. Ka mea atu au ki te wahine ra, ‘Hei aha, ka haere maaua ko taku hoa ki waho ki te whiriwhiri i te take nei’. Haere ana good houses with reasonable rent for us to look at.’ The lady spoke again with the smoke clouds rising, ‘we have lots of houses, but if you want to look at them we would like you to pay in a registration fee—three guineas. When this is done we will be able to tell you about the houses. We have many houses. No matter what you may want, we have the house for you. Our rentals range from £5 to £12. We would like you to know that our houses will compete with the best in Auckland. Now just your registration fee and I shall give you the addresses of these houses.’ As she spoke the smoke was issuing forth from her nose, from her mouth, and very nearly from her ears. There was smoke everywhere. Another thing she did was to continually adjust her glasses even thought they sat perfectly upon her nose. I thought, here is a woman who travels at the speed of aeroplanes. I had seen women like this in American pictures. This day I was face to face with one. My wife spoke, ‘Is what you are saying true? Do you have some good houses for us to look at, or not?’ The smoky lady said, ‘Pay your registration fee and you shall see’. Now my wife had asked in this particular vein because we had heard the warnings of our friends. What they said went something like this. Don't pay over any money unless you have seen the houses first. If you pay your money first you will be sent to find some ghost houses, that is, houses long since occupied by others. You will waste your money and the thieves will laugh at you, at your stupidity in parting

maaua, ka toe teenaa toru paauna. Noo muri noa mai i teenei, ka tuutaki au i teetahi Maaori o Rarotonga i mau i te hiinaki a te hanga nei. Ka puta mai taua tangata ki too maaua whare, naa eetahi taangata tuku whare i tono mai ki te titiro. Ko too maaua whare tetahi o ngaa whare keehua e rima i hoatu ki a ia. Ka moumou taana toru paauna me te rua paauna i runga ake moo te rere haere maa runga tekehii! Kua roa maaua e rapu whare ana inaianei, aa, kua tiimata te manawa paa o te ngakau, te aawangawanga, me te hoohaa. Ka kitea raanei he whare moo maaua, kaaore raanei? Peehea atu te roa, e waimaria ai maaua? Ka whakaaro maaua me tuku anoo he karere ki te nuupepa me kore e waimaria i teenei paanuitanga. Me aata whakatakoto pai a maaua kupu i teenei taaima. Me kii peenei naa maaua, maa maaua e tiaki te whare, te tekihana, ngaa kaari, mehemea ka tukuna mai ki a maaua te whare. Ka tuhia taa maaua paanui, katahi ka tukunu atu ki te nuupepa. Wera ana taa maaua maea i te putanga mai o taa maaua paanui. Ka wehewehea e maaua ngaa whare i waeatia mai. Ko eetahi he nui rawa te utu, ko eetahi kaaore e piirangi tamariki ahakoa he Maaori he Paakehaa raanei, ko eetahi kaaore e tukuna mai ki te Maaori, ka toe mai e whaa pea hei titiro maa maaua. Naa, kaaore i roa ka kitea he whare moo maaua, aa, mutu ana taa maaua mahi rapu whare. E rua rau maero i haerea e maaua i te mahi tirotiro whare. Ko ngaa moni i pau, tekau paauna pea, nuku atu raanei. Mehemea i te tiimatanga kaaore koe i moohio ki ngaa aahuatanga o teenei mahi, o te rapu whare, ko te tuumanako, kua moohio koe inaianei. so easily with your money. Our friends informed us, that this was a favourite trick played by these rogues on Maori people and upon our relatives of Samoa, Rarotonga and of other lands of the Great-sea-of-Kiwa. Now, you two be careful, be careful, be careful. As we were speaking the words of warning were knocking at our heads. I said to that woman, ‘never mind, my wife and I will go outside to discuss this matter’. So we went, and saved our three pounds. It was a long time after this, that I met a Maori of Rarotonga, who was caught in their eel trap. The fellow turned up at our house; he had been sent by land agents to look at it. Our house was one of five ‘ghost’ houses he had been given. His three pounds were wasted as well as an additional two pounds for flying around on a taxi. We had been seeking a house for some time now and we were beginning to become apprehensive, worried and bothered. Would we find a house for ourselves, or not? How much longer will it be before we have some luck? We thought, perhaps we should send another advertisement to the newspaper and we may be more fortunate this time. We would word our message very carefully this time. We would say. that we were prepared to look after the house, the section, the garden, if they let their home to us. We wrote out our advertisement and duly sent it. When the advertisement appeared, our telephone was hot. We separated into classes the houses which we were offered. Some were too expensive, some didn't approve of children whether they were Maori or Pakeha, others would not let to a Maori, and we were left with four to go and see. It wasn't long after this when we found a house and our search for a house was over. In all we travelled 200 miles looking at houses. The money used up in the search was about £10 or even more. If at the beginning you knew nothing about this business. I hope you know something now.