Hana (Saana) Waitai Murray

1925 - 2011

Hana Murray was born at Te Hapua in Te Hiku o Te Ika, of Ratana parents. She went to Te Hapua and Ngataki Schools and went on to study nursing at Kurahuna Boarding School in Onehunga alongside weekly classes in commercial studies at Queen Victoria School. In the 1970s, Hana became a Māori Studies teacher at Hillary College and worked with Mr Garfield Johnson and Wiremu Tawhai. She became a member of the New Zealand Arts Council in 1998.

She worked on claiming tino rangātiratanga of tupuna Māori (ancestral knowledge in the Wai 262 Claim) for the taonga (all cultural treasures of the Māori) Matauranga Māori tuku iho i ngā tupuna. The claim was filed in 1991 and on 3 July 2011 the Waitangi Tribunal presented their response to Saana – the last living claimant of Wai 262 at Saana’s Roma Marae in Ahipara. She was a recipient of the Queen’s Service Medal and in 2009 she was awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the community. Saana wrote poetry, waiata, non-fiction articles and letters. She published a collection of work describing her pursuit of justice for land issues in the area. Her literary work featured in a film on the 1975 Land March from Te Hapua; in the 49th ANZAAS Congress abstracts (vol. 1, 1979) and in Haribol. Hana wrote: “It is hard to write in a few words about a thousand years or more of occupation by the Māori of this land Aotearoa. Te ahi kaa, the fires that have been kept burning for centuries at Te Hiku o te Ika a Maui, are still burning today in our remote village of Te Hopua Wai (Te Hapua).”



Biographical sources

  • Phone conversations and correspondence with Saana Murray, 11, 20 June and 27 July 1998, 16 July 2004, 13 and 21 June 2005.
  • Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 90.
  • Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records of the Land Struggle of Saana Murray and her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Foreword Tama Te Kapua Poata. Wellington, N.Z.: The Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974.
  • "The Spirit’s Flight." Photographs by Arno Gasteiger. Written by Saana Murray. New Zealand Geographic 4 (1989): 118.
  • "Poroporoaki: Saana Murray." 5 Sept. 2011. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1109/S00065/poroporoaki-saana-murray.htm

    Music

  • "Te Kokota o Parengarenga." No details.
  • Recorded on CD.
  • "Nga Kete E Toru." Aotearoa Moananui A Kiwa Weavers 16 (Sep 1992): 3-4. Rpt. as "Harakeke Song." Te Roopu O Te Harakeke - Te Rerenga Wairua Catalogue: Flax Weavers of the Far North: Outreach, 1 Ponsonby Road 30 June-10 July 1981. No further details. Rpt. in Broadsheet 109 (Apr. 1983): 12.
  • Written in Māori with a background story in English.
  • "Puritia." Aotearoa Moananui A Kiwa Weavers 18 (Sept. 1992): 4.
  • Written in Māori.

    • Non-fiction

  • "Te Hiku o te a Maui." Mana 1.3 (Aug. 4, 1977): 3, 19.
  • Murray writes of her tribal land and ancestral sites at Te Hiku O Te Ika and discusses the recent threat to Māori land in the district through the ‘manipulated European procedure of Incorporation meeting’. She states that ‘the land is so sacred that it should not be disposed of as a mortgage for development schemes.’
  • "Nga Whakairo i Te Ra Nui o Te Harakeke - Tribute to the Harakeke." Te Roopu O Te Harakeke - Te Rerenga Wairua Catalogue: Flax Weavers of the Far North: Outreach, 1 Ponsonby Road 30 June-10 July 1981. No further details. Rpt. as "Te Roopu o Te Harakeke - Te Rerenga Wairua." Broadsheet 109 (Apr. 1983): 12.
  • In this exhibition catalogue introduction Murray provides a background to the weaving project coordinated at Te Hapua to create work in the community using the local harakeke and to foster the traditional arts and crafts.
  • "The Spirit’s Flight." Photographs by Arno Gasteiger. New Zealand Geographic 4 (Oct.-Dec. 1989): 100-113.
  • In this portrait of Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua, Murray writes of the early tupuna who sailed to Aotearoa from Hawaiki on the Kurahaupo waka which finally sank at Takapaukura (Tom Bowling Bay). She also describes the tribal landmark Kurahaupo Rock, recounts the story of Tohe and includes some of her poetry and Hone Tuwhare’s poem "Lament II".
  • "Nga Mahi Māori o te Wao Nui a Tane." Nga Mahi Māori o Te Wao Nui A Tane: Contributions to an International Workshop on Ethnobotany, Te Rehua Marae, Christchurch, N.Z., New Zealand, 22-26 February 1988. Ed. Warwick Harris and Promila Kapoor. Christchurch, N.Z.: Botany Division, DSIR, 1990. 16-18.
  • In this paper, presented at the International Workshop on Ethnobotany in Christchurch, N.Z. in 1988, Murray briefly discusses the Ngāti Kuri land struggles, pays tribute to the role of Dr Oliver Sutherland and ACORD in assisting a pilot scheme for horticulture on Ngāti Kuri land and commends the contributions of others at the workshop.

    • Other

  • Te Māori 6.6 (Oct 1974): 49-50.
  • Murray takes issue with various points raised by Hilda Phillips concerning Māori land in her article entitled "Racial Degrees" (published in NZ Listener 30 March 1974).

    • Poetry

  • The Hard Road Back To Our Marae Pa.
  • Murray’s second collection is in preparation.
  • "Tangi Mutunga." Rongo 1.1 (Summer 1973/74): 23.
  • "Tuhia Nga Ta-ke." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 8.
  • The poet speaks of her mission to write in the face of much opposition.
  • "I Promise Faithfully." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974.. 11.
  • The speaker promises to try and accomplish her mother’s dying wish to see dispossessed land restored to the iwi and the Treaty of Waitangi ratified.
  • "My Own Blood And Bones." .” Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 30.
  • The speaker is haunted by dreams of her mother rising from the grave to see if her iwi land has been restored yet.
  • "Dear Bill." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 36.
  • A tribute to Murray’s cousin, Bill Neho, who died in October 1970.
  • "Breath of Spring." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 38.
  • In this poem Murray addresses the dual heritage in her baby granddaughter.
  • "Money - or Honey." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 60.
  • The poet writes of the corrupting influence of materialism.
  • "The Prisoner." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 60
  • The poet writes of the enslaving qualities of Pakeha laws on the Māori people and she expresses her longing to free of these restraints.
  • "Endless Tale." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 66.
  • The poet mourns the Europeanisation of Māori land and all its implications.
  • "Friends of the Poor." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 80.
  • In this poem the speaker expresses Māori weariness of introduced monetary systems that undermine Māori mana.
  • "New Nets." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 94.
  • In this poem the poet draws on the old Māori proverb of the old nets being cast aside and new nets set forth as a call for today’s youth to be set free from the shackles of the past and to live peacefully ‘in the brotherhood of mankind’.
  • "Prelude to a Feud." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 99-101.
  • A lengthy narrative poem in which the speaker recalls her overnight journey to her marae in the North and the subsequent meeting to decide the fate of iwi land.
  • "Aroha Mai Aroha Atu." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 102.
  • A poem of reconciliation.
  • "Long Ago." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 102.
  • The speaker clings to her Turangawaewae and Māori taonga but senses in a dream that she is swimming alone against the tide.
  • "Changing History." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 108.
  • The poet berates the devastating effects of the Disinheritance Act.
  • "Love of a Friend." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 110.
  • A poem about Māori aroha.
  • "Before It’s Too Late." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 110
  • The poet urges people to be alert, to ‘make amends’ and make the most of time.
  • "In Appreciation of the Waitangi Day Bill." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 129.
  • Murray writes a poem of encouragement to Matiu Rata and apologises for putting him in ‘a political stew’.
  • "To All My Friends." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 136.
  • Murray writes of fighting against Crown ‘remote control’ of Te Hapua and of the support of Tama Te Kapua.
  • "Silver Star - Auckland to Wellington." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 136.
  • The poet writes of travelling alone to Wellington, N.Z. in a double unit cabin on the Silver Star and likens her uncertainties about the identity of her fellow passenger with government attempts to unite Māori and Pakeha.
  • "Take The Lead." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974.. 138.
  • Murray calls for leadership in the battle to regain Māori land and affirms the role of Nga Tama Toa.
  • "You And Me." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 158.
  • A poem affirming the abundant natural heritage of the Māori and the importance of not living under the grip of ‘greed and money’ but of generosity, kindness and dignity.
  • "The Māori Moko." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 163.
  • The poet mourns the loss of certain Māori traditions.
  • "Sport At Any Price." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 164.
  • A poem challenging the lack of vision of those wanting sporting contacts with South Africa during its regime of apartheid.
  • "Money - The Death Of A Sport." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Måori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Måori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 164
  • The poet recalls the sporting exploits of her grandfather in an era when money had little to do with sport.
  • "Farewell, O Lonely Kotuku." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 173.
  • The poet tells of her great weariness in struggling for justice and her sense that she might have to part from Aotearoa and all her heritage.
  • "New Hope." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 174.
  • The poet writes of the ongoing cycle of life and death, hopelessness and new expectation.
  • "My Identity." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 176.
  • The poet ponders on what will happen if she loses her battle to regain iwi control of her land and reminds herself that although she may be ‘landless’ in her own country she will always ‘remain a Māori’.
  • "My Forefathers." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 188.
  • Coming from the heritage of Abraham, Kupe and Captain Cook, the speaker questions why she must be divested of her birthright.
  • Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some records of the land struggle of Saana Murray and her people of Te Hiku o Te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974.
  • A collection of poetry, letters and articles in which Murray documents the struggle to regain ancestral lands back into Māori hands.
  • "Kia Pumau." Te Karanga a Te Kotuku: Some Records Of The Land Struggle of Saana Murray and Her People of Te Hiku o Te Ika, The Far North of New Zealand. Ed. Ruth Lake for the Māori Organisation On Human Rights. Wellington, N.Z.: Māori Organisation On Human Rights, 1974. 11.
  • "Hoki Mai Ano." ibid. 130. Rpt. in Pacific Voices: An Anthology of Writing by and about Pacific People. Ed. Bernard Gadd. Albany, N.Z.: Stockton House, 1977. 97.
  • The sentiments of the old people of the marae as they farewell their young into the world with love and tears knowing that one day these young ones will be the rangātira of the Marae.
  • "Our Whaea." Te Roopu O Te Harakeke - Te Rerenga Wairua Catalogue: Flax Weavers of the Far North: Outreach, 1 Ponsonby Road 30 June-10 July 1981. No further details. Rpt. in Broadsheet 109 (Apr. 1983): 13.
  • Murray pays tribute to the tribe’s whaea and her weaving.
  • "Harakeke Song." Te Roopu O Te Harakeke - Te Rerenga Wairua Catalogue: Flax Weavers of the Far North: Outreach, 1 Ponsonby Road 30 June-10 July 1981. No further details.
  • "My Decree." Into the World of Light: An Anthology of Māori Writing. Ed. Witi Ihimaera and D. S. Long. Auckland, N.Z.: Heinemann, 1982. 89-90.
  • The poem describes the journey from the far north down to parliament where the speaker is protesting over Māori land losses and broken Treaty promises. The greatest enemy is perceived to be ‘Europeanisation’ and the speaker asserts her decree is to ‘remain a Māori’ and refuse to ‘be Europeanised by 1973’. This poem is part of the prelude to Murray’s collection Te Karanga a Te Kotuku.
  • "Gathering New Hope." Broadsheet 109 (Apr 1983): 12.
  • As the speaker and Cousin Tura enjoy the spring flowers and gather manuka sticks and flax, they are confronted by a photographer and their manuka assumes the semblance of taiaha and something of the ‘spirit of the Māori’ is conveyed on the photographic film.
  • "Manu Kōrero." In ‘The Spirit’s Flight.’ Photographs by Arno Gasteiger. New Zealand Geographic 4 (Oct-Dec. 1989): 111.
  • In this poem Manu kōrero, meaning talking bird or orator, calls to be loved and recognised not simply as ‘an ordinary oystercatcher / But [as] an elegant host of ancient times’. The speaker calls for the bond of love to be established between Māori and Pakeha through the Treaty of Waitangi.
  • "Seabed Foreshore." In "Rights and Wrongs." Dominion Post 2004. No further details.

  • Traditional

  • "Mahi Tahi Unity." Nga Mahi Māori o Te Wao Nui A Tane: Contributions to an International Workshop on Ethnobotany, Te Rehua Marae, Christchurch, N.Z., New Zealand, 22-26 February 1988. Ed. Warwick Harris and Promila Kapoor. Christchurch, N.Z.: Botany Division, DSIR, 1990. iii.
  • A tribute to Dr Promila Kapoor, Project Officer of the Commonwealth Science Council of the Commonwealth Secretariat, London, who has developed the Council’s international project on Biological Diversity and Genetic Resource.

    Other

  • Warne, Kennedy. "Salute." New Zealand Geographic 4 (Oct./Dec. 1989): 118.
  • Tahana, Yvonne. "Saana Murray ‘A Living Taonga’ For Māori." NZ Herald 8 Sept. 2011. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10750147
  • "Poroporoaki: Saana Murray." 5 Sept. 2011. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1109/S00065/poroporoaki-saana-murray.htm
  • Katene, Rahui. "Poroporoaki – Saana Murray." 5 Sept. 2011. http://www.maoriparty.org/index.php?pag=nw&id=1753&p=poroporoaki-saana-murray.html
  • "Saana Murray’s Funeral at Kapowairua – Spirits Bay." 7 Sept. 2011. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/84577/saana-murray%27s-funeral-at-kapowairua-spirits-bay
  • Dastgheib, Shabnam. "Last Wai 262 Claimant Dies Surrounded By Whanau." The Dominion Post 5 Sept. 2011. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5562633/Last-Wai-262-claimant-dies-surrounded-by-whanau
  • "Farewell To Master Weaver Saana Muray." 6 Sept. 2011. http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/news/industry-news/2011/sep/91878-farewell-to-master-weaver-saana-murray
  • "Saana Murray The Last of a Generation." 6 Sept. 2011. http://www.waatea603am.co.nz/News/2011/September/Saana-Murray-the-last-of-a-generati/default.aspx
  • Erai, Michelle, Fuli, Everdina, Irwin, Kathie and Wilcox, Lenaire. Māori Women: An Annotated Bibliography. [Wellington, N.Z.]: Michelle Erai, Everdina Fuli, Kathie Irwin and Lenaire Wilcox, 1991. 22.