He pou aroaro mō tōna hapori o Kāingaroa, he pou tokomanawa mō te reo me ngā tikanga tuku iho a ōna mātua tīpuna, ko Pita Tori Biddle, e takoto kau atu ana ki roto i tōna tipuna whare, o Harehare i Kāingaroa i te pō o Tūrei.
Nō te ata hāpara o te Mane mate ai a ia, e 80 tau tōna pakeke, ā, i tōia atu ia ki waenga i tōna iti o Ngāti Whare, ki reira tīmata ai tana hīkoitanga whakamutunga i te mata o te whenua.
Ko te mamae, ko te pōuri e ngau nei i tana whānau, i tana hapori hoki, e ai ki a Nika Rua, māngai kōrero o te whānau pani.
“Kei te mata tonu te mamae i te rironga o tō mātou pakeke, i a Pita kua roa e taki whawhai ana mō ngā whānau e noho nei i roto i te pokapū o Kāingaroa.”
Ko taua toto whawhai, ka heke iho i a Harehare tīpuna Ariki - ko tā tōmua, he taunaki i te aranga ake o te Kīngitanga, ko tā tōmuri, te Ariki whakamutunga o Ngāti Manawa, he pakanga ki Orākau. Ko tā Biddle, he tū ki te whawhai mō tōna hapori, i ngā whakahōutanga ki ngā kaupapa here ōhanga i ngā tau e waru tekau. I te whakakorenga o Te Ratonga Ngahere o Niu Tīreni, ka rangirua ngā mahi ngahere me ngā kāinga noho a ngā whānau o ngā kaimahi ngahere i Kāingaroa.
“Mai anō i te tau 86 ka tīmata ana huihui i te taha o te Pirimia i tērā wā, i a David Lange, ki te pakanga kia mau tonu ngā kāinga noho ki roto o Kāingaroa,” te kōrero a Rua.
Tua atu i āna mahi i te ngahere, he wā tōna i tohua ai a Biddle hei kaikaunihera o Kāingaroa, hei kaitiaki hoki o Ahu Whenua Trust. Hei tā Rua, he pukumahi tō rātou pāpā, koroua.
“Ka mutu, koia tonu te heamana tuatahi o Te Kōhanga Reo o Kāingaroa. Koia hoki tētahi o ngā kaimanaaki i tō tātou marae nei, i Te Huinga o Ngā Waka. Ko rāua rāua, ko tō mātou pāpā, i a Tahae Doherty i pakanga i te pakanga e tū tonu ai a Kāingaroa, te ahi whakamura i tēnei rā.”
E rima ngā rā e takoto atu ai te koroua ki ōna marae maha.
Atu i Kāingaroa ka tōia ki Matahī āpōpō takoto ai mō te pō kotahi. Hei te Tāite, ka tōia ki tōna hapū o Ngāti Patumoana, ki Waiaua, ka kotahi anō te pō ki reira. Ā, hei te Paraire ka hikina atu kia nehua ki waenga i tōna iti o Ngāi Tamahaua, ki Ōpape, whakatetonga i Ōpōtiki.
He hīkoitanga whakamutunga tēnei e tohu ana i te momo o te koroua e arohaina nuitia ana e tōna rahi.
