‘Quiet wisdom’ served community well
WIREMU Pani ‘‘Bill’’ Houia embodied strength and endurance.
The Central Otago kaumatua harnessed these qualities during his many life experiences.
A descendant of Ngati Porou on the East Coast, Mr Houia came to be a wellrespected community member for years in the South.
Mr Houia, who died on July 9, aged 82, had a life ‘‘as full as anyone’’, youngest son Pani Houia said.
Born in the ‘‘little piece of East Coast paradise’’ of Reporua, to Eruera and Keriana Houia in 1936, Mr Houia was named after his uncle, Wiremu Peka Houia, who served in the Maori Pioneer Battalion.
The secondyoungest of 16 siblings, he lived in a twobedroom home with the rest of his family. The race to secure one of the family horses, so the school commute was not a cold, barefoot trek, was fierce.
In later years, whenever he returned to his old stomping ground, he would have a spring in his step and his eyes would sparkle, Mr Houia’s daughter, Keriana McKee, said.
During his teens, Mr Houia moved down the coast to Napier to live with older brother Rere.
At Napier Boys’ High School, he developed a passion for rugby. He represented the school’s First XV and would later don the Magpie colours as a Hawke’s Bay representative.
Following in the footsteps of his brothers, Mr Houia proudly joined the military ranks.
He was first part of the Compulsive Military Service Scheme before he served on operational duty in Malaysia during conflicts that took him to the heart of the jungle.
His time in the army led him to numerous spots, from the Southeast Asian jungle to the tropics of Fiji and Hawaii.
Some of his exploits included tracking communist terrorists and learning from the indigenous Iban residents, son Pani said.
He returned to his homeland, where he pushed for selection in the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS). As an avid driver, he transitioned into the Royal New Zealand Army Service Corps and later the Royal New Zealand Army
Corps of Transport by the late 1960s.
Pani Houia said it was about this time his father fell for a ‘‘beautiful, greeneyed, redheaded southern belle’’.
Helen Souness was a lieutenant in the New Zealand Medical Corps, and the pair began a relationship that, at the time, transcended convention in more ways than one.
‘‘Interrank relationships back then were seen as a huge nono,’’ Pani said.
‘‘Compounding this was the race divide which prevailed at that time.
‘‘I often sit there and wonder what it would have been like to be a fly on the wall, just to see the look on my prim and proper grandparents’ faces when my mum bought my dad home.’’
BY 1976, the Houia whanau had moved to Invercargill. Mr Houia left his post in the New Zealand Army and began working at the Ocean Beach meat works.
A period of sadness and tragedy then rocked the Houia family.
Eldest son Tony died of a brain tumour at the age of 11, in
1979. Three years later, cancer claimed the life of wife and family matriarch Helen, aged just 39.
It left Mr Houia to raise his remaining two children on his own.
‘‘To raise two preadolescent children singlehandedly would have been no easy feat,’’ Keriana said.
‘‘He did a fantastic job. As adults, my brother and I look back and appreciate the selfless sacrifices he made so that we could have a stable and good life.’’
In Southland, a cherished cohort was the family dog, Tipi Haere.
The pair travelled the country together and Mr Houia spoke to Tipi only in te reo.
‘‘We thought it was very amusing to have a bilingual dog,’’ Keriana said.
He developed a skill and knowledge of carving alongside a group of likeminded friends. Driving this passion further was sharing his abilities and
expertise with others.
His carvings had found a home at both Murihiku Marae, in Invercargill, and Bluff’s Te Rau Aroha marae, Keriana said.
Mr Houia relocated to Alexandra in 2000, where he spent the next 19 years forging relationships within the Central Otago community.
‘‘It was very evident that the Central Otago people were important to him,’’ Keriana said.
His most significant connections were with the local religious community.
He had expressed an affinity for his beloved mother, who had strong Christian ties as a member of the Apostolic Church.
‘‘This set the foundation for him with his faith and love for the Lord,’’ Keriana said.
He began working at Dunstan High School in 2002, and would eventually take on a multitude of roles.
Dunstan principal Reece
Goldsmith said Mr Houia made an invaluable contribution during his 17year tenure at the school as a teacher, teacher aide, mentor, adviser and kaumatua.
Because he missed a significant amount of schooling as a youngster — due to being hampered with what was thought at the time to be polio — Mr Houia was committed to expanding his knowledge, even in his later years.
‘‘He was often at school offering his advice on tikanga Maori, and worked closely with a number of our students to support them with their te reo Maori study.
‘‘Dunstan High School is proud of its increasingly culturally responsive ethos, and Bill’s role in this has been enormous.’’
Mr Houia composed the school haka, Uruuru Whenua, which was performed with ‘‘great pride’’ by pupils at many different events within and outside Dunstan.
Mr Houia’s services did not stop at the community level.
He sponsored families around the world and travelled to countries such as Ukraine and Moldova, where he went last year through Mission Without Borders.
At the age of 80, he signed up to Central Otago’s Reap’s Choices programme in 2016.
‘‘He enjoyed his kaumatua work,’’ Keriana said.
‘‘He was proud of his Maori culture and carried a quiet wisdom with him. He instilled confidence in people and offered reassurance and guidance.’’
Last year, when he received a certificate as part of Adult Learning Week, Mr Houia said: ‘‘We never stop learning.’’
Mr Houia is survived by his children and their partners, Keriana and Rick McKee, and Pani and Aroha Houia, and grandchildren Rawiri and Eruera Houia, and Herena and Aria McKee.
— Adam Burns