Te Ponui (Bill) BARTON

Te Ponui (Bill) Barton Ko Taupiri te maunga, Ko Waikato te awa, Ko Waahi Paa te marae, Ko Ngaati Mahuta te iwi, He piko he taniwha, He piko he taniwha, Waikato taniwharau. Uncle Bill, you were born in Rahui Pokeka (Huntly), the potiki of a large extended whanau. You attended Rakaumanga Native School and Huntly College, and spent much of your working life in Petone, Lower Hutt. Some of your school mates (many of whom were whanau) also ended up in Petone for work. They still have fond memories of Piri (Billy). I know how much your years of working in Petone meant to you, the friendships and the work itself at the Gear Meat Company, your karate involvement and the love of music you shared with family and friends. I am sad that we never had enough information to connect with your son Albert who was born in Petone. You never met him, but, I know he was someone you thought of often. I hope that one day we will meet him. My siblings, Donald, Michael, Pania and I, along with our mum, Juliana, loved our holidays by the beach with you and Uncle Tui in Petone. Thank you both so much for the dream trips from Hamilton to Wellington on the Silver Star train - only the most luxurious train ever to grace New Zealand’s rail tracks. An unexpected upgrade from single rooms to a suite was particularly memorable. We had day after day of hanging by the beach, playing snooker on you and Uncle Tui’s pool table, wandering off to the comic shop in the village and buying lollies from the dairy. Those holidays are indelibly etched on our minds. I have so many happy memories of Christmases and family events; Grandad, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended whanau and copious amounts of laughter and joy. With the knowledge I have now as a parent, I know how much time and effort all of you put into creating the magical experiences we had. I loved hearing the stories of you and the siblings who were around when you were growing up, Rita, Winny, my mum Juliana, George, Tui and Darcy (Wahawaha). There weren’t as many stories as I would have liked because you were all private people, but, the one I love most is of Grandad Tom heading into Hamilton and dropping some of you kids off beside the Waikato River, near where Cobham Drive Bridge is now, with rubber inner tubes, and all of you floating home to Huntly with food for a picnic along the way. I loved hearing about the ponga house with a packed, dirt floor where you all grew up in Huntly by the river, the flour sacks for curtains, the candles for light, and how spotlessly clean Grandma Bella kept everything, including the old black coal range where all your food was cooked. I heard about the jetty you had near your house (no other family had one) and still have photos of the flooding in Huntly with you, Grandma and Uncle Tui in a dinghy where paddocks should have been. Another world and time. Your beautiful carvings are an enduring legacy of the enormous skill and talent you had with your hands. Uncle George uses his carved tokotoko every time he speaks on a marae and often plays the coconut ukulele you made him. Aunty Darcy’s husband Jack is the same with his carved tokotoko. Uncle Tui keeps few momentos, but, treasures your carvings. You could make or fix anything! You were also the family photographer and we treasure the photos we have from you. They bring back so many happy memories of times and places and people who have since passed on. I know you deeply felt the loss of your sister, my mum, Juliana. You are now with her, Rita and Winnie, and all of your tuupuna. Your living siblings, George, Tui and Darcy have taken comfort in knowing you are no longer in pain. They wished that you lived closer to them, but, accepted that Christchurch was your chosen home. We, your whanau, will take your ashes to the Waikato, to the place of your youth. Moe mai rā e te Rangatira, moe mai rā. Haere ki te poo-nui, ki te poo-roa, ki te poo-uriuri. Haere ki te tiimatanga, haere ki te whakamutunga. Haere ki oo taataou maatua me te iwi. Haere, haere, haere. On behalf of our whanau, thank you to Mark and Mike of Simplicity Funerals for the care and respect you have shown Uncle Bill. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude for the support you have provided during this time. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou o Simplicity Funerals. Erica Gregory