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Kai te pae awatea te rā whakahonore i ngā hōia. He rā whakahonohono i ngā whakatupuranga ki te ope tauā 43 me te Mea me ngā rangatira huhua hoki nō Arras.
He taone ririki kai te whenua o Wīwī. Ka heke ahau ki Te Papaiōuru Marae ka noho i a Ngāti Whakaue me ngā hōia o Te Arawa. Kātahi te rangi whakahirahira hoki.
Ko te ope tauā Māori nō te pakanga tuatahi i tapā ko te Forgotten 43 Moana nui a Kiwa.
Wheoi anō, ko te rā nei he whakahonore i a rātau nā reira tēnei huihuinga Kia Maumahara Maori Pioneers, the Forgotten 43 Moananui a Kiwa 2023: Arras-Aotearoa-Rarotonga.He ahakoa kua pahemo noa atu te pakanga tuatahi o te Ao.Ko ngā kīwaha, ko ngā pepeha me ngā karakia kai te kitea tonutia ki ngā pātū o ngā ana nā rātau tonu i kari.
He hokinga mahara ki ngā toa i haere ki te pakanga. He hokinga mahara ki ngā tangata tāne i wehe i ngā kāinga Māori ko te hunga ēnei i wehe i Aotearoa whaihoki ngā toa o te ope tauā 43 i whānau i Tumutawarowaro, Ahitereiria me te moutere o Norfolk.
E rua ngā pōwhiri i Te Papaiōuru. Ko te pōwhiri tuatahi he whakatau i ngā uri whakatupu o te ope 43. Ko te nuinga atu o te manuwhiri nō ngā moutere o Rarotonga, ara a Tumutewarowaro.
Ka arahina mai rātau e Pa Ariki te whare ariki o Rarotonga. Ko te pōwhiri tuarua he whakatau i a Mea Frederic Leturque me āna tangata rangatira nō Wīwī.
Ka mutu te pōwhiri tuatahi ka noho tahi ai ngā whānaunga o Tumutewarowaro ki te mana whenua, ki tō Ngāti Whakaue taha. Ka arahina paitia te Mea o Wīwī e Tania Tapsell me te kaunihera o Rotorua ki te poho o Tamatekapua, nā oti kau ana te whaikōrero i te Mea ka mātika a Tania ki te waiata māna.Ko te taha ki a rongo he wā tuku tiwhikete e te Mea ki ngā uri o ngā toa kari ana.
Nā ā rātau mahi whakapau kaha i ora ai te tāone ririki.Ka rawe hoki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero i ngā uri me ngā rangatira o Wīwī, he wā whakamarama hoki i ētehi o ngā tuhinga kua whakairongia ki ngā pātū.
“Kai te rangonga tonuhia te reo o ēnei toa i a mātau. He ope nanakia, he ope māia i hohoro kau ki te mahi ka pā ngā waewae ki te whenua, ara ko te keri rua me te mahi pēnei anō me te toke, tāpirihia ki ngā mahi karikari, ki tua tata i a rātau e heke iho ana ngā matā nunui, ngā matā pāhū whakamate tangata”.
Ka wehe ngā rangatira o Wīwī i Aotearoa ka kotahi atu ki Rarotonga ki te hui tahi me ngā rangatira o reira, ara hoki me ngā uri o ngā hoia o te taua 43.Ki Te Papaiōuru ka tū he rā whakateitei i a Haane Te Rauawa Manahi.
Nō te pakanga tuarua nō te Apereira nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e wha tekau mā toru ki Takrouna ka arahina he ope toa e Manahi ki runga ki te tihi o te maunga rikiriki nei e kia nei ko Takrouna.
E toru rau mita te teitei o ngā pari, kai ngā tahataha ko te hoa ngangare me ā rātau pū me ā rātau mōtā, he ahakoa ēnei taupā pakari ka māia tonu te ope, nā wai rā ka puta ki te tihi ka hinga te hoariri i a rātau.Ka mauheretia e toru rau hoia Itāriana me ngā hoia Tiamana hoki.
Nā tēnei tūāhuatanga ka whakaarangia a Haane e ngā rangatira o te pakanga ki a whakawhiwhia ia ki te Mētara whakahirahira o Kuini Wikitoria, engari rā ka puta kē te whakatau kauaka ko te Mētara engari anō he DCM.
Nō te tau e rua mano mā rima ka whawhaingia tēnei whakatau e te taraipunara o Waitangi ki a whakawhiwhia kētia e Haane ki te Mētara o Wikitoria, kawea tonutia tēnei kōrero ki te whare rangatira o Buckingham he ahakoa ngā tohe kīhai i whakaae ki te hiahia o Te Arawa.Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e waru tekau mā ono ka aituangia a Haane e hautū motokā ana, ka mate.
Hai te Tūrei timata ai te rā whakamaumahara hōia ki Muruika. Ka whakataungia te ope whakaharahara e Pererika Makiha. Kāua e māngere e hoa mā, hai te haurua o te ono o ngā hāora o te atatū timata ai ngā whakaritenga.
Ki a au ki a Tuhourangi ka hui mātau ki te kura tuatahi o Te Whakarewarewa, nā ka kotahi atu ki te kōperu whamaumahara ki te piriti o te pā taunaha.
Nōku e itiiti ai he tino rā nō te mea e ora tonu ana ngā hoia Māori o te hokowhitu.
E kūware ana mātau ki ngā māuiuitanga i pā ki ngā pakeke, engari he mōhio kē nō mātau e āhua māuiui ana etehi o ngā pakeke kai ētehi taima.E hoki ana ngā mahara ki ngā atatū o te Apereira, te maeke hoki o te ata e kaha kitea ana te hau ora e tere nā i te māngai o te te tangata e rite tahi ki te mamao o ngā waiariki.E waiata ana ngā pakeke a Billy Keepa, Sonny Sewell me Tupu Raimona, e hoa mā ka timata aku kanohi ki te tangi.Nā wai rā ka tahuri te ope ki te wharekai ki reira parakuihi ai, kai etehi he parakuihi me te rama, kai etehi rama kore.
Wheoi anō, he wā waiata ngātahi, he wā hākoakoa, engari ka heke te rā kua hoki ngā mahara o ngā hōia ki te umu pokapoka, ka mutu e waipuketia nuitia te papa i te unu waipiro.
Kai tēnei tau, ka nui anō te taumaha o te ngākau.
He wā whakaora hoki i tō mātau taina a Mahara i hinga i ngā tau ko pahemo, wheoi anō he hōia tawhito hoki ia.
Ka puta ahau ki Te Whakarewa-rewa ki te whakamihi ki aku tini whānaunga, ko ngā pakeke me ngā kiri ōku i haere māia atu ki te whawhai he ahakoa pakanga tuatahi, he ahakoa pakanga tuarua, he ahakoa Vietnam me te rahi noa atu o ngā riri. Ko Sydney Sam Sewell tō mātau rangatira i te pakanga tuatahi i uru ki te ope tauā Ahitereiria.
Kia maumaharatia rātau.
— Raimona Inia i whakamaori tenei purongo
As a precursor to our Anzac Day services, connecting with descendants of the Forgotten 43 and the mayor and officials from the northern French town of Arras was a thought-provoking experience.
I invited myself down to Te Papaiouru Marae where Ngati Whakaue and the Te Arawa Māori Returned Services League hosted a special day.
Kia Maumahara Maori Pioneers, the Forgotten 43 Moananui a Kiwa 2023: Arras-Aotearoa-Rarotonga.
The Forgotten 43 left a lasting memento in the underground caverns of Arras in World War I. Phrases inscribed in the walls include pepeha, kīwaha, kupu akiaki and karakia.
They are a tangible reminder of the soldiers who volunteered to serve in an overseas war, the various tribal groupings they left in Aotearoa as well as the members of the 43 Pioneers who were born in the Cook Islands, Australia and Norfolk Island.
We performed two haka pohiri — the first to the descendants of the Forgotten 43 which included a strong Cook Island contingent led by Pa Ariki from the Rarotongan royal house — and the second to Mayor Frederic Leturque and the Arras delegation.
Monty Morrison and his team are well-versed in hosting, from little kids to royalty so the proceedings went like clockwork.
After the first mihimihi, the large contingent of descendants from all over the motu and the Cook Islands were invited to join the hau kainga. Our mayor Tania Tapsell and members of the Rotorua Lakes Council accompanied the French party into Tamatekapaua.
I thought it was a nice touch that when the French Mayor, Frederic Leturque finished his speech Tania offered a waiata in support. Ka pai.
The French party presented certificates to the descendants of the Pioneer Tunnellers in recognition of their help to the town and freedom. Descendants had the chance to talk to the French officials about the significance of the inscriptions, what they mean for present-day and future generations and also the importance of contextualising stories relating to the Pioneers through a relevant cultural lens.
“We are the only group that we know of that is representing the cultural voice of this particular group of indigenous men. They are a distinctive group that had to learn how to work together underground and within the range of enemy shellfire as visitors in a foreign land.”
The French officials were to continue on to Rarotonga where they were due to meet with Government officials, tribal leaders and descendants of the Cook Island soldiers known to have served with the 43 Pioneer Tunnellers.
At Te Papaiouru today was to be held a commemoration honouring Haane Te Rauawa Manahi.
During the Battle of Takrouna in Tunisia in April 1943, Lance Sergeant Manahi led a small band of Māori soldiers up a 300m-high rocky outcrop. Under mortar and machine-gun fire, they captured a stronghold held by more than 300 Italian and German troops.
He was recommended for the Victoria Cross, but this recommendation was changed, and a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) was awarded instead. In late 2005 Waitangi Tribunal support was sought for moves to award the VC to Haane, who died in a car crash in 1986 and is buried at Muruika.
The bid went all the way to Buckingham Palace which agreed to posthumously honour Haane Manahi, but not with a VC.
On Anzac Day the Te Arawa Māori Returned Services League dawn service at Muruika begins the day. Once the parade has assembled and marched to Muruika, league president Pererika Makiha will welcome participants.
The Muruika ceremony is scheduled to finish at 6.30am.
Traditionally, we at Tuhourangi have a service at the Whakarewarewa School and then at the Memorial archway at Whakarewarewa.
When I was a child, it was a big deal because many of the veterans were still alive. We didn’t know anything about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), just knew that some of our uncles were a bit strange at times. I remember early mornings in April were freezing and people’s breath added to the steam at Whaka. And the singing — my uncles Billy Keepa, Sonny Sewell, Tupu Raimona — my eyes still tear up now.
Then they would adjourn to the wharekai for breakfast and milky coffee “with” or “without”, rum.
The mornings were usually great, singing and cameraderie. By early evening the behaviour of many would deteriorate and some would be refighting every battle in which the Maori Battalion saw action.
There would be great puddles of beer on the floor.
This year will be especially sad for our family: We will be laying a wreath in memory of our sister Mahara, a former gunner.
I will be at Whaka remembering all the military in my family, from World War I to Vietnam and various theatres of action.
The WWI soldier was our grandfather, Sydney Sam Sewell, a member of the Australian Army.
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