Remembering Te Whiti

Tomorrow, November 18, 2022, marks the 115th anniversary of the death of Te Whiti o Rongomai, one of the greatest men ever to have graced these shores. One day, I predict, the whole country will pause in acknowledgement of this outstanding rangatira.

In the meantime, let those who know him for the great man he was take pause tomorrow and raise a glass of wine or a cup of coffee in a toast to the memory of what he showed us at Parihaka: the disarming power of love and the foreshadowing of heaven-on-Earth, when all hatred and violence found no place in the hearts of those who accepted his philosophy, in the face of injustice and aggression.

Mark O’Rourke Chamberlain

Far North