Source: New Zealand Government
E te māngai o te Whare Pāremata, kua riro māku te whakaputa i te waka ki waho moana. E te Pirimia tēnā koe.
Mr Speaker, it is my privilege to take this adjournment kōrero forward. Prime Minister – thank you for your leadership.
Taupiri te maunga
Waikato te awa
Te Wherowhero te tangata, te tupuna, te tupua, te taniwha!
Waikato horo pounamu, Waikato taniwha rau
He piko he taniwha
He piko he taniwha!
Taupiri is the mountain
Waikato is the river
Te Wherowhero is the person, the ancestor, the supernatural being, the protector
Waikato the consumer of greenstone, Waikato of one hundred chiefs
At every bend a chief
At every bend a chief
Kei te ariki Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero te tuawhitu, haere ki ō tūpuna te kāwai o te kahu kiwi ki te pō, oti atu rā. Tō tira haere, ehara i te ruarua torutoru noa iho, ko Kahurangi June Mariu, ko Midge Te Kani, ko Davina Ruru, ko Piki Waretini, āpōpō wai ka hua wai ka mōhio? Whekuwheku kau ana te nuku i te roimata māu.
Great leader Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero the Seventh, farewell now to your ancestors who carry the kiwi cloak into the night, go beyond the veil. Your travelling party is not small, as you will be accompanied by Dame June Mariu, Midge Te Kani, Davina Ruru, Piki Waretini, tomorrow who knows who can tell? Our lands are flooded with tears of sorrow.
Kua rahi tō te Kīngi mana, whakaiti hoki ki Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, ki ngā motu o Aotearoa Niu Tireni, ki te Moana nui a Kiwa, ki ngā Taumāhekeheke o te Ao, o te Whare o Kīngi Tiare te tuatoru. Kua rangona tōna manaakitanga, kua kitea tōna mana motuhake, kua tau tōna kaitiakitanga ki ngā kaupapa nui o te wā.
Kīngi Tuheitia carried his monumental responsibility and humility through New Zealand, to the Pacific Islands, to the Olympics, to the house of King Charles the Third. His caring nature was felt, his independent thinking was seen, and his restorative approach to major issues was regularly unleashed.
Nā te Kingi o te Maungarongo a Tawhiao, pērā ki te Whakataukī Rua Tekau mā Iwa a Rāwiri i puta mai ai – ki te kore he whakakitenga ka ngaro te iwi – koia i a Kīngi Tuheitia mō te oranga o te Iwi i te wā o te Korona-19. Nāna anō te kī – amohia ake te ora o te iwi kia puta tātou ki te wheiao!
King Tawhiao the King of Peace, observed like the 29th Proverb of David – if there is no vision, the people will perish – King Tuheitia articulated this presciently during the COVID-19 era by stating – lift up the wellbeing of the people as paramount.
E kī ana te kōrero a Kirihaehae Te Puea Herangi – mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – katahi rā tō te Kīngi tauira ki ngā mahi kaitiaki tohorā arā He Whakaputanga Moana i tāia i te tau nei.
Kirihaehae Te Puea Herangi exhorted – if it is good for the people, get on with the mahi – the King demonstrated taking action particularly with his commitment to the environment like the recent Declaration for the Ocean amongst our Pacific relations.
Nā te Kīngi hoki i whakatakoto i te huarahi mō te tini rangatakapū Māori i ōna kōrero – Me Māori koe ia wā ia rā – he iwi taurikura tātou e kore tātou e ngaro. Kua tuhia ki ngā rae a tēnā a tēnā ki ngā pūrongo pukamata me ngā whakaata, niupepa hoki.
The King inspiringly outlined a simple pithy reminder of demographic realities with his encouragement of youth observing that our people should – Be Māori all day, everyday, we are strong and here to stay – this saying is now etched on many foreheads, Facebook and other media platforms.
Tahi rā ngā miro katoa i tuitui atu ki tōna ngira ki Tūrangawaewae i te wiki rā. I whai hoki i ōna hoa i hara mai i ngā tōpito o te ao, ko ngā hūmeka, ko ngā kāmura, ko ngā parakimete, ko ngaa pekarohi – tatu atu rā ki ngā kōtuku rerenga tahi, ngā ringa rehe, ngā kaitorangapū, ngā ringa raupā o ia hāpori o ia Iwi.
During the tangi we saw the threading of many communities and people through Tūrangawaewae. Friends and colleagues from many corners of the earth came to pay their respects – shoemakers, carpenters, blacksmiths and bakers – across to rarely seen guests, experts, politicians and workers of communities and Iwi up and down the country. (This is a reference to a monarchical quote of King Tawhiao who saw friends come from around the world to Tuurangawaewae).
Kīngi Tuheitia, kīngi o te kotahitanga, kīngi o Parihaka, kīngi o Te Matatini, kīngi o te kura o Tipene – mate atu he toa.
Kuini Ngā Wai hono i te pō ara mai rā he toa wahine, he toa rangatakapū! Kei a ia te ihi, wehi, wana, tapu, mauri, wairua a Te Rauangaanga!
Makau Ariki Atawhai me ngā tamaroa, te pā harakeke, kia kaha kia maia kia manawanui.
Kei te Tekaumaarua, kia ita ita ita mau tonu!
King Tuheitia, King of Unity, King of Parihaka, King of Kapa Haka, King of St Stephen’s School – falls a champion.
Kuini Ngā Wai hono i te pō – arises a wahine champion, a youthful champion to take his place. It is for her to carry the exhilaration, the awesomeness, the sacredness, the vitality and the spirit of her ancestor Te Rauangaanga.
Widow Atawhai and your sons, the immediate family, be strong be brave be stout hearted.
Tekaumaarua – stay resilient!
Ekore e mimiti āku mihi mahorahora ki ngā ariki o te tai Māori, māreikura whatukura, ngā Tumuaki pērā i a Hone Tamihana, ngā ringawera ki ngā kauta o Kimiora, Tūrongo me te Dungeon arā te whānau Raumati mā, ngā tuarā, ngā kemu rīki a Tuurangawaewae a Taniwharau, ngā kaihoe waka, ngā wātene Māori, ngā hāwini pērā i a Mere Daniels, ngā pari karanga me ngā pātaka kōrero pērā i a Rāhui Papa i a Doug Ruki, ngā kaiwhakanohonoho, te hāpori a Para Kore, ngā kaiwhakarite urupā ki Taupiri Kuao, ngā ruruhi me ngā koroheke, ngā kaitautoko pērā i a Rukumoana Schaafhausen me te hekeretari a Ngira Simmonds – nō rātou anō i whakahīnau i te marae kia oti pai te uhunga o te rua tekau tau ka pahure ake nei. E hoa mā, kāore i kō atu i te Kīngitanga, i a Waikato-Tainui, i a Tuurangawaewae Marae mō tēnei tikanga te manaakitanga, mō tēnei āhuatanga te mana motuhake, mō tē whakatinanatanga o te kotahitanga.
Our appreciation will never wane for the esteemed leaders like Hone Tamihana, cooks in Kimiora and Tūrongo kitchens and the Dungeon like the Raumati whānau, the backbone, the league teams of Tuurangawaewae and Taniwharau, the paddlers, the Māori wardens, the servants like Mere Daniels, the callers and the speakers like Rāhui Papa and Doug Ruki, the ushers, the rubbish collectors from Para Kore, the grave diggers at Taupiri Kuao, the olds, the supported like Rukumoana Schaafhausen and Ngira Simmonds – those who delivered the phenomenal marae effort to realise the values of our ancestors in a manner not seen for twenty years. (This is a reference to the hīnau tree – part of a monarchical quote of King Tawhiao around fashioning a house of mahoe, patatē and hīnau). Friends, there is nothing like the Kīngitanga, like Waikato-Tainui, like Tuurangawaewae Marae for the value of manaakitanga, for the dimension we call mana motuhake, and for the embodiment of kotahitanga.
Hei whakatepe i ōku mihi kāmehameha, Minita Whaea Judith Collins me te Ope Katua o Aotearoa, ngā mema o te Whare Pāremata i mahue ngā kākā tōrangapū kia kāpuia atu tātou ki te uhunga me te whakawāhinga, e hoa mā, kei te tangotango hoki ka kitea te maramtanga, ā, kei reira te kotahitanga e paoro nei i te nuku o te whenua. (This is a reference to a monarchical quote by King Tawhiao – if one reed stands alone it will break, if many reeds stand together (kāpuia) they will persist).
Finally, I want to acknowledge Whaea Judith and the contribution of the NZDF, and everyone in this house, who unshackled our political hues to wholly attend the tangi of a generation to pay respects to King Tuheitia, and welcome Queen Ngā Wai hono i te pō. My learned friends, in the darkest of moments, we can find the light of kotahitanga.
