Panapa Wiremu Netana 1898 1951

edmondsallan - hello - Lets go over to " Mangonui " get some fish & chips , go back to " Cooper's " eat , one drink, snooze for an hour ,
dive into the sea , get dry & have a yacked yack on some of the families that come from " Northland ". Want to do it ??? OK - Let's get crackin' then .---------- Great, just beautiful - let's talk >>>
" Bishop Wiremu Netana Panapa ", known affectionately as ( Barney, )was the second bishop of Aotearoa. He was born in Ahikiwi, north of Dargaville, on 7 June 1898. Panapa’s grandfather, Panapa Hohapata, of Ngati Ruanui, was captured during one of Ngati Whatua’s battles in Taranaki in the late 1820s and was taken to Northland. He later married Ngatowai Teao Mamaku of Ngati Whatua and settled at Ahikiwi; Ngatowai was also called Ripeka Hohapata. Their son, Netana Te Kopa Panapa, a farmer, married Ngapeka Mereana (Marion) Maihi of Te Rarawa and Ngati Kahu; they had 12 children. Wiremu, their fourth child, was baptised as Wiremu Pepene; he later changed his name to Wiremu Netana, after his father. Ngapeka, also known as Mereana, worked assiduously to protect Maori customs and traditions but was also active in the church.
Wiremu Panapa was educated at Maropiu School and St Stephen’s Native Boys’ School, Parnell. His grandfather encouraged him to study the Bible and guided him into the service of the Anglican church. He entered Te Rau Theological College, Gisborne, where he was on the committee of the Maori newspaper Te Kopara. He obtained his licentiate in theology from St John’s College, Auckland, becoming its first Maori graduate. He was ordained a deacon in 1921 and a priest in 1923.
Panapa married Agnes Waikeria Anihana (Anderson) of Ngati Maniapoto at Te Kuiti on 30 January 1924. Agnes, also known as Bella, was a niece of Te Puea Herangi on her mother’s side. They had seven children: four boys and three girls.
Panapa served in Te Kuiti from 1923 to 1926 and Kaikohe from 1926 to 1932. He became recognised as a very forceful preacher. From 1923 to at least 1933 he was a member of the Wairoa Maori Council, and in 1927 he took part in a hui to consider the appointment of a Maori bishop. In 1928 he met T. W. Ratana at Kaikohe; he questioned Ratana’s role as a religious leader and challenged him with a haka.
Panapa was appointed as diocesan Maori missioner in 1930, and the first Maori missioner at Auckland in 1932. When his term began the Maori population in and around Auckland was insignificant. However, as Maori urbanisation rapidly grew, he recognised emerging pastoral challenges. Church authorities were called upon to meet Maori church leadership obligations and the people’s specific needs. In 1937 Panapa defended Orakei Maori against allegations in the press about payment from land sales, and also became involved in the controversy over the occupation by Maori of church land originally gifted to the Crown. When the 28th New Zealand (Maori) Battalion entered camp in 1940, Panapa was its first chaplain, serving with it in New Zealand for four years. In 1944 he was appointed vicar of Ohinemutu Maori District. He then served in Taupo from 1947 to 1951. I don't think this families ancestry , joined our's in Northland . We touched hands now & then and we are related by the Five ( 5 ) canoes from Hawiki . I have his whakapapa. I'll put down in a journal later . Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan