He mea nui te tautoko o te whānau kia whakarerekē a Willie Beattie i tōna ara umanga

Ko Horouta me Tainui ngā Waka
Ko Hikurangi me Taupiri ngā maunga
Ko Waiapu me Waikato ngā awa
Ko Tuauau me Te Tihi o Moerangi ngā marae

He pai te tūranga mahi o Willie Beattie hei kaiwhakahaere wheketere ki Te Tūranganui a Kiwa, otirā, ka hōhā ia. “Kua tārure ahau, ā, he wero hou taku hiahia.”

Ka kaingākau a Willie ki te kai, nā, i runga i te tautoko o tōna hoa rangatira ka whakauru ia ki tētahi tohu mātauranga hangarau kai ki te whare wānanga o Massey ki Albany, Tamaki-makaurau.

Nā te whakaaro nui ki ā rāua tamariki, arā, he kōhungahunga tētahi, he nohinohi tētahi – i whiriwhiri ai a Willie rāua ko tōna wahine ki te hūnuku atu ki Kirikiriroa. I reira tōna whāea e noho ana, hei tautoko hoki i a rātou. “I haere mai a Māmā i te pāmu ki te tiaki i ngā kōtiro ia rā i a au i te whare wānanga, ā, ka mahi hoki taku wahine ki Kirikiriroa nei.”

Ia wiki mō ngā tau e whā, ka ako a Willie ki Albany. “I te whā karaka o te ata ia Rāhina ka oho au ki te taraiwa ki reira. Ia Rāmere ka hoki mai au. Mō te katoa o ngā paunga whitu ka noho au ki te taha o tōku whānau hei matua ka tika, ā, ka whai wā hoki au ki te rangahau.”

He uaua ake te mahi i tā Willie i tūmanako ai, ā, ka ako ia mō te roanga atu o ngā pō maha. “He tino uaua tērā, he uaua rawa atu. Engari, nā tēnei herenga nui ki te hūnuku i te whānau i toitoi manawa ai ahau. Waihoki, i reira te whānau hei tautoko. Nā reira, kore rawa e taea te huri tuarā. I tika tonu te hāngai, ā, nā tērā i tutuki pai ai ngā mahi.”

Nā te kaha tautoko o te whānau, me kī, ko te tino tautoko o ngā wāhine whai pānga ki a Willie i eke ai ngā wawata. “He whakaaro maioha nōku ki tōku whaea me tōna pānga mai ki tōku oranga. He whakahī nōna, ā, ko rāua ko taku hoa rangatira te take kei te mahi ahau i tēnei.”

Arā ētahi hua pai anō hoki ki tōna whaea. “He tino pai tā mātou hūnuku mai ki kōnei. I whai wā ia me ngā mokopuna. He wā nui tēnei ki ngā mokopuna.”

I nāianei kei te kāinga ki Kirikiriroa a Willie, ā, kua hoki tōna whaea ki te pāmu. Ahakoa tērā ka whai wā tonu ia me āna mokopuna ki te kōrero. “I nāianei ka whakapau kaha rātou ki te kōrerorero ā-waea.”

I a ia e ako ana ka mahi a Willie mō te Dairy Goat Co-operative, kātahi ka whakatūria ia hei kaihangarau rangahau – whakawhanake hoki. Kua mākona te hiahia, ā, kei te ako tonu.

“Kāore au i te mahi mō te pūtea anake. Ko te tipu ngātahi me te kamupene me te ako tonu ngā mea e ea ai ahau.

“Ko taku hiahia ā tōna wā ko ahau te tino ngaio o tēnei kaupapa. Ka tipu ake au me taku mahi.”

Pānuitia ētahi atu pitopito kōrero e pā ana ki te tūranga mahi mataaro kai o Willie