Poroporoaki ki a Major Hone Hikitia Te Rangi Waititi QSO, JP

E haruru ana te Tai Rāwhiti i ngā tai aroha e whati ana ki te akau!

Ko te riri a Tū! Ko te riri a Tū!

Kei te waipuke ngā awaawa o Motu, o Kereu – ko te mamae a Papa!

Te Whānau a Apanui! Ngāti Porou! Kei te tangihia to koutou rangatira!

E te uri o Horouta, e te tama a Tumatauenga, e te rangatira o te wa kāinga o Te Whānau a Apanui e tiraha mai rā i ngā marae o o iwi, takoto mai, takoto mai!

Takoto mai i te putake o Tihirau, i mua i ngā tauranga hi moki, i runga i ngā whenua tapu o o tipuna, kia tangihia koe e te motu.

He rangatira koe, mai rā anō i te wa i a koe te Kapene o te tima whutupaoro o Te Aute. Ko koe te rangatira nau te Rōpū Rua Tekau ma Waru i whakahoki mai ki te wa kāinga i te mutunga o te pakanga. Ko koe te heamana o ngā rōpū kaipakihi i ora ai to iwi i te wa kāinga. I whakahonoretia koe e te Karauna mo o mahi pai mo to iwi.

Ka toru o taotunga i te muranga o te ahi, a, katahi anō koe ka mate, e iwa tekau tau neke atu to pakeke. Anō te kaha, anō te pai o te tangata.

Ko te humarie, he tohu rangatira, inaianei kua wahangu tuturu koe. Haere, haere, haere atu rā.

Māori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples saluted the last surviving commander of the 28 (Māori) Battalion, Major Hone Hikitia Te Rangi Waititi, QSO, JP who passed away this morning.

Major Waititi, of Te Whānau a Apanui and Ngāti Porou, sailed to war in 1943 in the 10th reinforcement. He was wounded three times but declined to leave the front lines, instead leading the victorious ‘C’ Company’s welcome home parades at the end of the war.

“Major Waititi was a recognised leader, from the time he captained Te Aute College’s First XV, through the Māori Battalion’s wartime exploits, and as a community leader among Te Whānau a Apanui after the war,” said Dr Sharples.

“As Chair of the Te Kaha Co-operative Dairy Company for 30 years, and founding Trustee of several major land blocks around Te Kaha and Whangaparaoa, Major Waititi led efforts by Te Whānau a Apanui to create work and livelihoods at home, so people were not forced to join the mass urban migration from the 1960s onwards.

“He pioneered some really enterprising ventures in farming, including ostriches, as well as fisheries and horticulture, as a platform for the economic development of the iwi,” said Dr Sharples. “He was also involved in education, as chair of local school committees, and on the Ngarimu VC and 28 Māori Battalion Memorial Scholarship Trust Board.

“His humility and leadership by example were Major Waititi’s outstanding qualities that inspired others, and which were recognised with a QSO in 2009.

“E te rangatira, haere, haere, haere atu rā.”