WERIHE TE TUIRI by PEI TE HURINUI JONES The day after the ceremonial opening of the Tuwharetoa tribal meeting house, Tapeka, last May, the memorial of the late Werihe Te Tuiri was unveiled. The memorial was erected over his grave in the Turumakina sub-tribal cemetery at Waihi at the foot of the bush-clad hill behind the village, and on a gentle slope overlooking the waters of Lake Taupo. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Tumate Mahuta, first cousin of King Koroki, on Sunday the 19th of May, 1959. Werihe's father, Te Tuiri Takiwa, was of the Parekawa sub-tribe of the Tuwharetoa tribe and his mother, Te Rohu, was a daughter of Te Heuheu Patatai Tukino, the donor of the Tongariro National Park. I first knew Wehihe when I was a school-boy on a summer holiday at Tokaanu with Hoani Te Heuheu. Werihe and his first cousin, Kahotea, the elder brother of Hoani, were boon companions. Werihe and Kahotea took it in turns to act as secretary to the Honourable Te Heuheu Tureiti Tukino M.L.C.—the father of Kahotea and Werihe's uncle. These two cousins were very kind to me and often told me tales of the lake and its people. With the passing of the older generation of tribal leaders, Werihe with his cousins, Tupu Paurini and Te Pau Mariu, became the leading elders in their turn. Kahotea and his brother-in-law, Te Hehe Tamaira, had, in the meantime, died. I spent many a pleasant time with Werihe and his wife, Huriana, at his home above Te Rapa, near Waihi. The home is on an elevated position from which a glorious view of Lake Taupo can be had on a fine day. The foregoing sketchy account is intended to serve as an introduction to Werihe's song. The song was composed in the early 1930's, and was inspired by the introduction by Sir Apirana Ngata of Land Development into the Lake Taupo district, under the Maori Affairs Department—then called the Native Department. The beginnings of land development on the pumice lands of Taupo at Tauranga—Taupo were at that time on an experimental basis, on account of the problem of soil deficiency. Treatment with cobalt had not yet been introduced. Elsewhere, among other tribes, land development was being carried out in large-scale Land Development Schemes. These brief notes on land development will explain the theme of Werihe's song. When the tribe received advice that a Maori festival of haka, action songs and poi dances were to be a feature of the Waitangi celebrations, the women of Ngati Tuwharetoa decided to adopt Werihe's song for their poi dance. The Waitangi celebrations were held to mark the handing over by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, of the Waitangi Treaty property as his gift to the Nation. The Maori festival competitions were judged by Te Taite Te Tomo, the member for the Western Maori Electorate, and in the poi the Ngati Tuwharetoa were awarded the first prize. When awarding the prizes Te Taite Te Tomo explained that in the haka, actions songs, and in the poi, the performers should evince pleasure in the dance. It was necessary, he said, for the pleasure of the performers, and for the enjoyment of the on-lookers to bring into the dance the appropriate gestures; the haughty stare and the seductive side-long glances, together with the exact movements of head, body and hands. At the same time a subtle restraint must be maintained during the performance. The performance of the women of Ngati Tuwharetoa fulfilled the requirements, said Te Taite, and he complimented them on the theme of their song. TE WAIATA POI A WERIHE—Werihe's Poi Song Timata Tahi mano waru rau Wha-tekau te tau, Tuhono Maori ki a Wikitoria Nau, na Ngapuhi, I tohu ki Waitangi; Tuku whakarere iho nei. Introduction One thousand eight hundred And forty was the year, Conjoined was the Maori with Victoria ‘Twas you, O Ngapuhi, Who decided it at Waitangi; Leaving it, henceforth, a heritage.