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Hi my name is Daisy and I am going to be bringing to you all ,a series of short stories about our beloved Pa and its people as I know it.
Fifty years next year .......... as shared to me by the Hunt club 08/05/16
One of the many activities that have taken place at the Pa over the years has been a hunt day run by the local Pony club. I spoke to two stalwart members of the hunt today and learnt that they have been coming to the Pa for the past 49 years.
Called a hunt and run annually in May of each year, it is actually an opportunity for "horse minded" people to spend the day together doing what they love, horse riding across paddocks, up hills, down into gulley's, over man made jumps testing their horses and their own horsemanship.
For the past 49 years there has always been someone around the Pa to open the doors, korero and "stoke the fire" so to speak, some who have since passed on, Cyril Tamou, Wiri Tamou, Cody Ranui, Murray Hiroa, Lorrie Noble, Johnny Noble, Sam O'Carroll, Ngaire Hiroa. Riders would return to the Pa, settle their horses and then gather in the Pa for a kai. Often the people of the Pa would join them, help in tidying down the Pa and when departure time came, they would re-gather at the home of the patron of the annual hunt for "the hospitality and drinks sessions". It was not uncommon I was told today, that these sessions sometimes lasted well into the night.
Next year will be fifty years since this club has been coming to our Pa, which we think is a really awesome achievement, not only for the club but also for the Pa to have hosted them. I shared with them that the rebuild of the Pa will in all likelihood be well under way this time next year and that they are more than welcome to come along when we open the doors for the first time.
My first memory of Mawhitiwhiti Pa by Daisy - shared 25/3/16
Our whanau lived at Ohawe on the Rangatapu reserve, right next door to what was known as "the Hall". This place served as a Pa and was used to accommodate the tribal needs of Maori whanau who lived on the coast and who for whatever reasons did not frequent their tribal Pa inland. My memories of Pa life and what it looked like came down to this place.
Our whanau moved into Hawera in 1960 where we still live in the same house, in the same street to this day. Moving of course meant that as kids we would no longer have the opportunity to see and witness life at the Pa as much as we had when we lived on the beach. However our mother continued to be involved with tribal affairs and we were able to work out when there was a tangihanga or something on at one of the Pa, because she would be dressed in her "blacks" and our dad would take her.
My first memory of Mawhitiwhiti Pa, affectionately known to this day as Kanihi was the 16 ctober 1974. I remember this date so vividly because it was the day that we had laid one of our uncles to rest at Waitoto and the hakari was held at the Pa. We entered the whare from the side of the building. Inside the walls were adorned with the half tyres filled with faded crepe flowers hanging on the coat hooks around the room (these were used during the dances), kapok bedding was the norm for sleeping, the stage was still there and the door to the supper room was to the side of the stage. We walked into the supper room and even more tyres graced the walls, the open fire in the kitchen for cooking was billowing out smoke and of course the many faces that were there to awhi our whanau, some known to us, some we would get to know over the coming years.
They say that first impressions are the most lasting and whoever said that is right. To this day the feeling of warmth, the hakari tables, the old world feeling in the place, the whanau, has never diminished for me over the years. I know that the new building whatever that may look like, will live up to and retain those impressions that I hold in my mind and my heart.
These three clips were taken in 1978. The Kanihi Culture Club, fondly known in its day as "haka boogie" which in those days boogie and disco was all the range, were holding a dinner at the Pa to raise funds for renovation work.
Clip 1 features Mihi and Bev cooking over the old electric stove. In clip 2, note the storeroom aka pantry just off behind Trish. Behind Ina is the ticket door (same design as a stable door) where someone would collect the tickets during the dances. In the last clip you can see the frame of the old fireplace. This was the last time the fire place was used. Not long after that we had a new diesel stove installed. Definite relics of the days gone by.
I would just play bull rush ............by Rawiri Gray 5/9/15
Kia ora, my name is Rawiri Gray. I am 27 years old and I attended the kohanga reo, Te Ramanui o Te Atua, in 1991. At that time I was only 3. My connection to Kanihi is through my Nan Te Haumene Gray (nee Luke).
I remember the kohanga first being based in Hawera before it moved out to the Pa. I have strong memories of the Noble and Webb whanau involvement, but for me it was Pepe and Chimo who stood out the most.
I think I was a very challenging child and sometimes I got into trouble at kohanga. Chimo would have to put me on a seat in the corner where I would have to sit facing the wall. This was supposed to give me time to think about what I had done.
Pepe used to spend heaps of time with my mum cause they were both into tug-a-war and women's rugby, so of course I got to see her all the time.
I always enjoyed the Pa. Attending tangi, I got to be with my whanau and have a good catch up. As a child I would just play bull rush and have fun. I don't often get to come home, but when I do I always drive past the Pa and go over to the urupa to see everyone. The best thing about coming home is that the faces I remember are still there at the Pa.