15-year-old Takikawa Rangi from Te Tai Rāwhiti has begun a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Türkiye, retracing the steps of his tīpuna ahead of ANZAC Day.
“I tēnei wā kei te whai au i ngā tapuwae o aku tīpuna i tau atu ki ngā pakanga [o te ao],” he says.
“Kei te āhua ohorere, kei te āhua mataku, kei te āhua hīkaka, kei te āhua harikoa hoki i roto i ahau i tēnei wā.”
Takikawa (Te Whānau a Rakairoa, Te Whānau a Tuwhakairiora), also known as Taki, is a proud tauira of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou in Ruatoria. The Te Puia Springs local is one of only three students across Aotearoa to receive the AFS Gallipoli Award, a scholarship that takes recipients to Türkiye for three weeks as part of a programme centred on remembrance.
Applicants were asked to base their entry on a relative who served in war. Taki honoured his tipuna, Private Rere Hauiti, through research and a presentation on his service with the First Māori Contingent.
He notes that while Rere Hauiti returned home after being wounded during the August Offensive at Gallipoli, his brother Private Henare (Henry) Hauiti, of the Second Māori Contingent, was killed in action at Ypres, Belgium.
Rere Hauiti’s WWI service was cut short after he was wounded in the arm during the Gallipoli campaign’s August Offensive, at the Battle of Sari Bair on 6 August. He also served with the Rifle Brigade and was awarded the 1914–1915 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Te tamaiti kaingākau o tana rahi
He haerenga nui whakaharahara tēnei mō Taki, i tipu mai i ngā rekereke o ōna pakeke.
Mai anō mai anō rātau whāngai ana i ngā kōrero tuku iho ki a ia.
“Every year, my whānau and I attend the Dawn Ceremony at Iritekura Marae in Waipiro Bay,” te kī a Taki.
“Although our community is small, every ANZAC Day every whānau [comes] together to pay their respects, reflect and honour those who sacrificed their lives to secure a better future for us.”
Hei tā tōna kōkā a Lois Hauiti, e poho kererū nei te whānau i tēnei hōnore nui.
“It’s really awesome, but I’ve got mixed emotions at the momen, everything that’s going on overseas,” te kī a Lois.
“But AFS have really reassured us that everything’s safe and that he’ll be fine over there.”
Ka kawe i ngā wawata o rātau mā
AFS Intercultural Programs is an international youth exchange organisation that provides scholarships for students to live, study and experience life overseas.
It was Takikawa’s former kaiako, Pāpā Bill Hughes, who encouraged him to apply. Hughes describes him as an “old soul”.
“Kāorehā, ka tiro mai te iwi rā ki a ia, ka mea atu - ka mau kē te wehi o te poi nei,” Hughes says.
These were among the mihi shared at Iritekura Marae in Waipiro Bay as Taki’s whānau and hapori gathered to farewell him.
Proudly wearing his pāpā’s medals, he was taken to the local soldiers’ urupā for karakia before leaving.
“I think that Taki is going to represent them and all of us too [and] keep that alive, of that incredible sacrifice and gift of love that those men and women gave,” Hughes says.
Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu
Alongside the scholarship, koha from his whānau and hapū have been added to support his time overseas.
“Just be Taki, be that old soul that you are,” Lois says.
During the trip, tauira will stay with host whānau, take part in cultural activities and attend ANZAC Day commemorations at Gallipoli.
Taki says he hopes to follow in his tīpuna’s footsteps, with plans to join the RNZAF in the future.
