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Tawhai Davies "He Ra Maumahara" Golf Day |
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Written by Te Korowha
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Monday, 28 April 2008 |
On Saturday the 17th May 2008 the ‘Tawhai Davies' Memorial golf day will take place at the Chambers Pines Golf Club, 657 Chambers Flats Road, Chambers Flats.
Tawhai was of Ngati Porou and Ngapuhi descent and equally loved by both sides of his whakapapa. He was active in the Maori community and was the past president of the Queensland Maori Performing Arts Society (Q.M.P.A.S) and Queensland Delegate of Nga Kapa Taumata Teitei (NKTT) The governing body or matua of kapahaka in Australia.
He was a member of ‘Te Ihi o Te Ra' Kapahaka and could always be relied
upon at fundraising ventures and Hui involving Maori initiatives. He
was a founding member of the(M.H.I.A) or Maori Hianga Initiatives
Association.
Tawhai was a priest of the Ratana faith and was always seen officiating
at weddings and funerals alike with that great humour of which he was
renowned. Even up to his untimely death he would fly out the door to
officiate over tangi and weddings even though he was a very sick and
frail man.(but he could always eat well though...Ngatiporou and Ngapuhi
DNA.... whatdya expect!)
Not one short of a joke he would always have you laughing and
spluttering over your food when his quick witted mind would rattle joke
after joke off the top of his head. He had a lethal repertoire of short
stories and generally just a whole bunch of ‘purakau' (Ngapuhi side) to
entertain you from ‘dusk' till ‘dawn'. I will never forget "Kei te aha
Sadaam"!!!
He loved singing and would always try to be first up on the ‘Maorioke
machine to sing one of his cousin's From Tikitiki Englebert
Humperdinck's songs.
If he had a bee in his bonnet he was not a man afraid to express his
opinions and he would do so without malice or ill will. He always had a
way of coercing people into thinking that it was in your best interest
to go along with his plan...'which was mainly quite dodgy'...and to the
uninitiated the grass did look greener on the other side ...but
commonsense would tell you that things did not look quite right...he
would burst out in raucous laughter every time his cunning and
hilarious folly would trip you up....hard case all right.
An avid but one would say ‘not too deadly golfer' according to some of
his closest golfing partners and acquaintances... (Yeah nice one lads')
he loved the game with a passion.
Rumour has it that his scoring was always correct and he wasn't one
prone to putting down a ‘kehua' or ‘ghost' score...unlike some people
who have come to note over the years who shall remain
anonymous.(Ngapuhi side once again)
Tawhai was a member of ‘this' and a member of ‘that'...'e hika ma' what wasn't he a member of?
But let me tell you he loved being a member of ‘The Kiwi Golf Club'
especially to play with his loyal offsider Mr Jack ‘Lock up your
daughters' Pomare who also happened to be a close relative on his
Ngapuhi whakapapa (aroha mai). Jack can re-call many an incident that
he and Tawhai were involved in...nothing that can be printed of course
but treasured none the less. Once again something was always up every
time these two happened to pair up. ‘Onya Lad's keep up the good work!
Mr Davies was the President and founding member of ‘The Whackers'
Golfing Specialists on the Greens' Club...as he so eloquently put
it..... Here, organisation was not a strong point as others within this
‘sacred albeit unorthodox society' would scurry around to do the work
for Mr Davies while he would merrily drive off into the sunset on his
golf buggy. Such are the luxuries one gets to endure.
Unwittingly Tawhai had planned his own fund-raising event under the
guise of ‘The Ngatiporou Cowboys Golf Classic' in 2006, and it was a
fantastic event.
He threw himself into the heat of the battle with such gusto that it
was a privilege and pleasure to see him enjoying himself so much.
Laughter and a whole heap of ‘hianga' or mischief were always close by
when you travelled with this fulla. He was always full of life and an
avid campaigner for the advancement of Maori in Brisbane and Australia.
Amongst his ‘Nati Whanau'he was always settled and found solace and
always a sympathetic ear to whatever dreams and schemes he had whirling
around in his head.
Of course nobody in Ngatiporou took any notice of his ‘Whims and
Nuances' and it is just as well we didn't or else we'd all be ‘Up the
Waiapu" with out a paddle.
He is survived by his loving wife and children and mokopuna, friends'
and all of his extended whanau and relations and we know on this day he
will be smiling down on us all.
Na reira whanaunga moe mai I to moe reka. E kore koe e warewaretia.
Na to whanau aroha o Ngatiporou me Ngapuhi Nui Tonu.
Na Te Korowha
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