anaru_mark_kiwara_tewhaiti scholar

I am the eighth child and fifth youngest son of the Late Rev. Reremoana Kiwara who served in C Company for the 28th Maori Battalion in WWII. I was born in Whakatane and raised in many towns around the Bay of Plenty, King Country and Hawkws Bay. It was in Hawkes Bay that my world changed dramatically. In 1975 I began my formative years of secondary school at Lindisfarne College in Hastings, a Private Presbyterian School for full and part time boarders as well as day students. At that time we had moved back to WHkatane where dad was the Minister of The Whakatane Parish of The Maori Presbyterian Church of Aoteasroa/ New Zealand. In 1976 we moved to Taradale near Napier. I continued on at Lindisfarne College until 1979 which was my final year. I entered and left as a Te Whaiti Scholar which is something I am very proud of. In June of 1980 I went to live and work in Austrailia. In august of 1980 my dad passed away. My sister and I returned for dads tangi and he now lies at Kutarere Urupa in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. I never or do not recall ever visiting Te Araroa wher my dad is from however one day I do plan to visit and take see and hopefully learn more about dads 'homelands' and its people. My father is remembered by his whanau as a cheerful old buggar who had his odd ways but most certainly loved and treasured his many mokopunas which numbered only 10 at his passing. Today he would be proud to boast a nest of 27 tuatahi and just as many tuarua mokopuna. He guided many lives in new directions and served his communities in unswerving and unselfish duty. His tireless work as a minister of the cloth kept him busy and he presided over many baptisms, marriages and funerals. His work among Maori cannot go unoticed without the support and labour of a loving wife, mother, grandmother and greatmother who still today contributes to the wider work of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa/ New Zealand and that is Waereti Hurae Kiwara. My mother is 86 years old and resides in Whakatane. To honour my fathers memory I celebrate his committment and duty like so many others and am grateful and privileged to live in freedom in a free land where the winds of tomorrow brush gently on our cheeks and remind us ... ... 'lest we forget" ... ... ...