The Celebration of Sir Maui Pomare at Manukorihi, Waitara
Last Saturday we attended the Owae Marae celebrations of Sir Maui Pomare Day in support of Labour Party Leader Andrew Little.
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Our approach to the Wharenui at Owae along with
members of the Cook Islands delegation
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It is some years since I have visited Owae, and I was overwhelmed by the numbers of people, the many old colleagues and acquaintances who were there, and the high quality of the speeches, the discussion, the singing, the dancing and the provision of food and entertainment. It was magnificent.
As well as four politicians, and several local authority members, there were a large group of Cook Islands visitors present, and they added to the variety with their brand of singing and korero, and of dancing.
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Rev Albie Martin leads this part of the commemoration.
He and I worked closely together on the Maatua Whaangai
programme in the 1980s.
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Along with Andrew Little, there were Te Ururoa Flavell, Minister of Maori Affairs, Adrian Rurawhe, MP for Te Tai Hauauru, and Jonathan Young, MP for New Plymouth. Leading the local body representatives was the New Plymouth District Mayor, Andrew Judd, along with former MP Harry Duynhoven and others.
The day commemorates the contribution of Sir Maui Pomare. He was a North Taranaki boy who was the first Maori to train as a doctor in western medicine. He became a public health officer and made recommendations to government about the needs of Maori and the Cook Islands population.
He went into politics and was elected as MP. He was appointed Minister of Health in 1912 and remained in that position until 1928. You can read more of his life here:
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Chatting with Makiri Matthews.
Makiri was a Social Welfare volunteer
in the 1980s, and still works with the
Youth Court on support services for
first-time offenders.
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After the welcome speeches and songs of the powhiri, and further speeches about the significance of Sir Maui, including several beautiful presentations by the Cook Island group, one of his descendants, Miria Pomare, spoke about her ancestor.
A highlight of the references to Sir Maui was his insistence that if Maori (and Cook Island) men volunteered for war service in World War I, they could expect equality of treatment as New Zealand citizens on their return.
Of course, as we all know, they were treated very much as second class after the war, being denied pensions, rehab help and so on. We were exhorted to continue the struggle for equality, and for full treaty rights in the present day.
This is a theme close to the heart of the New Plymouth District Mayor, Andrew Judd, who also spoke at this stage, and was roundly applauded for his stand in favour of Maori representation at the Council table, in spite of the opposition he had encountered from a section of Pakeha opinion.
Other visiting speakers were the Minister of Maori Affairs, and Andrew Little.
Later in the morning we heard from groups with contributions to make, like Taranaki Futures, which is encouraging young people to take up apprentice-style training for needed occupations in Taranaki. And two scholarships for nursing training were presented to the winners as well.
After all the formalities, the hangi was lifted and we all trooped in to the wharekai, entertained continuously by a Te Ati Awa singing party, and later by the Cook Island group. There must have been around 200 sitting down for lunch, and the conversation was loud and animated inspite of the musical entertainment!
What an interesting and informative day!
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Andrew Little with four of the Cook Islands delegation
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