PAKEHAS PAY FINAL TRIBUTE TO TE KEEPA TAWHIO

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 17, 8 November 1948, Page 5

PAKEHAS PAY FINAL TRIBUTE TO TE KEEPA TAWHIO

u Greai Fighter For The People 99

The friendly respect in which the two races, Maori and Pakeha, regard each other was amply displayed when members of the Whakatane Borough Council, the' County Council and the Harbour Board paid their final respects to Te Keepa Tawhio, who died last week, at the Wairaka Pa, Whakatane, on Friday.

The full party numbered just under 30 and after the welcome speeches they went forward to express their sympathy to the eldest son of 'the deceased, Mr John Keepa. For the County Council, Mr D. C. Butler placed a wreath by the coffin. The party was welcomed, as is the Maori custom, by visiting chiefs and not by the local men. They thanked the party for coming and paid tributes to the late Mr Tawhio. His ancestry, which can be traced directly back to a chief who came to Whakatane in the canoe Matatua, was chanted in unison by the speakers. •

The chiefs who spoke were: Ngakaha Pera, Whakatohu . tribe; Te Kanapu Te Kauru, Tuhoe tribe; Tuakana Poihipi, Whano-a-Apanui East Coast tribes.

. ‘lt is customary that you be welcomed by visiting chiefs and not by our local men. It is fitting that it be so by these grand old chiefs of our people,” said Mr A. O. Stewart, Whakatane, translating the welcome speeches from Maori. “Much of the speeches concerned Maori lore that cannot be translated. But. the remarks were appropriate to suit the standing of this man.”

Te Keepa Tawhio, Mr Stewart said, was responsible for peace between the Maoris and the pakehas of the district. Although he was the last of the old local chiefs there were still others in the North Island. . ' i

The Mayor, Mr B. S. Barry, thanked the chiefs for the welcome on behalf of the people of Whakatane. He paid a tribute to the late Te Keepa Tawhio and described him as a great fighter for his people. He expressed sympathy with the relatives.

Mr D. C. Butler, on behalf of the Whakatane County Council, and Mr W. R. Boon, chairman of theWhakatane Harbour Board, also spoke. The actual funeral on Saturday morning, took place at the Domain Road Cemetery before a large -as-, semblage of both Maori and pakeha.