Herangi Te Kirihaehae Te Puae 1946 1951 Waikato Nz

edmondsallan - Hello - This journal completes the life of this remarkable woman . I am hoping many of our " cussies " in the Waikato will take up being a member in our great " Family Tree Circle " and give us more of their ancestral history . Te Puea took the most active leadership role in Waikato in her generation. Driven by a vision of restoring the strength of Tainui, she was able to achieve it because of her mana, her tremendous will, the strength she derived from her faith and the guidance of her ancestors, the loyalty she inspired in others, and her remarkable planning and organisational skills. She had a great warmth and generosity, and a wonderful sense of humour, and she communicated easily with people, whatever their background, in Maori or in English. She loved children and was greatly loved by them in turn even though they might be growled at. As she grew older the young ones were in awe of her, watching her direct the affairs of the marae. Often she was very unwell, but nevertheless she worked seven days a week all her adult life.

Although she enjoyed big occasions from time to time, such as balls in Kimikimi with the Te Pou Mangatawhiri band playing, the old people remember her best in her bag apron and hat, working in the gardens, planting flower beds and raspberry canes, grubbing out blackberry roots, feeding the pigs. She feared the purposelessness of life without work for all the people, just as she feared the impact of drink on family life, and would not let alcohol on the marae. She tried to protect her young people from repeating what she later saw as the mistakes of her own early life: forbidding them to smoke, and marching into hotels to order barmen not to serve drinks to the women, banging her walking stick on the floor. But if the young people sometimes found her strict, they also recognised her deep concern for them all.

Te Puea died at home on 12 October 1952 after a long final illness. Tumokai Katipa lived until 1985. They had no children of their own, but adopted many; their favourite, Pirihira Katipa, passed away aged only nine in 1939. Te Puea's tangihanga lasted a week and thousands of people made their way to Ngaruawahia. The prime minister and leader of the opposition attended the funeral; the BBC devoted a broadcast to her memory, and telegrams came from many parts of the world.

Te Puea was recognised as a remarkable leader whose achievements communicated across cultures, and she was hailed as 'the greatest Maori woman of our time'. There was little recognition, though, of the poverty and powerlessness that she had spent her life fighting, and the New Zealand government was still a long way from accepting the statement of Maori autonomy embodied in the Kingitanga. She would not have liked the constant references to 'Princess' Te Puea; it was a title originally bestowed on her by Pakeha, which she never used herself. The strength of the Kingitanga at the time of Te Puea's passing is the greatest testimony to her life's work; and on the marae at Ngaruawahia her unseen presence is felt still. Having been there on several occasions I can vouch for that feeling . It is uncanny . It is just as if her spirit was still walking and talking among all who visit the Marae . Till we meet again _ regards - edmondsallan