Tombstone Unveiled

Te Ao Hou, June 1966, Page 12

Tombstone Unveiled The Rev. Anaru Ngawaka, a chief and spiritual leader of the Rarawa tribe, was honoured on Sunday, 6 March, when his tombstone was unveiled at a ceremony in the Anglican churchyard. The ceremony was held on the peninsula that the Rev. Joseph Matthews called ‘Mesopotamia’, which lies between the two rivers which form the harbour, the Awaroa and the Rotokakahi. About 200 people crossed the several hundred yards of water to the graveside in open boats. The Rev. W. N. Patuawa conducted morning service and later Holy Communion, worshippers kneeling at the old-fashioned circular altar rail. Besides the memorial to Mr Ngawaka, two tombstones commemorating other members of the family were also unveiled. When the tombstone was revealed from under its glittering pall and feather cloak it displayed an epitaph in classic Maori by the Rev. J. Hadfield. It spoke of the wisdom and chiefly attributes of the leader who was unquestioned chief of the Rarawa tribe.