Book reprint breathes new life into scholarship fund

PROUD TRUSTEE: Denise Eaglesome-Karekare was thrilled to see the story of Ngati Kahungunu republished this week. PHOTO/FILE

The legacy of a Wairoa man who wanted to boost the learning skills of the town's young has been re-sparked by the reprinting of the book he wrote in 1944 - just a year before he died.

Author JH Mitchell (Tiaki Hikawera Mitira), who was 74 when he died, devoted all his energy and focus in his later life to writing Takitimu - the history of Ngati Kahungunu.

The book was not published for any monetary reward and was given out at no cost to libraries, museums and Maori colleges.

The volumes which remained were then sold - but under strict conditions as decreed by the author.

The proceeds would go to augment the JH Mitchell Scholarship Fund - a programme he had helped set up for the study of the Maori language in the schools of the Wairoa District.

Education was something he felt very strongly about as he was effectively self-educated and came to realise the handicap the lack of early schooling had imposed on him.

He was born in Wairoa and then adopted and taken to Thames where he spent the first 15 years of his life.

He returned to his birthplace and eventually took up farming, and also gave his time as a Maori interpreter.

As well as writing Takitimu, he worked on the building of the Takitimu-Carroll meeting house.

Denise Eaglesome-Karekare, who is youth co-ordinator at Wairoa College, said the legacy of raising money for the annual scholarship was "his wish" and she has seen the benefits of it through the years.

However, she recalled there had been a time when the fund had begun to dwindle.

"It began to run out."

It was 1990, and she said her mother Ramona became concerned enough to contact local accountant Tony Tarrant with a simple question about the scholarship fund: "How do we get this reinstated?"

The answer was to simply republish the book, although such enterprises were not cheap.

"Mum mortgaged the house so we could get it done, so we had to run around and sell all the books."

Which they did, and they also kept the house.

The scholarship was able to be continued to the tune of about $1500 a year.

Now, 24 years later, the book has been republished again after Libro International publisher Peter Dowling worked with the trustees of the scholarship trust, led by Ms Eaglesome-Karekare on creating the new edition.

And, in line with the legacy created by JH Mitchell, she said Mr Dowling was keen to see the book "give something back".

Royalties from sales will continue to assist the scholarship fund.

The new edition, which was released at the retail cost of $80 last Thursday, has been hardback-bound with a new jacket the publishing company said befitted a work of its mana.

The book is divided into four parts, with part one outlining the history of the Maori up until the departure of Takitimu and the other great canoes which embarked on the great migration.

Part two is the history of the Ngati-Kahungunu tribe and part three contains short biographies of Sir James Carroll, Sir Maui Pomare and the Reverend Tamihana Huata.

Part four is made up of appendices describing important charms, proverbial sayings, the interpretation of dreams and signs, and the Maori almanac.

Historians have quite simply described the work as "a valuable book".

"This is so important," Ms Eaglesome-Karekare said.

"To have another relaunch is just wonderful as it helps with the scholarships and it keeps our history right there."

Her mother, who did so much to get it republished in 1990 and who passed away nearly 18 years ago, would have been very proud of the end result, she said.