Te Kaupoi o Ngāti Toa

Seated upon his recliner chair sits a man whose skin tells the story of his life. Although his face shows the signs of aging wisdom, his mind is still youthful. Uncle Mahu Wi Neera is the oldest known registered male member of Ngāti Toa Rangatira, he recently celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by his whānau.

You can tell by the way he speaks that love was prevalent throughout his life. When arriving at his home, his whānau was there to open the door and greet us with open arms. He reflects on this as he talks about how growing up in the pā meant pretty much every house was your home and everyone looked after one another.

Situated at the back of the house where he now lives, is the home that he grew up in. A modest 2-bedroom cottage, where 7 kids would create core memories. “Back then there was no thought about it, no worry or concern” laughs Uncle Mahu, “but how the heck did we live in that?”.

Mahurenga Wi Neera was the youngest of 7 children born to Te Kanawa Wi Neera and Gertrude Victoria Kemp and grew up in the pā as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The era of which he was born was just after the great depression, although “at the time the great depression was still being felt”, he said.

Back then, the harbour was a bountiful pātaka kai with an abundance of kaimoana. Many ate pipi, pupu and tuna for dinner. He recalls only taking what they needed, never more, ”We all grew up looking after each other.”

And the bush was their playground. They trekked up there, every day, every moment they could exploring their oasis. He recalls having a good upbringing and that they spent more time laughing and playing than they ever did complaining and grizzling.

Uncle Mahu was safe and knew his whānau in the pā, the worlds worries lay outside the pā gates.

He remembers a time when he visited his pakeha friend in town and how the shop keeper followed them around the shop, every step of the way keeping an eye on them. He reckons that “they were expecting me and my cousins to pinch something”, it made him sad to think that was how Māori were perceived back then and still are to this day.

The pā as we know now, is not the pā in which he grew up in. There were no streets, or pathways back then, just houses, paddocks, orchards and gardens. Everywhere whānau remained the same, their home was your home. He recalls many times being chased from someone’s property for raiding an orchard and your cousins were your best mates – he grew up alongside Te Maunu Solomon and Jensen Parata. 

As well as learning many skills in various trades, he eventually found his niche in farming. This work allowed him to travel across the country moving from city to city working on different farms. He and his wife Lois had 5 children Rawiri, Deborah, Tracey, Laoni and Adyn, all born in different towns. He proudly boasts that he has 15 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren to carry on his legacy.

But his biggest achievement in his life was marrying the lovely Lois Helen Minett.

He met Lois 69 years ago at the Porirua train station, and it was love at first sight. “When I saw her, I knew I was going to marry her.” He searched for her again and as luck would have it, she ended up being the neighbour of his good mate.

So they were introduced, they courted for a while and the rest as they say is history. Sixty-nine years later, he still holds the same love for her that he’s had since day one.

Besides his infinite love for Aunty Lois, Uncle Mahu was also known across the motu for his skill in riding and breaking in horses.

He had a natural gift for breaking the most unbreakable horses and would be called from afar for his skills. He was known as one of the best riders of his time, something he humbly denies and accredits his hero ‘Ben Pohio’ as the best rider around.

He recalls one time, Ben was trying to tame a horse that kept bucking him off. The horse became so unrideable that they were going to put it down.

One day, Uncle Mahu and his mates saw the opportunity to jump the fence and have a ride of Ben’s horses. He managed to mount the horse they were having trouble with and turned his back to see “that all my mates had bolted”. He ended up taking the horse for a ride around Titahi Bay.

When he returned, instead of getting told off, Ben complimented him on his skills, then gave him that very horse - this horse would be the first of many.

His love for riding never dwindled, in fact he continued riding for many years and even found himself competing in rodeos.

Although, he travelled and moved around New Zealand with his whānau. He knew where home was and knew he would eventually return back to the pā to settle, “There is no place like Takapūwāhia.”

“I remember when,” seemed to be a regular sentence starter when talking with Uncle Mahu.  He could recall the days of his youth as if it was only yesterday. His recollection of fond memories was something you knew he held on to so tightly in his mind.

We would like to mihi to Uncle Mahu and his whānau for being able to share these memories with you all.

Ngā mihi nui ki a koe, otirā tō whānau e te rangatira e Mahu.  Hari huringatau!