Te Hokioi Printing Press is a significant Taonga, because its story and legacy are imprinted on the whakapapa by the tangata Whenua.
For the month of September, Te Awamutu Museum – Education and Research Centre is displaying information on one of its most significant objects – the Te Hokioi Printing Press.
In celebration of Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori month, the printing press will be on display until September 30.
“There is more than one way to learn te reo Māori than kōrero. Today, you can learn te reo through waiata, karakia, watching movies, Whakaata Māori television programmes, and reading printed material,” said Te Awamutu Museum director Anne Blyth.
“Te Hokioi is connected to the Waipā through the living legacy of whakapapa of whānau that remain in the district and the press itself. It is only natural that the museum chose a significant taonga to highlight and to make the whole month of September Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori.”
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Te Hokioi’s incredible history spans 200 years.
The press was used by Māori as a way to publish propaganda about the crown’s intentions within Aotearoa New Zealand in te reo Māori before the Waikato Wars of 1863.
The Austrian Dr F.R. The late 1850s saw Dr.
During the Waikato leg of his survey, von Hochstetter met Hemara Te Rerehau of Ngāti Maniapoto and Wiremu Toetoe of Ngāti Apakura.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Austrian officials invited them back to Europe as guests in January 1859, as a result of their generosity and hospitality.
The men were in Vienna to work in the printing offices of Emperor Franz Joseph. They were fascinated by their European hosts, and by what they saw.
We know what they thought about this trip, as Rerehau wrote about what he saw: “Austria is a very fine country, and the way people live is really excellent; the buildings are big and very tall. The interior of the room is beautiful with nice beds, good food, and a great atmosphere. And there are figures in the shape of lions and bears; their mouths are open so that water comes out.”
The Austrian Emperor Franz Josef had given them a printing presses as a Christmas gift.
In the mid-1800s, Hopkinson and Cope manufactured the printing press in England.
The press was probably set up at the Hopuhopu mission station, close to Ngāruawāhia, and the first issue of Te Hokioi e Rere Atu Na The last edition of the book was published in 1861.
Its principal writer, Pātara Te Tuhi, was lauded for his witty prose, and in the early years of the 1860s, he argued in print on behalf of the Kīngitanga movement — often at the expense of the colonial government.
The press quickly became utilised by Māori as a way to publish their opinions on how the Crown was making headway into colonising the upper part of Aotearoa via the publication Te Hokioi e Rere Atu Na The Soaring War Bird
/cloudfront-ap-southeast-2.images.arcpublishing.com/nzme/S4NS6CE3UNH3DI4VZHTNJY5V2Y.jpg)
“Te Hokioi publication offered Māori the opportunity to not only learn printing skills but to create their own publication with no government edits. The press afforded Māori a way to express themselves without provocation or judgment and the freedom to distribute to the masses,” Blyth said.
Te Hokioi played a part in the printed propaganda war that preceded and led to the Waikato Wars during the 1860s.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
In response to Te Hokioi e Rere Atu NaGovernor Grey ordered an opposing newspaper and press to be shut down. Te Pihoihoi Mokemoke John Gorst is putting up (A Sparrow All Alone on the Top of the House) in Te Awamutu.
After just four issues, the government newspaper was abruptly discontinued. Rewi Maniapoto of Ngāti Maniapoto confiscated the Pihoihoi Press and its fifth issue. The government press was sent back to Auckland, along with the editor.
The Hokioi press continued to print until the invasion of the Waikato in June 1863, when it was moved by waka to Te Kōpua, near a Wesleyan mission station, for safekeeping.
It was found intact, despite reports that it fell into the river.
It is unclear what happened after the press was moved.
According to one account, the press was moved from Huntly to Huntly in 1881 to be used to print a Kingite newspaper. Te Paki o Matariki.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
However, archives indicate that this was printed by another press, so it seems that the Hokioi press, after its short but turbulent run, languished in a paddock near the Waipā River.
As the land around it was turned into farmland the press served many purposes. For example, as a cooking pan stand for Searancke’s family or as a tobacco presse by the locals.
The press remained largely forgotten in its paddock near the Waipā River until 1935, when members of the Te Awamutu Historical Society travelled out to the farm to inspect it. The press was described as dilapidated with many components missing, and there was no sign of its typeset.
A reclamation party returned later that year to load it onto a truck, at which time Augie Swarbrick, then president of the historical society, remarked that the feat “clearly demonstrated that historical research is not a matter of mental effort only”.
The press has been moved to Te Awamutu where it is stored at the offices of the Waipā Post In the meantime, we’ll be storing our items in a temporary location.
Te Hokioi has been a part of the Te Awamutu Museum’s collection for 80 years.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
The refurbishments made to the press were “to the point that it was cleaned and most of its components, including type, had survived. However, most of the press materials and wooden parts had not survived,” says Anne.
Hokioi is a large cast iron object, measuring five feet in height and about the same width. This is a very important piece of Waikato History.
This is why Te Awamutu Museum – Education and Research Centre wanted to highlight it “by producing an in-depth research exhibit on the Front Porch Gallery and adding printing activities into our monthly creative offerings for visitors. It has been a great success, and lots of people have discovered a new piece of history they knew nothing about”, Blyth said.
“Everyone should come to learn about this significant taonga because of its story and legacy imprinted within the whakapapa of the tangata whenua. It’s an inspiring story of two young men who took on an adventure to a distant land, were embraced by them, and learned skills that were unknown and a language they didn’t understand.
“Upon the conclusion of the apprenticeship, they were celebrated by the Viennese royal family and its high society. This is an astonishing feat; however, not many people know about this amazing story and its connection to the Waikato Wars,” Blyth said.
To celebrate this story for the month of September, there will be creative activities involving learning how to create a print using the Te Awamutu Museum – Education and Research Centre’s hand-made printing press and how to design a monoprint. All ages are welcome.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.