O nga tau ki muri

Tu Tangata, Issue 14, 1 October 1983, Page 59

O nga tau ki muri

Te Ao Hou 1959

The following poem was written by the late Harry Dansey when he was still working for the Taranaki Daily News. In a letter to the then Te Ao Hou Editor, Mr Eric Schwimmer, the poet says he wrote the piece during the war when he was very wishful for the old familiar places. He says, “with the exception of Motiti Island, all the places mentioned are in the Rotorua-Taupo district from whose people I inherit that which of me is Maori. Every place mentioned has a part in tribal or family history, sometimes a notable part, sometimes a very minor one. I have tried to say in the English words which follow every place name either something about the place or to give a translation of the Maori word.”

Land Of My Fathers By H.D.B. Dansey

Whakapou-ngakau, place of longing, Moerangi Hills, where the blue skies slept, Pohaturoa, where the long rock towers, Te Tangihanga, where a people wept.

These are the hills my fathers loved, Long, steep slopes where the forest clings, Deep, cool valleys where the rata flowers And a koko sings.

Mokoia, holy, sacred to Tinirau Motutawa, where Tuhourangi bled, Motiti, home of the great Ngatoro’, Motutaiko, isle of the dead.

These are the isles my fathers loved, Cradled by lakes or rocked on the blue Of Hine-moana, and in the mist Lost to view.

Pukeroa, where the long hill slumbers, Tapuae-haruru, where the footsteps sound, Waitahanui, where the kowhai blossoms, Maroanui, with its sacred ground.

These are the homes my fathers loved, Wide, warm valleys where the kouka grows, Sun-drenched slopes where a village nestled And a streamlet flows.

Muruika, where the brave are resting, Rangatira, here my ancestors sleep, Titiraupenga, where Tia lies dreamless, Waitangi, where the waters weep.

These are the places my fathers lie, Tapu the ground that gives them rest, And fitting the land they loved should fold them To her breast.