The Cathedral Gala Day

Commemorating Te Whiti, Saturday 6 November
11am Cathedral service of thanksgiving for Te Whiti o Rongomai (who is commemorated on this day).
11.30 - 2.30pm Gala, held in the Peace Hall opposite the Taranaki Cathedral Church of St Mary in Vivian Street.
- The unveiling of the artwork for the Peace Altar Frontal.
- Hot pot foods, hot sausages, hot breads, baking, home-made jams & marmalades, garden plants & seedlings, a cuppa & a slice, an Emporium of pre-loved goods,and  books. - Something for everyone! All welcome.
2.30pm A time of quiet prayer; light a candle in the Cathedral, in thanksgiving for Te Whiti and in prayer for all our tomorrows.

Latest Requests For Help

The Cathedral Gala Day, Saturday 6 November 11.30 - 2.30pm. Together we will make it a great day!  We need clean used jam jars with lids, please drop them into the office for others to fill with jams, pickles and marmalade. If you can donate sugar or fruit - tamarillos, guavasa & apples for others to make into jams and jellies please leave these at the Cathedral office. Pot up seedlings (named), & strike cuttings for the garden stall. Box up household items you no longer require: good clean crockery, linen, tools, books, and store them till we call for these to be delivered closer to the date. To suggest other fund-raising activities, and to help with this gala please leave your name & contact details on the sheet at the back of the church or phone Pat Green 753 7236 or Eirene Voon 753 7208. All help warmly welcomed for a great get-together.

A Little of the Story of Te Whiti

Te Whiti was one of the most remarkable of the Maori prophetic figures of the nineteenth century. He provided leadership to his people in establishing a model community at Parihaka and enabled them by non-violent means to protest at the unjust confiscation of their lands. Furthermore, this was 60 years before Mahatma Gandhi in India.

Te Whiti o Rongomai of the Ngati Awa tribe was born at Ngamotu near New Plymouth about 1831, though another tradition suggests a date about 1817. He went to the mission school run by Johannes Riemenschneider. This was not Te Whiti’s first introduction to the gospel, for Taranaki Maori returning from the Bay of Islands had brought news of the gospel. Consequently, when Riemenschneider announced on his arrival in 1846 that he came in peace, bringing God’s word, Te Whiti replied, “We know that word and greet you in God’s peace.” Te Whiti developed a wide-ranging and deep knowledge of the Bible and could quote large sections by heart. The Bible was his constant companion, the single most important influence on his life.

By 1872 the warfare that had flared since 1860 had come to an end. The war had been devastating to Maori life, and further war was not a viable option. Then, to add to Maori degradation, there was the government’s confiscation of vast tracts of Maori land, which was eagerly sought after by the land-hungry European settlers. Part of the land designated for confiscation was on the western flanks of Mount Taranaki and included the village of Parihaka.

Here Te Whiti had come and, with his fellow leader Tohu Kakahi, set up a unique community. Instead of the usual fortified village, Te Whiti created an open village on the banks of the Waitotoroa. It was in a real sense a model village, for its layout was carefully planned, the economy and agriculture were efficiently managed, the education of the young was seen to, sanitation and health measures were enforced, and alcohol was forbidden.

Until 1877, the government ignored the fact that Maori had returned to live on land that had been officially confiscated. Settler pressure mounted, however, for the acquisition of these fertile lands, and the surveying of the Waimate Plains to the south of Mount Taranaki began. In 1879 the surveyors smashed Maori fences and destroyed crops. Te Whiti and his people realised that if they took no action the land would simply be taken, and the question of justice would go by default. So, in March 1879, Te Whiti’s men packed up the surveyors’ equipment for them and escorted them across the Waingongoro River to land legitimately sold earlier.

Te Whiti was an outstanding orator, and by the strength of his mana he forged his people into a cohesive and unified community. Many from other tribes joined them. From his study of the Scriptures, Te Whiti was able to offer an explanation for the suffering of the people: it was God’s work, and through their suffering they would attain grace. He reminded them that they were not the only ones to suffer, but in God alone lay salvation. God would in the end vindicate the small people of the world. It was only a small step from that theology to passive Maori resistance to pakeha force. Te Whiti told his followers:

Go. Put your hands to the plough. Look not back. If any come with guns and swords be not afraid. If they smite you, smite not in return. If they rend you, be not discouraged. Another will take up the good work.

Te Whiti was by no means anti-pakeha. Much later in his life, when asked if it were true that he had predicted that one day all pakeha would be swept into the sea, he dismissed it angrily:

What I said and wished to convey was, that the two races should live side by side in peace, . . . the white man to live among us – not we to be subservient to his immoderate greed.

The inevitable confrontation developed, with the protesters being arrested. Their places were taken by more of Te Whiti’s supporters, till all the gaols were full. The settlers were adamant in their insatiable demand for land, and Te Whiti and his people were defiant. The Native Minister, John Bryce, was determined not to give in to what he considered a handful of Maori troublemakers. The government had no intention of backing down, and in October 1881 eager volunteers formed a group of armed constabulary and were ordered to Parihaka to arrest Te Whiti and other leaders in the Parihaka community.

When the troops reached Parihaka at 7.15 a.m. on 5 November, they found the fences pulled down to allow them in, and they were offered bread. The only thing in their way was a group of 200 children singing songs. When Bryce read the Riot Act and called on the Maori to disperse, he was met with silence. When the arresting party entered, the Maori cleared a way for them. Te Whiti and his assistant Tohu Kakahi and their wives walked with dignity into captivity. The troops dispersed any Maori who were not local and destroyed most of the crops and part of the village. Te Whiti and Tohu were charged with using seditious language, but never tried, despite frequent demands for a fair trial. They remained under arrest without trial for a year in the South Island, but in the end had to be released.

The surveying of the confiscated land had not been prevented, though a Royal Commission in 1926 found that the Maori land claims were just. Te Whiti and Tohu returned to Parihaka in 1883. They had to rebuild the community, which had fallen into disrepair. The campaign of civil disobedience as a protest against the unjust confiscations continued, with the ploughing of disputed lands. Te Whiti was imprisoned again for six months in 1886, and in 1897 ninety-two Maori were arrested for similar actions.

At a time of great difficulty for the Maori people, Te Whiti provided outstanding leadership. Both Te Whiti and Tohu died in 1907. In the 1890s there were sharp differences of opinion between the two men, but their contribution to their people was complementary rather than antagonistic. By that time they had each given over forty years of guidance to the community. Tohu died on 4 February 1907, and Te Whiti on 18 November. Te Whiti was buried at a vast tangi involving people from all over New Zealand. A marble column was erected above his grave, and on it were inscribed these words in Maori and English:

He tangata ia i mahi i nga mahi

Nunui, hei peehi i te kino

kia tu ko te rangimarie

Hei oranga mo nga iwi

Katoa i te ao ko tana tohu

I waiho ake te tona iwi ki

Te Ati-awa he Raukura

Tona tikanga

Hei kororia ki te Atua i runga

Hei maunga-ronga ki runga

Ki te whenua

Hei whakaaro pai ki te tangata

He was a man who did

great deeds in suppressing evil,

so that peace might reign

as a means of salvation

to all people on earth.

His emblem, the white feather,

which signifies

glory to God on high

peace on earth

and goodwill to all mankind,

he bequeathed to his people

Te Ati-Awa.