Ko te kanohi rongonui o te ao pāpaho Māori, ko Tini Molyneux tētahi o ngā hia wāhine Māori i whai wāhi ki te kura Kōhine o Hukarere i roto i ngā tau.
Ko ia tonu tētahi o ngā tauira o mua ka whakakao atu ki Heretaunga hei ngā rangi nei ki te Whakanui i te 150 tau o te kura.
Nō ngā tekau tau 1960’s ia i whai wāhi ki te kura, a kei te ora tonu ngā mahara o aua rā i roto i a ia. Ko tētahi o aua maharatanga ko te āhua o te kura, arā, ehara tonu i te mea i tuku ai ki reira ako ai i te ao Māori.
“Engari he kura hei whakatō i ngā rākau a te Pākehā. Ehara i te whakapākehā i a koe, engari ki te ako ki a koe ki ngā āhuatanga kei mua i tō aroaro ka puta ana ki te ao.”
Ko tētahi o ōna tino maharatanga ko te noho pūmau a te kura ki te hāhi Mihinare. He rite tonu te noho whāiti a ngā kōhine ki te whare karakia o St Michael and All Angels i tū ki runga o Mataruahou i Ahuriri.
“Tangi te pere mō te karakia, tangi te pere mō te kai, tangi te pere mō te karakia anō. Koirā te nuinga o ngā wāhanga he haere mātou ki te karakia. Karakia i ngā ata, karakia i ngā pō, arā i ngā Rātapu e whā pea ngā wāhanga e haere ana mātou ki te karakia.
“Kua nui pea te karakia i ahau i te kura, kua tau kē pea te wairua o te Atua ki runga i āhau i Hukarere. Koinā te take kāore au i te haere ki te karakia ināianei,” tāna katakata.
He tino taonga taua whare karakia, he mea whakarite e Tā Apirana Ngata, tōmua tonu i tōna matenga. Ko ōna pātu o waho he Pākehā, engari anō a roto, he Māori rawa te hanga. Ko te nuinga o ngā tukutuku me ngā whakarākeitanga o roto i mahi e ngā kōhine o te wā i raro i ngā manaakitanga a Hōne Taiapa me Te Riringa Ngata, te wahine a Tā Apirana.
I whakatapua i te tau 1953. I turaki i te tau 2003 i te nukutanga o Hukarere ki Herepoho.
“Mehemea he māharahara tōku, ko te whakaaro kei hea rā tērā whare karakia ināianei. Koirā te moemoeā o Parekura [Horomia]. Ko tōna hiahia kia whakatū anō te whare karakia.
“Koirā pea tētahi o ngā kaupapa kei te hiahia e au te pātai ki te huihui nei.”
He nui ngā whakawhiu kua pākia ki te kura o Hukarere i roto i ngā 150 kua hori, a mohoa tonu nei. Kei te rongo tonu i ngā raru i hua mai i a Cyclone Gabrielle. Hei tā Tini anō, taihoa pea ka kite te anamata o Hukarere.
“Tērā pea mā te wīkene nei ka kite ka ahu pēhea rānei tērā Kaupapa. Engari ko taku mōhio, kāore ngā kōtiro tawhito o Hukarere e hora ki raro kia tū tonu tō rātou kura.”
TRANSLATION:
Veteran Māori broadcaster Tini Molyneux is one of the hundreds of wāhine Māori who went through Hukarere Girls College over the years.
This weekend she will be one of many gathering in Hawkes Bay to commemorate the school’s 150th birthday.
Molyneux started at Hukarere in the 1960s, and her memories of her time there remain strong. One in particular is the realisation the girls weren’t sent there to learn about the Māori world.
“Rather we were provided the tools needed to excel in the modern, Pākehā world. It wasn’t that we were educated not to be Māori, but we were being taught the things we needed to advance in the future that lay ahead.”
Another vivid memory she has is the strong affinity the college, and therefore the students had with the Anglican faith. She recalls many gatherings inside the St Michael and All Angels chapel on the school grounds on Bluff Hill, Napier.
“[It seemed like] The bell would ring for chapel, then it would ring for kai then the bell rings again for church again. That’s what we do all the time is go to church. Pray in the morning, then again at night, and then come Sunday we’d have four services.
“I probably had enough karakia in time at Hukarere that the Lord has well and truly settled within me, which is probably why I don’t go to church much these days,” she laughs.
The iconic church, designed by Sir Apirana Ngata shortly before his death, is held in great regard by those who worshipped inside. It’s design, typical of Sir Apirana had a Pākehā exterior, but it’s interior was exquisitely Māori. It was consecrated in 1953. It was demolished and put in storage in 2003 when the college moved to Eskdale.
“If I have one concern, it is where is that chapel now. That was one of Parekura [Horomia] hopes was to reestablish that church.
“That is probably one of the things I hope to find out this weekend.”
The college has had many ups and downs throughout its 150 years including its present day. It is still rebounding from the devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle. Tini isn’t sure what the future holds for Hukarere, but one thing is certain.
“That could be another thing that gets discussed this weekend. But I know for sure the Old Girls are never going to give up to keep their school alive.”