OPO THE GAY DOLPHIN

Te Ao Hou, July 1958, Page 22

OPO THE GAY DOLPHIN by PIWAI TOI Ehare te toka i Akiha he toka whitinga ra tena, ko te toka o Mapuna, ko te ripo akake e kitea. A Maori proverb of the Hokianga Harbour says: “The Rock of Akiha is of no account as the sun can shine on it, but the rock of Mapuna is different; all you can see is its swirl”. Why did the dolphin come to live in the Hokianga River in the year 1955? She was seen following rowing boats during February of that year. On Easter Saturday in March 1955 a memorial for Kupe was unveiled, after whom this river was named the Hokianga or Return of Kupe. This memorial is at Pakanae and is of virgin rock. Mr Hohepa Heperi, a Maori elder who was brought up in the Hokianga said to us: “Opo is the fish of peace, a legacy from Kupe”. She died on some rocks above Koutu Point, about three miles up-river from Opononi. The Maori name for these rocks is Te Kauere o Kupe. It was towards the end of March 1956 that Opo died. These coincidences are certainly strange. In writing about Opo I wish to apologise for not having any photos of her. When I went to collect my photographs, they had been developed, but lost. This happened after her death. I had no intention at the time of writing about Opo so I did not keep dates and other data. When Te Ao Hou asked for articles for their readers I made up my mind to write of my experiences and observations during her short but memorable life. I was in the store at Opononi when Dr Turbott from the Auckland Museum arrived. During the discussion on Opo the fact that she was a female dolphin was disclosed. Previous to her death she was called Opo Jack. No one asked Dr Turbott what Opo's diet was and to this day I don't know. She was about 8ft. 6in. long and weighed about 800 lbs.