Wednesday 31 July 2013

Chart 4: Peter (Mac) and Patricia Bell (2013)

This genealogical table will take you from Jean and Peter Bell to the latest generation in the family of Mac and Pat Bell. Then, one-by-one the same will be done for each of the others. Only names appear on this chart. A full descendant list of Jean Waireti can be provided upon request with birth, marriage and death dates as I have them, and any other genealogical records you might be interested in. Some may need correcting and you may have information that needs to be added. Please check the information and email me at dwbell18@gmail.com for any additions and corrections to be made. I am reluctant to put detailed lists out on the blog because of privacy concerns, but I can send full copies to you personally if wanted. The primary purpose of these simplified charts is to help us all to know our immediate whanau, especially the rising generation.

Bell Family 1: Peter McGruther Bell and Patricia Thirza Brown

Jean Waireti Ormsby McGruther+Peter Leslie Absolum Bell
___________________________I_____________________
I                      I                  I            I             I            I           I           
I          Colin Walter     Glenda  David   Maurice  Stewart   Jan
I
Peter (Mac)+Patricia Thirza Brown
   ________I__________________________________________________
   I                                       I                                       I                                    I
Denise+Barry Blyde      Kelvin+Rachel        Karen+Peter Yates                    I
  _____I_____               _____I ________           __I_______________        I
  I                   I              I              I           I           I         I            I          I         I       
Halie          Heath     Dennon  Shane Olivia   Jaime  Clayton Darcy Wade    I
                                                                                ____________________I
                                                                               I
                                                                Leslie (Bully)+ Re'nee
                                                          ______________ I_____________
                                                          I                            I                         I
                                                      Reid                     Anton                 Blair



Desendants of Mac and Pat                         16
Male descendants                                         11
female descendants                                       5
Grandchildren                                               9
Total individuals counting spouses              22







Contribution

                              Samuel James McGruther



Our Kawhia cousin, Bella Pease, has given us some great information that we have long been missing in the family history of John (Gunny) McGruther. It's concerning his brothers Sam and Mutu whom we knew very little about. In an earlier article I referred to Sam McGruther as the 'mysterious' Sam who we thought might never have existed because so little was known about him. It appeared Mutu was well known but Sam seemed mysteriously quiet. As it turns out he was very much real and thanks to Bella the record can be put right and an important gap has been filled in.

Bella's grandmother, Iri, who was the daughter of Pera (Pohepohe) - Te Anu's sister - was a close friend and relative of Sam and as children they pretty much grew up together. In their young adult years they embarked on a holiday to the South Island together and while there Sam bought her a pair of gold-edged greenstone earrings. Some time after their return Iri lost one of the earrings at the Te Awamutu races. She kept the remaining earring and handed it down to her granddaughter, Bella. It has become a special family heirloom to be passed on to the daughters of each descending generation.

Samuel James McGruther was born at Kawhia 5 June, 1884, to Robert McGruther and Te Anu Amokawhia Pohepohe. This makes him the younger brother of our own John Honi Ruki McGruther by two years. When Robert and Te Anu separated Robert took John and went to live in Pirongia while Sam and Mutu remained in Kawhia with their mother.

Te Anu remarried to a man named French. Sam and Mutu became part of the new family and Sam became known as Sam French, which partly explains why we Pirongia Bells knew virtually nothing about him; we never knew him as Sam French. Another explanation is that our grandfather told us little to nothing about his Kawhia kin, something that seems staggeringly peculiar when we look at it from our perspective. However, we don't really know what went on during those troubled times in their lives, but reading between the lines we catch a sense that something hard and bitter must have occurred to fragment the family so permanently.

Sam left Kawhia and moved to Westport where he worked as a fitter. Westport was a coal mining town so we would suppose his occupation was mine related. He married one Mary Lucas (nee Hohepa) and they had two children, Rangi Doris (b. 1912) and Joseph Thomas Frederick (b. 1915).

On 27 February, 1916 at the age of thirty-two, Sam enlisted in the army to fight in World War One. He did his military training at Narrow Neck and was commissioned to the rank of Corporal. On July 26th he boarded the ship, Ulimaroa, bound for Devonport in England; he was probably heading for the trenches in France. Sadly, he never made it to England or France; he contracted spinal meningitis and died at sea, 7 August, 1916, less than a month after embarkation.

                                                       
The Military record of Samuel James McGruther. Right click to enlarge.
         
I feel quite troubled about poor Sam and his family. I feel even more troubled that we knew so little about him. I feel troubled that my grandfather said nothing about him and I don't even know if he mourned his death. Certainly, we Pirongia folk had no contact with him or his family prior to and after his passing. One can only imagine the grief and anguish his wife and children must have felt at the news of his death so shockingly soon after leaving for the front and I am left to wonder about his wife Mary and the children Rangi Doris and Joseph and what became of them.

Mutu McGruther remained at Kawhia but I need to gather more information about him. When I know more it will be added to the blog. He became commonly known as Mutu Pohepohe instead of McGruther. It seems that John Honi Ruki was the only one that kept the McGruther surname, the other two brothers preferring French and Pohepohe. This suggests some alienation in the family. There are also some historical whisperings about John's land holdings and money from them changing hands in mysterious ways which could have contributed to the family's fragmentation, but nothing can be said with too much certainty until more reliable information is available.


Written by David Bell
Information Contributed by Bella Pease

Sources:

1. Cenotaph Data Base, Auckland War Memorial Museum (for a full copy of his military record go online to Cenotaph Database and search for Samuel James French).






Sunday 7 July 2013

John Hoani Honi Ruki Pohepohe McGruther


The following is an account of John McGruther with information about his parents Robert McGruther and Te Anu Pohepohe.


 
                                             JOHN McGRUTHER
Written by David Bell                          

JOHN McGRUTHER, also known by his Maori name of Hoani Ruki Hone Pohepohe, was born 16 November, 1882 at Kawhia on the western coast of New Zealand's North Island.

His mother was Te Anu Amokawhia, the daughter of Pohepohe, a prominent Maori chieftain in the Kawhia and Waipa surrounds. His father was a Scotsman named Robert McGruther who arrived in New Zealand with the British military. He was involved in the Waikato Maori-Pakeha (British) military campaigns and later, in 1867, the land war at Waitara, Taranaki. During that campaign he had a falling out with his British superiors and left the army at the conclusion of the conflict. He went from Taranaki to the coastal town of Kawhia which in those times was an important commercial and residential community for both Maori and Pakeha. It was here he married Te Anu, the high ranking daughter of Pohepohe, a local chief. Ironically, her father (Pohepohe) and Robert McGruther had only recently been fighting on opposite sides at Waitara; they may well have even taken pot shots at each other.

John had a tough childhood. His parents separated when he was a young boy. His mother was thoroughly Maori and his father a dour, stern, traditional Scotsman with an extreme fondness for drink. He either walked out of the marriage or Te Anu kicked him out, probably the latter.

Robert departed Kawhia and taking John with him, moved inland to live at Pirongia, leaving his other children, Mutu and Sam, with Te Anu. However, doubt hovers about the identity of Sam; no-one seems to know anything about him. John’s wife, Daisy, never met him and John himself believed he was nothing more than a ‘straw-man’ (fictitious character) made up to sign land-claim papers. He held the strong impression that some in his family were helping themselves to his holdings by using the name Sam McGruther to sign the documentation. Being so young and away from Kawhia he had no knowledge of what he, as the oldest son, had rights to. Another thing that makes one suspicious of the existence of Sam McGruther is the fact that unlike Mutu who was well known to everyone, none can recall ever seeing the mysterious Sam

Sometime later, Te Anu remarried to another Pakeha surnamed French. It seemed to be a more stable union and other children were born from it - notably, Tom and Besse, John's half brother and sister.

Robert and John became a familiar sight in Pirongia, Robert being well known for his heavy drinking. Adele Aubin, the daughter of Jean Aubin, the popular and wealthy local trader and medical practitioner, often saw John waiting and minding their horse for hours on end while his father was drinking in the public house. She said she always felt sorry for 'Johnny McGru'. On hot, summer days he would sit in the shade of the old tree that grew nearby, and on cold or wet days was forced to huddle under a makeshift shelter in his old oilskin coat. Little did Adele know that 'poor Johnny McGru' would one day make something of himself and that one of her future sons would marry his future daughter.

When Robert finally came out of the pub he would haul John up behind him onto the horse and they would head home to their house. It was little wonder that with such exposure to the elements, coupled with a poor diet, John developed tuberculosis, an ailment that would dog him all his life.

About his tenth year two aunts, Te Anu's sisters Rangi and Pera, took it upon themselves to get John enrolled in St. Stephens school at Auckland. Why they singled him out over his brothers in Kawhia can only be a guess at best. It may have been out of respect for Te Anu, or pity at his plight. Perhaps they saw greater potential in him. Whatever their motivation, it was the making of John. It gave him a sound roof over his head, three square meals a day, and the opportunity to learn.

Rangi and Pera, themselves of small means, sacrificed much to give John the opportunity for a good education. He did not disappoint them. He proved to be an intelligent and keen student right from the start.
                                                           
St. Stephens School
St. Stephens was a boarding school and during the holidays he would ride the stage coach from Auckland to Pirongia over nearly three hundred miles of rough, dusty roads. At Pirongia he would find a horse and supplies arranged for him. He would then ride the horse to Kawhia, a further seventy to eighty miles. One can only imagine how grueling and potentially dangerous that journey must have been for such a young boy. But one should also consider the generosity and sacrifices of those two old aunts in Kawhia who scraped together the money for his schooling, provided his coach fares to and from Auckland, arranged at no small cost a horse and supplies at Pirongia, and then, when he finally arrived at Kawhia, treated him like a prince. 

From all accounts he loved his holidays at Kawhia as these were probably the only times he experienced any kind of stable family life. One would naturally presume he would have been very grateful to those two kindly aunts, but from various reports it seems he never expressed any such feelings. Jean, his own daughter said that he seemed to lack a feeling of family or kinship towards them, even though they did so much for him. Perhaps his harsh upbringing may have had something to do with it. He seemed to think it was their duty to treat him specially. Even later in life, knowing his great fondness for mussels and pipis, they sent large sacks of the shellfish to him at every opportunity, yet no-one ever heard him thank those kindly old ladies. One can only wonder why he didn't have a greater affection for them because if not for their love and sacrifice his life would have taken a far different turn.

When he was about fourteen Toko and Mita, two of his uncles at Kawhia, were nearing the end of their days. They owned two sizable tracts of land at Whatiwhatihoe near Pirongia and were trying to decide who should inherit it at their passing as neither of them had posterity. It was during discussions with the Maori king, Tawhiao, that the matter was settled. Tawhiao said, "Leave it to Hone Ruki!"

Thus settled, it was required that John return from St. Stephens post haste to sign the required papers in the presence of lawyers and land court officials. In those times travel was not as convenient as today so everyone had to come together at a specific time and place. Also, because Toko and Mita were illiterate they could only sign the transfer documents with a mark; usually a cross or some other familiar symbol. This required the presence of lawyers to witness and authenticate the marks.

For some reason, John's father, Robert, refused to allow his son to leave St. Stephens to attend the signing. His reasoning can only be guessed at. Was it an act of piousness designed to impress everyone? Was he bitter about the breakup of his marriage and wanted nothing to do with the Kawhia people? Or, did he have some other plan in mind we don't know about? Or, was he just being plain ornery and stupid? We will probably never know, but the end result was that John never signed the papers and the two blocks of land were somehow appropriated by the Anglican Church. Later, it moved into the hands of the Garmonsways, a local family of prominence, and the land was lost. There is some cause to believe that Robert McGruther and the Garmonsways had some kind of arrangement regarding John's land but what that arrangement might have been has been lost over time. It may well be that no such arrangement ever existed, that it was just hearsay. However, it is known that the two parties were on friendly terms and the fact that E. Garmonsway appears on Robert's death certificate as the only person present at his death indicates the possibility of a close relationship. Nevertheless, it is also known that the Garmonsways were kind to John and he always had good feelings towards them. It appears that this family had more to do with the McGruthers than we are aware of today.       

In his later years John often said that one day he would look into the possibility of getting the land back. After all, it was declared his by none other than the Maori king. And it was suspect how the church got possession of it in the first place and then able to sell it on. Who knows but that we might still have had a legitimate claim to it? But he never looked into it and the land remains lost.

Robert McGruther died on 21 February, 1897, aged sixty four when John was fifteen years old. His aunts took John out of St. Stephens and enrolled him in Te Aute, a college for Maori boys on the warmer, drier East Coast near Gisborne. This was much better for his tuberculosis. At Te Aute he rubbed shoulders with top young Maori scholars with names that later became well known in the new, emerging Maori world; names such as Ngata, Buck, Carroll, Love and Murray to mention a few. These were young men from prominent families taught from an early age that theirs was the calling to be the Maori leaders of a new age. Consequently, they were driven by a sense of importance and destiny, qualities that would certainly have had an effect on Hone Ruki.
Te Aute College

He did well at Te Aute and before he left, his old school, St. Stephens, offered him a teaching post. He gladly accepted because by this time a serious relationship with a young lady, whom he had met many years before, had ripened to maturity. With his studies completed and a secure job in the bag, he could now take the relationship to a new level.

As already mentioned, when he was on holiday from St. Stephens, he travelled to Kawhia to be with his aunts Pera and Rangi. As this was on horseback he would pass by the homestead and farm of a very well-known Family. The farm was called Puketotara, owned by Arthur Sydney Ormsby and his wife, Matire (Matilda). They had a very large family, several of which were girls. One in particular caught the eye of the young John. Her name was Mary Te Kurawhakaari, more commonly known as Daisy. Exactly how they met we now don't know, but remembering that he disembarked the stagecoach at Pirongia after a long journey from Auckland, picked up his horse to promptly begin the next leg to Kawhia, it would be a good guess that he stopped by the homestead on his way past. In those days, it was common for farmhouses along the main roads between settlements to offer hospitality and refreshment to weary travellers. John would certainly have been one of these which would have afforded him the opportunity to meet the Ormsby girls.

Kura was a bright girl so it would be no surprise she was equally attracted to Johnny McGruther, their relationship probably beginning on a casual basis before blossoming into a strong, long-term affair. However, it would be a relationship that would span the years until John had completed his studies and secured paying employment. The St. Stephens appointment was fortuitous and timely; he could finally propose marriage to his sweetheart and claim the prize he had so patiently worked for.

The announcement was greeted with gladness by the Ormsby family but was not without incident. Many years before, when Daisy was a child, a meeting was held between Arthur and his wife's Maniapoto cousins, the Nikora's, of Otorohanga. As was common in those old times, marriage arrangements for children were often made between related families. These betrothals were all about family connectedness and keeping the mana in the whanau, among other things. In that meeting it was agreed that Daisy be betrothed to Haparo, one of the Nikora boys. Now, with the news of Daisy’s pending marriage reaching their ears they became outraged. They were not about to have some bounder from Kawhia waltz in and take their mana. They set off on an expedition to Puketotara.

Daisy and one of her sisters were asleep in a small one-roomed cabin to the side of the main homestead when they were rudely awoken at sunrise by gunshots and shouting. One of her brothers burst through the door and commanded them to lie low and not come out, especially Daisy. Peeping through the window they saw an army of men in the paddock in front of the house pounding out a haka and blasting away with shotguns. They had come to challenge poor old Arthur for breaking the betrothal without their consent.

Promises were serious business to the old Maori, and the breaking of them even more so, often leading to war. There was, however, an old Maori law that covered broken promises and avoid bloodshed; it was the law of muru. Muru meant that the aggrieved party could arrive at the guilty persons dwelling and strip him of all he owned. Moreover, the guilty party was required to stand by and watch all his possessions disappear and deem it a great honour and privilege. The Maniapoto folk had come for muru.

For the next week Arthur was obliged to house and feed his angry relatives, all the while striving with his most eloquent oratory and finest hospitality, to placate them. Fortunately for him, muru had declined over the years and after a week of hui (big meetings), fine speeches from both sides, and much feasting, the Otorohanga folk felt the insult had been adequately paid and departed as friends, honour intact. Arthur didn't lose everything he owned but his farm was certainly lightened of a good number of pigs and sheep. It is not inconceivable that some money might even have changed hands. While well aware of Maori tradition and custom (Pianika, his mother, was a full-blooded Ngati-Maniapoto woman of high rank), he never thought when he betrothed little Kura all those years ago that it would come to such a to-do in this day and age. And Kura, when she found out why she was the focus of all the attention, was horrified and couldn't believe her parents could promise her to someone in marriage; and a first cousin, no less! Even if Hone Ruki hadn't come on the scene she would never have agreed to such an arrangement.

With the Maniapoto gone, Arthur satisfactorily robbed in compensation, and honour appeased, John and Kura were free to marry. This little incident, while humorous now, was very serious on the day and displayed how some old traditions clung on despite the country becoming totally under European influence. The old ways were being steadily weakened and dismantled and by John and Daisy's day had pretty much lost their power - in the old days Daisy would have had no choice. It would be a few more years before many of them, like muru, died out permanently.
                                                           
The beautiful Kura

At age thirty-two he married Daisy (aged twenty three) at the Puketotara homestead, 14 April, 1914. After their honeymoon in Rotorua, she went with him to Tamahere, near Hamilton where he was employed as the schoolmaster of the small country school there. Daisy was a qualified nurse. Being the sole teacher there he was headmaster, teacher and everything else. His first child was born there on 25 June, 1915. They named him John Robert but called him Jock, the name he would be known by for the rest of his life. In 1916 another child was born at Tamahere but she died after just two months of a heart defect, 10 September, 1916. They named her Moana Joy and she is buried at the small cemetery adjoining the St. Stephen's Anglican Church not far from the Rukuhia Airport. 


                                               
John liked his time at Tamahere and became highly respected by the community, which was mostly Maori. It is probable that they felt more comfortable with one of their own as the teacher of their children. No doubt, John would also have been more attuned to their needs than a teacher not of their culture. When he left to take up the post as schoolmaster at the Waerenga-a-Hika school for boys, he was showered with gifts and goodwill wishes. Daisy, too, had made her mark, her medical skills and services to the community being highly valued.

Because he felt the need to move up the professional ladder, he kept his eye open for better opportunities. When the post at Waerenga-a-Hika was advertised, he remembered Te Aute and how beneficial the warm, dry climate was to his tuberculosis, and applied. He got the job and the young family moved there in 1917. Two more children were born here; Colin, 22 March 1918, and Jean, 29 January 1920.

Waerenga-a-Hika lies about eight miles northwest of Gisborne on the road between Makaraka and Ormond and the school was established in June 1890 as a boarding school for native boys. It was built on a Church of England Trust Estate and was under the control of a Board of Trustees appointed by the Church with government oversight of curriculum and other educational matters. The schoolhouse was an imposing two-storied timber building with an iron roof. It had two classrooms and boarding accommodation for fifty pupils who were taught up to the standard four level. It also had quarters for the resident headmaster and his family.

His move to Waerenga-a-Hika held an interesting surprise with ancestral significance; Wae-renga-a-Hikairo means, the resting place of Hikairo. It was the very place where Hikairo, the eponymous ancestor of his Maori tribe, brokered a peace between two warring clans and the place was named in commemoration of his peacekeeping skills.  
         
John at Waerengahika with little daughter Jean and wife Kura.
It was a good position with a magnificent schoolhouse to live in and he might well have remained there for many more years if not for a random event that changed his life forever. He was attending a teachers’ course at Gisborne when an advertisement was announced for a teacher on Mangaia in the Cook Islands. The whole group expressed an interest until they discovered how remote the island of Mangaia was. They decided it would be a good joke if they all applied to see who would get the first response. John joined in and sent off his application - then promptly forgot all about it. Several weeks later he received a letter in the mail from the Ministry of Maori and Island Affairs inviting him to Wellington for an interview. He was greatly surprised and it took a while to realize it was in reply to the application he had sent in earlier.

                                                             
Waerenga-a-Hika school in the late 1800's.
He was happy at Waerengahika but things had been happening that caused him to look more seriously at the idea of going abroad. Of late, stirrings of discontent had been swirling about the halls of education; some influential Europeans in high places saw Maori teachers, particularly those from special Maori schools like Te Aute, as inadequately qualified to teach European students and were putting pressure on the officials. No-one openly admitted this but those on the receiving end felt it; promotions, pay increases, and job opportunities suddenly began to dry up. By this time so many Maori scholars like John and the others he went to school with were out in the world and accomplishing great things. They got the feeling they were now being slowly and surreptitiously marginalized.

The job on Mangaia offered a good salary and the door to new opportunities. He duly went to Wellington and was immediately offered the post. Upon his return to Waerengahika he proudly informed Daisy of the good news and that he had also accepted a well-paid position for her; she was to be the sole nurse on the island. He often said it was his wife's nursing qualification that swung it his way. It would be easy to agree; no doubt his interviewers couldn't believe their luck, the combination of a highly qualified schoolmaster and nurse would have been impossible to turn down.
                                                               
John and Kura around the time they left for Mangaia
They left for Mangaia Early 1924, traveling on a luxury liner that sailed out of San Francisco with a load of tourists doing the Pacific cruise. It took one week to go from Wellington to Rarotonga and when they arrived, John anxiously went on deck while the ship was docking. Moments later he came rushing into the cabin where Daisy and the children were busy putting all their things together and shouted excitedly, "We'll be alright, they speak Maori here! The boy on the dock said,
'Tiriamai te taura,' which means, throw down the ropes!"

                                                 
Arial view of Mangaia Island.
                         
Obviously, they had some worries about the new life they had embarked upon with one disconcerting rumour giving them cause for concern immediately upon their arrival in Rarotonga; they were told by the locals that the Mangaians were an uncivilized bunch who still practiced cannibalism. Horrified, John suggested he go to Mangaia first and see how dangerous it really was. Daisy's reply was that if they were going to eat him then they might as well eat the whole family. She and the children were going with him no matter what. They would stay together under all circumstances. As it turned out, they were assured by the Resident Commissioner, Judge Ayson that, like the Maoris, the Mangaians had long ago given up cannibalism.
A typical Mangaia scene.

Schooners to and from Mangaia and the other islands in the Cooks were the only means of transport. These were small craft about the size of a large yacht, motor driven when crossing reefs but wind powered by two masts and sails when on the open water. The Tagua and Waipahi were two schooners that plied the seas between Rarotonga and Mangaia.


   
A picture of a typical schooner that served the island of Mangaia.
   

They left Rarotonga in April, 1924, on the afternoon sailing and landed on Mangaia the next day. The voyage could be from ten to twelve hours, depending on sailing conditions. Because there was no natural harbour into Mangaia, outriggers from the shore would come out to offload passengers and cargo. This was how the family first set foot on Mangaian soil, and it must have been quite an adventure, especially for the two boys.

All the cargo and passengers had to be offloaded by smaller boats from shore.
There was no wharf on Mangaia during John and Kura's time there.

John thrived on Mangaia. He had free reign to work as he liked and soon got the schools into shape - there were three schools he was responsible for, one in each of the three villages: Onerua (the capital), Ivirua and Tamarua. At the end of his contract, which was for a three year term, he was offered the post of Resident Agent for the island, a post that made him the New Zealand Government Representative for all the island's affairs. By now he and Daisy had fallen in love with the island, its lifestyle and the people, so he readily accepted. Additionally, his already good salary became even better. In the meantime, Daisy had become greatly valued for her medical skills.

                                                                 
Map of Mangaia showing some of the features John and Kura wold have been familiar with.

He and the family returned to New Zealand after their three year period for a three month furlough. When they returned it was without the two boys, Jock and Colin, who remained behind to attend Kings College.
Left to right: Colin, Jean and Jock.

He and Daisy spent a further eleven years on Mangaia where they both distinguished themselves as tireless workers, and as the Resident Agent, John accomplished many useful civic and social projects. He was responsible for all commercial, educational, civil and legal matters on the island.

Leaving Mangaia
In 1938 they finally gave up life on Mangaia for a retirement to Puketotara, the family farm on the road to Kawhia, the same farm where he met Daisy when he was a youth. Daisy's mother, Mataire, had died in 1934 and bequeathed the farm to her. John could have continued in government service and gone on to great things, but he chose to semi-retire as a farmer. He was fifty six years old.

Tomati Makuru and Tiare Makuru,
the flower and tomato named after John

and Kura when they left Mangaia.


   




Whilst John was a great ideas man and superb organizer, a farmer he was not. He loved the country life and while he was not afraid of hard work, his real skills were in administration and organizing people as he had done for so many years in the classroom and on Mangaia. Consequently, the more physical aspect of farming got a bit neglected. He developed a farming formula that he believed the key to farming success and recited it like a mantra; he called it the 'Golden Tripod', or the three 'P's...Potash, Posts, and Pesticide. In other words, plenty of fertilizer, good fencing, and pest control; grass grub being the farmers' plague in those days.

Daisy, on the other hand, having been abroad, had widened her horizons. Immediately on her return she purchased a vacuum cleaner and an electric stove. These were the first of these conveniences seen in the district and were regarded with disdain by her sisters in particular. Having hardly moved past their front gates they viewed the new contraptions as gross extravagances and Daisy as a spoiled spendthrift, which, to some extent, they were right. Oddly, it was their menfolk who cottoned on to the modern gadgets and enthusiastically bought some for their own wives who soon became converts themselves.
Family Portrait.

The family enjoyed a wonderful few years at Puketotara. It was a happy home where anyone was welcome and food and entertainment always available. No-one noticed the black clouds of trouble gathering over their heads as Europe plunged deeper into war. When Mother England sent out the call to her colonies to join her in battle, New Zealand readily accepted her invitation and Jock and Colin were quickly called into the service. Jock was sent to Egypt and Colin to Palestine.


On the porch at Puketotara.
Eager to do his bit for the war effort, John set up a local Home Guard and was quickly nominated as the chief commander. He and the other local men who were too old for the front lines took their role very seriously, even though when looking back their antics often appear rather futile and frequently quite hilarious.

John's squad would gather together at Puketotara several times a week for military drills and training under his captaincy. Here they would hold councils on strategies and plan for all possible contingencies in the event of an enemy invasion.

An important part of training was the art of marksmanship. Whilst these doughty old farmers were excellent at shooting rabbits with their antique shotguns, few, if any, had any experience with a high-powered rifle. Recognizing the value of the home guard, the Ministry of Defense promised them some rifles and ammunition, but nothing ever arrived. John, ever the ideas man, set to and had an armory of wooden rifles made complete with triggers and sights fashioned from nails. He also had an excellent rifle range dug out of a hill with shooting stations at one end and enemy soldiers at the other made out of stuffed hemp sacks. For safety, and to dull the sound of rifle shot, he lined the whole thing with sandbags.

Their shooting drills went thus; firstly, he would have his squad take their stations, after which he would run to the front and stick hand-drawn bull’s-eye targets on the sack soldiers. Then, withdrawing safely to the side, call out, "Take aim...are you sighted on the mark?"

"Yes Sir!"

"When you are sure squeeze the trigger and say Bang!"

When the sound of gunfire ceased echoing through the valley, they would come together to discuss how accurate their shots had been.

Little Peter (Mac) and his cousin Eric Ormsby, just young boys at the time, were keen observers at the rifle range, but later forbidden to go there during training as it was deemed unsafe for children. Mac believes the true reason for their banishment was their obvious amusement and their retelling of it to others. Also, the older Eric kept saying, "Those are just toy guns, Uncle. Why don't you get some real ones?"

One day some shocking news came to the ears of the home guard; a Japanese submarine had docked at Kawhia and the Japanese had come ashore and made contact with some of the local Maori chiefs. It was reported they had even entered into talks with them, promising benefits should they throw in their support with the Imperial Japanese Army when it returned in force. What made it worse; some of the Maoris who were fraternizing with them were Daisy's relatives. John and his squad decided that immediate action needed to be taken. They determined that in the absence of any effective weapons or heavy artillery, the best thing to do was block the advance of the invaders. Taking axes and saws they rushed to the Kawhia Road - no more than a rough gravel track back then - and cut scarves in all the biggest trees that grew along the sides. The idea being that since the only road inland was the Kawhia road, and as soon as word was received the Japanese invasion was on, the home guard would rush out and quickly push all the trees over on to the road, thus blocking the Japanese advance so they could be picked off by troops hidden in the bush.

Two nights later a storm blew all the trees down and they spent the next month cutting them up and clearing the road.

To boost morale and give the troops a positive military experience, Captain McGruther organized a long march. This great long march was to go from Pirongia to the top of the Kaimai ranges. Other nearby home guard units were also invited to join. He also arranged for the home guards east of the Kaimais to meet them at the top of the Kaimais. It was a long journey meant to last several days. On it the troops would learn mapping, war strategies, survival skills, marching drills and much more. There wasn't a thing John and his committee hadn't thought of. All the young boys twelve and over were also encouraged to participate as it would help them appreciate the rigors of warfare and give them some ‘backbone’.

The day of the great long march duly arrived amid much excitement and enthusiasm. Captain McGruther came mounted on his horse while the others marched. A horse-drawn wagon carried their supplies. It was winter and on the first night on the march it rained heavily and the air turned bitterly cold. At Ohaupo the next day Captain McGruther came down with a severe chill and this coupled with his tuberculosis rendered him too ill to carry on. Hypothermia set in and he was taken home by car to recover. The others bravely carried on, determined to do their sick commander proud. The weather went from bad to worse and a couple of days later one of the young boys got pneumonia and had to be rushed to hospital. Eventually, the leaderless, bedraggled troops arrived at the foot of the Kaimais, and looking at the torrents of muddy water rushing down the rutted gravel road that wound steeply upwards, promptly mutinied and turned for home.

The long march was a personal embarrassment but nevertheless hailed as a limited success; while it failed to reach its final objective, lots of good lessons were learned from it.

The hardest thing was explaining to the East Coasters why their Waikato brothers didn't meet them at the top of the Kaimais.           

In July, 1944, when John was sixty two, tragedy struck; Jock was killed by shellfire in Italy. This had a devastating effect on John and the rest of the family; Jock was a young man of exceptional qualities and promise. Thankfully, their other son Colin survived the war and returned safely.

After the war John and Daisy continued to run the farm, but without Jock it began to deteriorate, especially as their money diminished. The farm was eating away at their savings and Daisy's great talent for spending didn't help matters. After a while only John's government pension kept them afloat.
                                                                   
Throughout his life back at Puketotara, John was heavily involved in the life of the district. He opened the Puketotara farm up to horse shows and gala days, the river running through it was long the favourite summer swimming place for everyone in the community, he was the chairman of the Rabbit Board, the district dairy factory representative, the local rugby club president and a bunch of other things that came up as needed - like committees for organizing various annual events such as the local Christmas and New Year functions and so on. He excelled in these affairs and so was naturally one of the leading lights in the community.

Left: The headstone of son John Robert McGruther, killed 14 July, 1944, Italy during W.W.II. His grave is in Assisi, Italy.


Eventually, the good times at Puketotara ended. In 1945 at sixty three years old, John suffered a debilitating stroke that made running a farm impossible. It took a long and hard-fought battle to recover from the stroke, and even though he regained his speech and his intellect, he was left partially crippled for the remainder of his days. One leg was so disabled he had to use a cane to walk, and the hand on the same side of his body was permanently clasped shut. But he fought a good fight and beat the odds by living to a good old age.

Around the late 1940's or early 1950's, his daughter Jean, and her husband Peter, purchased an hundred acre farm in the Ngutunui district, not too distant from Puketotara. About the same time their son Colin and his wife, Dede, by arrangement with John and Daisy, had taken over Puketotara. Both families had purchased these farms under the War Veterans' Scheme, a government program to help returned soldiers onto the land. John and Daisy bought the small cottage in Pirongia from Peter and Jean and moved into it, accepting that this would be where they would finish out their days feeling secure that Puketotara would remain in family hands. To their consternation, Colin sold it not long after and moved to Auckland and Puketotara was suddenly gone and with it an epic era going back to the pioneer days when Daisy's parents, Arthur and Mataire, carved it from the bush with axe and plough.

It was a big change for them; the Pirongia house was small and pokey, a far cry from the Puketotara homestead. Misfortune once again beset them when their house in Pirongia burned to the ground. Mac Bell, John's grandson, was in school at the time and it is to him we turn for an eyewitness account.

Mac was in class at the Pirongia Primary school when another student, Raewyn Marks, came rushing into the classroom having returned from a school errand to the Pirongia store (as a senior pupil and the headmaster's favourite, she had the assignment to go to the store every morning to pick up the school mail and any other school needs for the day) and told the teacher that the McGruther house was on fire. He did nothing but send her to her seat. Raewyn promptly whispered the news to the other kids and in an instant it went through the whole class. Mac and Colin were both in the room. Mac, who was at the back, was one of the last to know. He first noticed everyone in the class looking at him and he wondered why. Finally word got to him that his grandparents’ house was ablaze with smoke and fire billowing out the roof and windows. Alarmed, he quickly asked the teacher, who was also the headmaster, if he could leave to go and see if his grandparents were alright. The headmaster promptly told him he wasn't going anywhere and to sit down and get on with his work. Mac reluctantly returned to his seat but was desperate to go because he feared his grandparents might still be in the house. After a while his friend Manell Tamaki said, 'Mac, I'll open the window and you jump out!' Manell pushed the window up and Mac leaped out and was gone before the headmaster knew what had happened.

He rushed to the scene to find people flinging buckets of water on the flames, but it was an exercise in futility as the house had become an inferno. He was relieved to learn that John and Daisy had gone to Hamilton with the Kanutes, old farming acquaintances from Puketotara days.

Unable to do anything more he sprinted back to the school and walking boldly into the room told his younger brother, "Come on, Gunny's house is on fire, we have to go!" Colin quickly obeyed and they disappeared before the teacher could stop them. When they arrived at the scene of the fire there was nothing left but a smoldering ruin. He would have been about eleven or twelve at the time and already he possessed that decisiveness that was always one of his hallmark characteristics. The next day he was hauled over the coals by the headmaster for going AWOL and Manell for aiding and abetting. Each received the standard punishment for their actions; six lashes across the palm of the hand with a thick leather strap. One can't help but wonder at the insensitivity of that headmaster. There was some anger from the family when they found out about it, but apart from a bit of grumbling no complaints were laid and nothing was done.
John and Daisy were in Hamilton when the
house caught fire.

A new house was later built on the same site but the fire took with it a small shed filled from floor to roof with all their precious memorabilia from Mangaia. Very little survived; artifacts  handmade crafts, picture albums, valuable books, precious documents, all turned to ash.

John and Daisy received some insurance money but the new house was mainly financed by the people of Ngutunui and Pirongia who put their hands in their pockets as soon as they heard of their plight, something that deeply touched them. The new house was not much bigger than the former one but it was a house for which they were grateful.

Enjoying a tipple in his later years
This was the house John and Daisy occupied until his passing on 14 April, 1969, aged eighty six. He suffered a severe stroke and he was too old to recover. He died in the Waikato hospital several days after being admitted. His death certificate states that he died of cardiac failure after three days with bronchopneumonia following a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) suffered eight days earlier. His funeral was held at Purekireki - the Hikairo Marae about three miles south of Pirongia - and then he was buried 16 April at the Pirongia cemetery.

                                                               
Headstone for John McGruther, Pirongia cemetery

Written by David Bell
Sources used:
1. Interview with Jean Bell and Mac Bell, Pirongia, July 2003.
2. Family letters and documents.
3. Birth, death and marriage certificates.
4. Personal memories.


                      



        



         

    

Monday 1 July 2013

Pohepohe

Hikairo II was followed by his son Whakamarurangi who was followed by Te Akerautangi. The next Ngati Hikairo chief is Pohepohe. Pohepohe lived at Kawhia during the days of the wars against the British. He was particularly concerned at the loss of Hikairo land to the settlers, so much so that he went to fight the British at Taranaki where the Maoris there took up arms against the sale of their land. The following document is a word-for-word copy of a speech by Mac Bell to the Waitangi tribunal in march, 2013. He was asked to be a keynote speaker in the presence of crown lawyers and hundreds of people. It was a daunting task but the speech he delivered was both spectacular in the way it told the Hikairo story and inspiring in its delivery. He was congratulated by all for the succinctness of his account. The Tribunal hearing was in response to the Hikairo desire to be properly recognised as an independent tribe and not as a subordinate of Ngati Maniapoto. It was also a lead into future land claims. He said later that it was one the greatest things he has done in his life, not for the land claims or Ngati Hikairo's share of compensation monies, but because he was able to tell our story and put the history straight. The following speech is a must-read  for any whanau wanting to know the full story (korero) of Ngati Hikairo during the land wars period.



Pohepohe

 

Pohepohe, son of the Kawhia chief Te Akerautangi, lived at Kawhia during the turbulent times of the 1860's when the Maori were clashing with the British over land. With the ever-increasing flow of settlers into the Waikato the Maoris found their lands disappearing from under them. The government, under pressure to supply land for farms and settlements became increasingly aggressive in their appropriation of Maori land. Pohepohe was among those who actively opposed the government, to the point of taking up arms and joining the fight against the British in the land war at Taranaki.

 

Mac Bell, our family historian and kaumatua (elder) gave an excellent and historic speech to the Waitangi Tribunal on 25 March 2013.  This speech was given primarily as evidence of the Crown's unjustified confiscation of our tribal lands. However, it also contains an excellent account of Pohepohe. I have included the speech in its entirety because not only is it is packed with information about our tupuna (Pohepohe and others) but as time goes by it will be of significant historical, political and cultural importance with regard to further land claims on behalf of Ngati Hikairo.  

 

 

IN THE WAITANGI TRIBUNAL WAI 898

WAI 2351

WAI 1112

WAI 1113

IN THE MATTER of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 (as

amended)

AND Claims in the King Country Inquiry consolidated

under Wai 898

AND the Wai 2351 claim by Frank Thorne on behalf of

himself and for the benefit of Ngati Hikairo

AND the Wai 1112 claim by MANIHERA FORBES and

MERE GILMORE on behalf of themselves and

Ngāti Hikairo

AND the Wai 1113 claim by MANIHERA FORBES and

MERE GILMORE on behalf of themselves and

Ngāti Hikairo

BRIEF OF EVIDENCE OF

POHEPOHE MAC BELL

Dated this 25th day of March 2013

WACKROW WILLIAMS & DAVIES LIMITED

LEVEL 14, 48 EMILY PLACE

P O BOX 461

DX CP 20503

AUCKLAND

PHONE: (09) 379 5026 FAX: (09) 377 6553

SOLICITOR: Dominic G S Wilson

EMAIL: dominic@wwandd.co.nz

 

Introduction

My name is Pohepohe Mac Bell. I’m generally known as

Mac Bell.(also known as Peter McGruther Bell)

I give this brief of evidence as a kaumātua of

Ngāti Hikairo.

I am retired farmer and live in Pirongia. I have lived here

all my life. I am a tohunga whakairo and am proud to

have been one of the founders of Te Wananga o

Aotearoa.

My evidence is about the participation of my tūpuna in

the Taranaki and Waikato wars. I want also to provide

this Tribunal with evidence about how complex the

politics of the war times were. Our whānau had to make

tough decisions to survive.

In some ways our whānau kōrero is not fulsome. When

we asked our grandparents about our tūpuna and the

land wars they tended to clam up and didn’t want to talk,

despite our persistent questioning. This was a Christian

ethic in that generation where there were painful things

you were best not to talk about. My parents were similar

about World War II.

We did learn a bit about which tūpuna fought and some

broad kōrero. Much of this evidence comes from my

discussions with Paddy Turnbull, a tribal scholar. He

took me under his wing and told me a number of matters

about Ngāti Hikairo and our histories. He told me some

things about my tūpuna’s involvement in the land wars

and I will recount some of that here.

 

Taranaki

Some our people fought in the wars in Taranaki from

about 1860. They went to the wars to support their

relations, but most of all I think they joined as they could

see the wider politics of what was happening. They

could see the Pākehā trying to get the Māori land and

felt sympathy for their Taranaki relations losing their

lands. I believe they saw that their lands were next in

line and they had to stop the spread of the Pākehā.

It had been a time when the iwi had experienced

positives and negatives along with Pākehā settlers. In

the early times we had good trade and sharing of

knowledge, but our people began to see the land being

taken and we saw the vice of alcohol entering our

community.

I will talk of my tūpuna Pohepohe Te Ake and Toataua

Te Ake at Taranaki. They were brothers, sons of the

chief Te Akerautangi.

I remember seeing Pohepohe’s musket with whānau

some years back and have a photo somewhere. It had

a star carved in the butt. It had been hidden in Kawhia

after Pohepohe returned from Taranaki. It is a

significant taonga to the whānau as we know some

kōrero surrounding it. At a battle in Taranaki Pohepohe

was part of the last contingent surviving and was

retreating. With ammunition exhausted he used his

musket as a taiaha and managed to escape. In

recognition of that event he gave his wife the name Karo

tepenete – Parry the Bayonet. She is more commonly

known as Karopeneti.

When Pohepohe returned he came some hours ahead

of his brother Toataua. Back in Kawhia Pohepohe went

to Toataua’s whānau to let them know that Toataua was

well and was on his way some hours behind. He arrived

to find the tangi of Toataua’s wife was happening. It had

been going for over four days and nights. Pohepohe

requested the whānau to keep the tangi going as

Toataua was to arrive shortly. Toataua arrived at

Kāwhia and swam across the harbour from pipi bed to

pipi bed to arrive home to the tangi. The tangi had been

going for five days and five nights when Toataua

reached his whānau. In commemoration of Toataua’s

efforts in the wars in Taranaki and to memorialise the

tangi, his whānau changed Toataua’s name to Pōrima - meaning five nights.

This is now a well-known name among the Ngāti Hikairo

whānau.

 

Rangiriri

When the Crown forces saw our Ngāti Hikairo at

Rangiriri I think they felt more disposed to killing. Ngāti

Hikairo already had a warlike reputation from their

fighting in Taranaki. I was told that the Crown forces

definitely considered that Ngāti Hikairo were dangerous

and should be killed because they had fought in

Taranaki.

Our whānau kōrero is that Te Akerautangi and his sons

Pohepohe and Toataua all fought at Rangiriri. We are

not certain, but there is kōrero that Te Akerautangi was

captured and held prisoner on a ship off Kawau Island

and then escaped.

 

Waiari

My tūpuna lived at Waiari. It was an ancient pā for Ngāti

Hikairo. They lived alongside Ngāti Puhiawe and the

whakapapa lines became merged there.

When the fighting occurred at Waiari a number of Ngāti

Hikairo fought. I believe my Tupuna Te Akerautangi

(also known as Te Whakaea, Wiremu Te Akerautangi,

or Wiremu Te Ake Kārewa) fought there. He was quite

old at that stage but still fought alongside his two sons

Pohepohe Te Ake, and Toataua Te Ake. Te Mūnu

Waitai and his daughter Rangiāho Waitai were also

there (and they also fought at Pāterangi).

The fighting was not at all easy. They were short on

everything. Our kōrero is that they were short on food

and ammunition and were ultimately outnumbered. I

understand this was a pattern for all of the land wars for

our people.

We have kōrero that they were using stones and even

wood pieces in their muskets. We also understand that

there was a mix of fighting skills among the persons who

were present. A number were not tested warriors at all.

Pohepohe and Toataua also fought at Hairini.

 

Confiscation

In my view the confiscation took the best quality lands

from Ngāti Hikairo and other iwi of Te Rohe Pōtae. I

have farmed for many years at Waimiha, Pārāwera,

Mangati, Pirongia, and Waiari and have some

knowledge about the quality of lands for farming and

horticulture. Much of the lands that were confiscated in

the south of the district were the most fertile and rich in

the Waikato region. Our farm at Waiari was only about

60 acres, and it was difficult to manage such a small lot,

but it was really good land. The loss of such lands was

a huge loss to Ngāti Hikairo and the other iwi and hapū

of Te Rohe Pōtae.

Today our whānau have no lands outside of Kāwhia

moana. I don’t believe our tūpuna were awarded any

lands from within the confiscation district. When I

farmed in Waiari it was on land I had to purchase myself.

So it is confiscated and then you have to buy it back.

The impacts of the confiscation were absolutely

disastrous on our people. Many researchers have

discussed the matter of “urban drift” as a key cause of

problems within Maoridom, but in my view some of the

worst situations for Ngāti Hikairo, and other iwi of Te

Rohe Pōtae, had existed well before those times. The

confiscation saw lots of our people focused in little areas

which were absolute hell-holes. Numerous whānau

were crammed into kainga surviving on small stretches

of river ways. There was drinking and many associated

problems. Our culture was slipping away. It was hell for

some whānau. I am sorry to say that Te Whatiwhatihoe

was such a hell-hole for a period.

The generations after the confiscation worked hard with

what little they had. Still our whānau were always

struggling in poor housing and without running water.

Many resorted to stealing to keep up and this became a

way of life. I really do believe that the loss of land was a

key source of these troubles.

 

The Land Wars: A time of confusion and contradictions

It is well known that Ngāti Hikairo was divided during the

times of the land wars. We were quite split up. Our

people have seen statements that factions of Ngāti

Hikairo were “rebels” and factions were “loyalists”. It is

so much more complex than that.

It is true that a number of whānau and individuals took

quite different positions about the land wars. Some

fought against the Crown forces, some left the area,

some remained in the region but didn’t fight, and some

sought to show support for the Crown and Māori.

In our iwi kōrero we know of no Ngāti Hikairo who fought

for the Crown against Māori during the land wars. Some

persons did provide assistance with diplomacy or acted

as guides to the Crown.

My evidence to this Tribunal is that there was so much

pressure on our people that the iwi didn’t act as one

during the land wars. The pressure forced some

individuals and whānau to make their own decisions

about what they needed to do to survive.

Many of our whānau were seriously tested during the

wars. I think a number of factors worked against us.

Our rohe included some of the very desirable and fertile

lands from Pirongia maunga to the east and north. We

occupied Kāwhia Moana which was a transport and

trading hub and which was rich in marine resources.

We experienced some of the earliest interaction with

Pākehā at Kāwhia. I think the Crown forces advanced

relatively quickly to the south in 1863 and our kōrero is

that some within Ngāti Hikairo started to fear the worst

from an early time. Indeed some of the iwi had seen

first-hand what the Crown was capable of in the wars in

Taranaki. I think all these factors were part of a

pressure that the Crown exerted and applied on us.

Our customary ways were all about sticking together.

The first reaction was to fight together, but we began to

find that we could not drive Pākehā into the sea. In fact

they seemed to be growing in numbers after the wars in

Taranaki began. Our people had to make decisions as

a matter of survival and tikanga was tested.

Some of our whānau decided that to survive they should

fight the Crown forces. Others decided that survival

required some sort of support for both the Crown and

Māori. I say support for both Crown and Māori as the

question is not clear cut. It wasn’t a case of Māori being

against Māori but more a situation where some whānau

saw their fate as Māori hinging upon their relationships

with both Māori and Pākehā.

Some among Māori call those who fought with the

Crown “Kūpapa”. The term is nearly always derogatory.

It is sometimes applied to any Māori who chose not to

fight against the Crown forces and sought to remain

somewhat neutral. Again, the term is usually derogatory

even when used this way.

I understand that Kūpapa means to be neutral in an

argument. In fact, Kūpapa can mean a person who

actively tries to peacefully resolve an argument. I

understand the term can therefore be either positive or

derogatory. In our kōrero the term Kūpapa comes from

“Kū” - a pigeon. In Christian thought the dove

represented peace. This was the positive meaning.

However, when a pigeon became fat we considered that

it had become fat by cooperating with the enemy. This

was the derogatory thinking behind the term.

The tupuna of my whānau chose to fight against the

Crown forces. I know of some Ngāti Hikairo whānau

who chose to keep a relationship with the Crown and

Māori. I think most of those who kept a good

relationship with the Crown acted as intermediaries

between the warring parties and tried to broker peace. I

would like to hope that today they can be looked at as

neutral brokers of peace – using the more positive

meaning of Kūpapa.

I have headed this section of my evidence “a time of

confusion and contradictions”. I would like to give some

examples why simple terms like “rebel”, “loyalist”, or

“kūpapa” are really meaningless at this time.

For example there was our chief Hōne Te One. He

fought alongside Māori at Taranaki at Māhoetahi

and was injured and captured by Crown forces.

Hōne Te One, along with Te Akerautangi, Kikikoi,

Pikia, Te Au Makoare and other chiefs, placed the

lands of Ngāti Hikairo under the Kīngitanga.

However, when the Crown brought the land wars to

Waikato he chose not to fight with Māori but worked

between the Crown and Māori to broker peace.

Because of his decisions on this issue he was

exiled from Kāwhia to Aotea Moana (to his other

whanau connections) and stayed for the most part

of the wars at Mōtakotako. For parts of the wars he

lived at Pukerimu (a hill between Te Rore and

Pikopiko) right within the war zone and Crown

forces occupied his lands at one stage. While still

at Mōtakotako, Hōne Te One invited Tawhiao to

assure him that Ngāti Hikairo remained in full

support of the Kīngitanga. It was also during his

time at Mōtakotako that Hōne Te One worked with

the Crown building roads in the Aotea harbour

region. Later, it was he, along with Pikia, and Hōne

Wetere, who invited Tawhiao to live at

Whatiwhatihoe – onto lands he had personally been

awarded after the confiscation. He himself lived at

Pirongia at Whatiwhatihoe for some time. So Hōne

Te One did not shrink from fighting for his people,

but later promoted a relationship with the Crown

and Māori which he believed was necessary for

survival. It can be seen that the situation is simply

not clear cut.

Now I think of my tupuna Pohepohe. He fought

against Pākehā in Taranaki and in the Waikato.

Pohepohe hated Pākehā. At Taranaki he fought

against Mr McGruther, a Scottish member of the

Crown’s forces. This same McGruther was later to

marry Pohepohe’s daughter at Kāwhia. Pohepohe

went from a deadly foe to a father-in-law. This is

another example of the times and the contradictions

that it created.

I think also of Rangiāho Waitai, the daughter of Te

Mūnu Waitai. Both her and her father had fought at

Waiari and Pāterangi. Later she joined the whānau

exiled in Mōtakotako and was a wife to Tawhiao.

So, she had consistently fought against the Crown

and was to become a wife of Tawhiao, but she lived

among the exiled Ngāti Hikairo at Mōtakotako.

In the above examples I am trying to show that the

situation on the ground was complicated. Simple

explanations don’t explain the complicated layers of

customary relationships coupled with war and rapid

change. It is therefore difficult to brand any particular

whānau of any iwi with a label.

One label that was branded against Ngāti Hikairo as a

whole was “rebel”. I’m told our iwi was listed as a rebel

iwi by the Crown at the end of the wars. In those

turbulent times you did what you could to survive, but

above all you defended yourself from the Crown’s

invasion. We fought to defend not to rebel.

 

Conclusion

My tūpuna fought against the Crown and lost life and

property. Some of our Ngāti Hikairo whānau chose a

different path for their survival. It was a complicated

time of change and the Crown created various

pressures. Ultimately, we all suffered through the wars

and confiscation. Many years after the wars and

confiscation I believe our people continue to suffer

today. It is not just the land loss. Our people still hold

the pain of the wars on their shoulders.

Our iwi lost its very best lands. In the grand scheme of

things we did not lose a huge quantity of land, but we

lost our best quality lands. I know this applies to Ngāti

Apakura and Ngāti Maniapoto hapū along with Ngāti

Hikairo.

I’m told there are a few small blocks of Ngāti Hikairo

land remaining within the confiscation district around

Pirongia Maunga. I don’t believe that any of our whānau

have any lands at all in this area. All we have are small

plots our lucky few have been able to buy back on the

open market. We now only have whānau land in

Kāwhia Moana (and much of those lands are the subject

of perpetual leases to others).

 

End