Mutu Paratene Kapa, M.B.E., Priest

Te Ao Hou, December 1968, Page 2

Mutu Paratene Kapa, M.B.E., Priest Kua moe a Mutu Paratene Kapa i te moenga roa o ona matua tupuna. He uri a ia no nga kawei rangatira o Te Aupouri me Waikato-Maniapoto. Kua okioki a ia i ana mahi. The Reverend Mutu Paratene Kapa, M.B.E., an elder and noted orator of the Aupouri and Waikato-Maniapoto tribes, died at Auckland on Sunday 10 November, 1968. The tangi was held at ‘Te Puea’ marae, Mangere and the interment at the Mangere (S. James) Cemetery on Wednesday 13 November, after three full days of arguing as to where his mortal remains should lie. On his paternal side, Kapa was an elder of the Aupouri tribe. His mother was of the chiefly lineage of the Waikato-Maniapoto tribes. On his death, the Aupouri elders fought for the return of his body to the headquarters of the Aupouri tribe, Te Kao. The Waikato speakers and elders in retaliation held the view that as Kapa was already lying in state on his own ground—Waikato territory — it was not necessary to have the body moved. It was barely two hours prior to the funeral when the argument was settled and so Kapa, who only a few years ago would not attend an investiture at Government House, preferring that the honour of M.B.E. be bestowed on his own marae at Te Kao, a request which was fulfilled when Sir Bernard and Lady Fergusson visited Te Kao in 1965, was buried at Mangere. Mutu Kapa belonged to the ‘old school’ of Maoridom. Born at Ohinepu near the sacred mountains Pirongia and Kakepuku in the Waikato territory, in the eighties (although Kapa himself claimed that he was born earlier), he was a great sportsman and athlete in his young days, being outstanding in rowing, rugby, tennis and wood-chopping. It was not until he was about 17 years of age that he visited his Northern relatives. He had attended a rowing regatta at Takapuna as one of a team of Waikato rowers when he was recognized by his father's uncle who whisked him off to Kaikohe. Some years later, owing to his father's continued ill-health, the family moved to Te Kao. Following his marriage at a fairly young age, he came under the influence of the religious leaders of the locality who persuaded him to read in theology at the Raukahikatea College, Gisborne. Kapa spent some five years as a theological student with such notable Maori personages as the late Reweti Kohere, the late Dr E. P. Ellison and others. He was ordained to the diaconate at S. Mary's Church, New Plymouth which at that time was still within the Auckland diocese. He spent some considerable time as Maori Pastor at Te Paina near Tuakau, then Waitara, Te Kao, Ahipara and finally at Tuakau where he was stationed for some thirty years until his retirement ten years ago. Mutu Kapa was noted amongst other things, for his wealth of knowledge of the tribal histories of both Waikato and Aupouri. It was he who initiated an appeal to the Maori Land Court as well as the Supreme Court regarding the ownership of the Ninety Mile Beach. He was a spokesman at both Te Kao and Ngaruawahia and took an active part in the affairs of his people. A truly faithful Pastor and servant, he served under five of the six bishops of the Auckland diocese. For many years, he was Chaplain to the Bishop of Auckland and on his retirement after fifty years as an active priest of the Anglican Church, Kapa was awarded the M.B.E. Kua ngaro koe e Kara! Kua tae atu koe ki te tini ki te mano, ki te iti mete rahi. Kua hoki atu koe nga matua, nga tupuna, me te iwi. E moe i roto i te Ariki. ‘Kua whiti atu koe i te mate ki te ora.’