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Nā ngā paki-kōrero o te wiki kua pahemo mō Te Pākārito kua rere te hinengaro o wētehi, ka hoki mai ngā tupuna kōrero mō te whānau Haronga me tō rātou papa-kāinga i Te Koutu.
Nā te mana whakaharahara o Te Pākārito kua whakatōkia e ngā poupou o te whare, kia pau te rua tau e watea ai anō he paku kuhutanga ki te kōhanga - he ahakoa kua mana te hoko mai o tetehi pīhi whenua hai whakawhānui i te kōhanga kai te pae tawhiti tēnā whakaaro kia whai mahita ai ngā pou matua.
I whakanuia te huringa e rima tau o te kohanga nei i te marama kua pahemo he kaupapa haere ngatahi ai me te terenga o te whetu kōtiri ki te rangi ko te rironga atu o Irirangi Te Kowhai.
I runga i te whakawhanaungatanga me te kotahitanga i rangatira ai tēnei whare engari ka wawe anō te huringa atu o ngā kanohi ki a Whaea Iri, e kaha rangona ana tana korenga. Ka noho tahi ahau me te whanau ki te whakawherawhera i te puna o te maumaharatanga e rangatira ano ai te mana o tēnei mareikura a Irirangi Te Kowhai.
Ko ia te poaka ki te rarangi puku o te whānau e mea ana ko ia te pou tokomanawa o nga tamariki tokorima a Pera me Rui Haronga e ai ki tana whakapakanga ko Aroha Hicks.
"He wahine haututu me te kūare hoki ki te tahu kai. Nō mātou e itiiiti ai ko te tikanga hai te wiki mā ngā kōtiro te kai e tahu – pakapaka kau te kai i a ia, ka kawea e ia tenei wairua tahu kai i tana mārenatanga ki a Patrick, tana hoa rangatira, ka whiua ngā kai i te matapihi hai whangai i te ngeru".
E ai ki te tamāhine a Aroha ko Tiffany Te Moni, koina te kāinga whakamiharo katoa ki a mātou ko aku kiri whānaunga ko te kāinga o Aunty Iri, kī pai katoa i ngā rarepapa.
"Kumea mai ngā taroa rokohanga e mātou he pihikete, ko ngā mea rangatira anahe pēnei i ngā macaroons me te toffee pops, he hupawaina kau ki tō mātou kāinga – te wehenga i tona kāinga kī pai ngā pihapiha ki te huka, haurangi pai ana te puku".
Nā tona aroha nui ki ngā kai huka i māuiui ai a Iri, kare e roa kua māuiui i te mate huka, a, ka huri ki te rongoā Pākehā hei whakapehi i tōna māuiui, ko te mutunga iho kua noho tahi ia me tana mihini pūrere tātari, he ahakoa tēnei ko te manaakitanga me te aroha nui ki te iwi tana tāhuhu e rere noa i tona toto.
"Ka kī mai a Uncle Hapi ki a mātou na te mea he uri mātou nō Te Amohau ka noho whakaiti nei ki te hāpai i te iwi ko tō mātou mana he manaakitanga".
He tungāne a Wihapi Hapi Winiata nō Rui Haronga he pūkenga ki te haka he minita hoki ia mo te Hahi Mihingare. Whakapono kau a Iri ki ngā kupu kōrero a tona matua tāne kaokaoroa ka awhinatia tona māmā me tōna kui ki te taka kai ki Ohinemutu e tu ai tō rātou wharekai ko Rukuwai.
Na konei ka piki ake ai tōna mōhiohio ki te taka kai ka haere te wā ka kaha ake ona pukenga ka haria e ia enei pukenga ki ngā marae tokomaha a tae noa ki te pā o Tamaki whakangahau turuhi.
"I mana ai te taha ki te kai o Tamaki i a ia, haere kau ia ki te awhina i a Mike raua ko Doug. Māna te kai o te pō e taka waihoki ka hoki atu ia ki te kautā".
E ai ki tana tuahine me tana potiki he wahine rangatira ki te taka kai me te whakatakotoranga – ko te pata me te kirimi ngā kai rangatira māna, ae me te mea koinei i hinga ai ia.
"Kia tika rawa hoki te tapatapahi kāreti, kia torotika katoa hoki ngā pētene".
Ka tapirihia tetehi papa pata kia pīataata mai te wana o te kai. Ka kī mai a Aroha, nōku te whiwhi ki te whakarākei i nga tepu me te wharekai, nānā tēnā mana ki ahau. Rangatira ana a Paratehoata i a ia na tēnei wehi kore, kare he māharahara i te taenga mai o te manuwhiri tūārangi.
Ko Iri te komata o te rangi mo te whakamanuwhiri tangata me te mea hoki ehara ia i te wahine pupuri i ona whakaaro mena kare e tika ana te paepae o te rangatiratanga.
Hinawenawe kau te tapeha o Aroha e hoki ana ngā maumāharatanga ki tetehi taima ka puta a Iri i te kauta ka tu ki te aronui o te pou karanga.
Anei tōna mana. He taumata anō hoki. Ka haere te taima ka heke te hauora o Iri he morehu o te māuiuitanga mate puku ka tangohia tetehi o ona ū, ka hipa te kotahi tekau o ngā tau ka tangohia tona ū tuarua.
E ai ki a Aroha ka heke katoa ngā kōrero wairua engari ka u tonu a Iri ki tāna e takahi ai. E pau ana te rā e mahi ana, ka hoki a Iri ki te kauta. He wahine mahi, kare ia e mōhio ki te noho hai tāna he wehi nōna ka kore pea ia e ara ake anō.
Tangi hotuhotu ana te manawa o Aroha i ngā tini maumāharatanga o ngā haerenga huhua a Iri ki te whare rongoā hai pēhi i tōna māuiui. Ka karangahia te whānau e Iri ko te take he whakakotahi anō i a rātou kia aro kau anahe ki te mahi me te mahi tahi.
Ka mea ia ki tona whakapakanga, kua tata te taima e hemo ai, ko tana tohu ko te terenga kotiri ki te rangi. Nānā anō ngā tangata tupapaku e kōwhiri, ka whakahaua e ia a Aroha ki te whakatakoto i te haerenga o te rā.
Nāna hoki te whakaahua i kōwhiri, nāna hoki i whakarākei tae rawa atu ki ngā hīmene me nga karakia, kaua tatou e wareware i tana rarangi waiata rangatira.
E manawa kiore ana ka hoki katoa mai te whāmere i Ahitereiria ki a ia – me te whakatuwheratanga o Te Pākārito e rere ngātahi ana me te terenga kōtiri ki te tarouma o Ranginui.
Our stories about Te Pākārito provoked comment and revived memories about the Haronga whanau and their homestead in Railway Road at Koutu.
Testimony to the excellence of the Te Arawa early education learning centre is the fact it has a two-year wait list.
Premises have been acquired to expand Pākārito but that won't happen until suitably qualified teachers are available. That's in the pipeline now.
The fifth anniversary of the centre's opening was celebrated at the end of last month, an occasion tinged with sadness because it also marked the day a Haronga family shooting star, Irirangi Te Kowhai, flew to the heavens.
Sharing with me their vision for the learning centre which whakawhanaungatanga had brought to fruition the focus inevitably turned to the missing piece in the ranks of their whanau: Iri.
The whanau took the time to reflect and share memories of their sister, aunty and nan, marae chef extraordinaire, architect of her own tangihanga.
Iri was piggy in the middle of Pera and Rui Haronga's five children, said younger sister Aroha Hicks.
"Iri was a haututu and couldn't cook. When we were kids the girls had to take turns cooking Sunday lunch. Iri always burned the kai.
"Even when she got married she couldn't cook. Patrick (husband) used to throw the kai out the window for the cat."
Aroha's daughter, Tiffany Te Moni, said she and all her cousins just loved visiting Aunty Iri because she always had a barrel full of lollies.
"She had this drawer and there would be chocolate biscuits, all the top line ones like macaroons, toffee pops. All we had at home was super wine.
"We always used to come away from her house all sugared-up."
Aroha said Iri's sweet tooth eventually contributed to her health problems as she developed diabetes and became insulin-dependent. Towards the end of her life she had to use a dialysis machine.
But manaaki tangata and commitment to her iwi was in Iri's blood.
"Uncle Hapi told us that because we were of the Amohau line we served our iwi through manaaki."
Wihapi Hapi Winiata was a brother of Rui Haronga and noted exponent of haka. He became an ordained minister in the Hahi Mihinare. Iri took her uncle's words to heart and soon joined her mother and kui catering at Ohinemutu to fundraise for Rukuwai wharekai.
That's where she picked up the catering skills she would hone over the years at her marae and when she worked at Tamaki village.
"Aunty Iri built up the kitchen and dining room at Tamaki to help out Mike and Doug. She would get their evening meals sussed out and then go back to the marae kauta."
Both sister and niece said Iri was fanatical about prep and presentation — and she loved butter and cream!
"The carrots had to be cut just so. The batons had to be all even."
A nice thick slab of butter was added just before serving so they glistened. But! It had to be added to the carrots at the right time so that whoever it was being served to would see the butter melt all over.
Aroha said she was honoured because Iri trusted her enough to be in charge of dressing the tables and dining room.
With Iri at the helm, Para te Hoata hosted visitors from around the world.
Iri maintained high standards and wasn't afraid to say what she thought even to the point of insult. Aroha shivers and recalls when Iri ran out of the kauta at Rukuwai, crossed the atea and stood in front of the kai karanga.
As time went by, Iri's health continued to deteriorate. A cancer survivor she had a single mastectomy and 10 years later the second breast was removed.
The family rarely saw Iri take a break. She told them she was scared she might not get up again. Aroha said it was hard watching her sister cope with chemo and the various treatments.
There was a time the whanau weren't in a good place, Iri called everyone together and told them they needed to put all their raru aside and work together.
She told Aroha she was clocking out and her little sister would know when, because Iri would send shooting stars showing she was in heaven.
Iri picked her undertakers and had Aroha make up an order of service.
She chose the photo, design, prayers and hymns. She also had her favourite playlist.
Tiffany recalls this time being absolutely typical of her Aunty as she smiles sharing this unique memory.
On learning Iri's diagnosis was terminal all the whanau came home from Australia.
All in time to see Te Pākārito opened as a spray of shooting stars spread across the skies.
An online petition supporting the hapū has over 1950 signatures.