Whānau-ā-Apanui waiata group

A group from Whānau-ā-Apanui join in a waiata with Monita Delamere (centre) after his speech at the opening of the Hoani Waititi Marae, West Auckland,  in 1980. The prominent teacher and educationalist Hoani Retimana Waititi (1926-65) was a member of the Māori Battalion's 15th Reinforcements.

The others are Nehu Gage, Sir Norman Perry (YMCA, attached to Māori Battalion), Waikura Herewini and Pita Ngamoki.

Report on the marae opening from the 1986 The Battalion Remembers booklet:

'The Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland commemorates the celebrated educator and leader who, although from Whānau-ā-Apanui and forever aware of that fact, did much of his work in education for his Māori people here in and from Auckland. John Waititi served with the Māori Battalion and the energy and enterprise and commitment to race, which that service so often generated in young men, seems to have stayed with him to an exceptional degree – so much so that his hard work probably contributed to his tragic early death.

Traditionally, the land upon which the Hoani Waititi Memorial Marae stands at Te Atatu belongs to Ngāti Whatua. In any case the marae belongs to all people. But, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui will always have a special place there. They gave permission that the marae should be named for one of their own and it was obvious that when their ope first appeared at the gate at the time of the opening in 1980 theirs was the most spectacular and most emotional of the highlights of that day.

Since the grand opening Hoani Waititi Marae has been the focus of even more of the activities for which its namesake strove so hard. Whereas the wharakai stood almost alone for five years there is now a cluster of buildings around and in which every conceivable happening of any consequence to Maoridom, and the greater national community, can be and is being, celebrated – quite humble domestic occasions as well as local, regional, national and international gatherings.

There is at the marae, a strong Kohanga Reo and most recently and most interestingly a school in which the language of instruction is Maori.

As the core of this publication is the Ngāti Porou Whānau-ā-Apanui theme of co-operation as a redoubtable fighting force (C Co.); it is interesting to note that though the man who leads at the Marae is Kahungunu – Dr Peter Sharples; the two teachers, Aroha (Paenga) Sharples and Katarina (Harrison) Mataira, are Ngāti Porou. It is not, therefore inappropriate to think of the Hoani Waititi Marae as an extension of C Company.'