He tangata rongonui a Wiremu Kīngi Kerekere (Bill) i te ao waiata, i te ao pūoro. He kaumātua atawhai, he huatau tōna reo, he mahana tōna ngākau, he tau te taha. He tangata mōhio ki te hīkoi i roto i te ao Māori, i roto hoki i te ao Pākehā. Nō ngā kāwai rangatira ia o ōna iwi. He tupua i te taha waiata, he rangatira mōhio ki te whakahaere hui, ki te whakamanuhiri i ngā tira haere, i ngā ariki o te ao, he kaiako i aroha nuitia e ana kapa haka, he tangata pai ki tōna hapū, ki tōna iwi.

Nō taku tahuritanga ki te ako i te reo Māori, ka rongo au i te reo o Wiremu e pānui ana i ngā pitopito kōrero reo Māorite Rā Tapu i 2YA. Tā te Māori hanga, he ātaahua tōna reo kōrero, he rangatira te tū, tāna whakaputa i ngā kōrero kia tika, kia ātaahua, kia mārama. Ānō he pere e tangi ana i tawhiti, te mataaho, te rōreka. Hei tauira mō tēnei ākonga.

I whānau mai a Wiremu i Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa i te 8 Ākuhata 1923, ā, i mate i Tūranga i te 10 o Hune 2001. Ko Wiremu te tama a Kohikohi Karauria Kerekere o Te Aitanga a Mahaki rāua ko Tahua Kingi, o Mataatua, o Te Arawa, o Tainui, o Waikato me Te Aitanga a Mahaki. I kuraina ia i te kura tuatahi o Te Kāreti o Waerenga ā-hika me Te Kāreti o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. He tamaiti waiata ia, he mōhio ki te whakatangitangi piana

E ai ki a Wiremu ka tīmata tana mahi tito waiata i te mimititanga o te puna waiata o te kapa haka o te kura. Ka tīmata i reira tana hoatu i ngā kupu Māori ki roto i ngā rangi o tauwi, hei waiata hou.

I roto i āku mahi hopu kōrero i waenga i te hunga i whānau tahi mai me te reo Māori i te tonga o Te Ika ā-Māui me Te Waipounamu, ka kitea e au te mahi a te tini o ngā whānau rangatira, i muri mai i 1900. I tino whakakāhoretia e ngā mātua te kōrero me te ako i te reo Māori i waenga i ā rātou tamariki, me te tono i a rātou ki ngā kura kāinga e ākona ai rātou ki ngā pūtaiao, ki te Rātini me te Kariki, me te reo Pākehā, me te whai kia tū rangatira rātou i te ao hou.

Tērā hoki tētahi kōrero a te whānau mō Wiremu. Nō te matenga o tana whaea i a ia i te kura kāinga o Waerenga ā-hika, ka tatū te whakaaro o tana matua kia kaua a Wiremu e whakamōhiotia mō tōna matenga. Ko tā te tumuaki o te kura, nō Ingarangi taua Mahita, he whakarārangi i ngā ākonga o te kura kia tūohu ki te rārangi motokā o tēnei mea te tūpāpaku i te rori i waho. I taua rā, ka tū a Wiremu ki te rori, ki te tūohu, engari kāore i mōhio ko tana māmā tonu tērā i te motokā tūpāpaku.

Kāti, i te marama o Āperira 1945 ka moe i a Te Haumihiata Sarah (Mihi) Parata o Ngāi Tahu. Tokorima ā rāua tamariki.

Rite tonu ki ngā tamatāne Māori katoa o tōna reanga, ka kūmea atu a Wiremu e te au o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, ā, ka uru ki te Kamupene C (te wāhanga o te matua o te Tai Rāwhiti) o Te Ope Rua Tekau Mā Waru. Ka tere atu ki Ihipa, ki Ītari, engari tae rawa ake ia ki reira, kua mutu te pakanga i Ūropi. Ka whakapekangia taua wāhanga o C Company ki J Force i Hapani mō ngā marama o muri mai i te pakanga.

Kua nuku atu a Ngāpo Wehi, kaiārahi o Waihīrere kapa haka i ngā tau o muri mai, i Ōpōtiki ki Waihīrere i te tau 1951. I tētahi tuhinga i whakaputaina i muri tata mai i te matenga o Wiremu, ka whakamāramatia e Bub te wairua o te pā o Waihīrere i te tamarikitanga o Bill:

“Households where Mum and Dad, koroua and kuia, were all singers. They used to have their hit parades. Everybody would gather round the wireless and they’d catch all the tunes, just like that. Then they’d put Māori lyrics and actions to that Pākehā tune and you had a ready-made action song. You’d have a new tune too, to razzle-dazzle the hosts, next time your pā went visiting. In those days that was important. The mana of a hapū depended on its ability to entertain.”

I muri i te matenga o Wiremu, ka puta i a Ngāpo te kī: Nāna i tārei ngā atamira hei tūranga mō ētahi atu.”

He ringa rehe a Wiremu ki te whakatangitangi, ki te waiata, ki ngā mahi katoa o mahi pūoro. Ka mutu, ka tae ki tōna tau 13 kua whakaae kē te teihana reo irirangi o Tūrangi-nui-a-Kiwa ki te homai wāhanga whakatangi piana, waiata hoki ki a ia, ia rua wiki. Ka kitea ngā tohu i konei mō tana mahi i te ao.

I rangona nuitia ēnei momo waiata i roto i te noho o tana whānau. I tētahi uiuinga ki a Hēnare Te Ua, e puritia nei e Ngā Taonga, i kī a Bill ki a Henare Te Ua: “My father played, my sister played, my mother played, we all played an instrument, just for the fun of it, we weren’t taught music as such, we just enjoyed getting together and singing and the whole marae had the same concept. At the marae, the piano was the centre of all musical evenings.”

Ka tae te kaiwhakatangi hāmonia rongonui nei a Larry Adler ki te Tai Rāwhiti i tana taiāwhio i te motu I te tau 1961,ā, ka whakatangi tahi a Wiremu i tana piana me Adler. I whakaurua tēnei tūtakitanga ki tētahi LP o te Karapu Māori o Waihīrere, arā, A Treasure Chest of Māori Music (Kiwi). I muri i tāia e Wiremu tāna ake EP, Bill Kerekere Plays Evergreens of Melody (Kiwi, 1963). I arotakea e Alan Armstrong, i roto i te Te Ao Hou. He Pākehā a Alan, (hei taokete ia ki a Henare Te Ua) i mōhiotia i ngā marae o ngā motu e rua. I puta ia i te ope hōia, ā, ka tahuri ki te tuhi pukapuka mō ngā āhuatanga Māori, tae atu ki te reo. Ki a ia, he rawe te purei piana a Wiremu, he tipua tonu:

“Now Kiwi have featured Kerekere in his own right, and he thus becomes the first popular Māori pianist on record. He plays in the modern style but mercifully does not belong to the school which are so carried away by their own virtuosity that one can only guess at the original tune amidst the jumble of ‘variations’. Although Mr Kerekere improvises with zest and ingenuity – he is an able exponent of the rippling arpeggio and the counter melody against his own accompaniment – yet he is careful not to overplay his hand. The melody comes through strong and clear, but with plenty of light and shade. The result is a sparkling little record which is playable over and over again.”

I tupu ake a Wiremu i te wā i a Apirana Ngata rāua ko Tuini Ngāwai e ora ana, e tito ana i ā rātou waiata, ā, ko Te Tai Rāwhiti katoa i te haruru ki te waiata, ki ngā mahi kapa haka, ia whānau, ia whānau, ia hapū, ia hapū, ā, he pēnei tonu i ēnei rā.E ai ki ngā kōrero a Wiremu ki te kaipāho ki a Henare Te Ua, i maumahara ia ki te atawhai me ngā akoranga a Te Kani Te Ua i ngā kapa haka o Waihīrere i tōna tamarikitanga.

Te taenga ki te ngahuru tau 1950 kua eke a Wiremu hei kaihautū, hei matakahi mō ngā mahi o te rōpū o Waihīrere. He whakataukī tonu te rite o tēnei kapa haka i te ao Māori, ā, e waiata tonu nei, e haka tonu nei i ēnei rā.

Ki a Raana Tangira, tana tamāhine, te mātāmua o ngā tamariki a Wiremu rāua ko Mihi, he mea whakatū te karapu o Waihirere i ngā tau mai i 1950 e tana matua kēkē e Te Kani Te Ua, e Panapa Tuhoe, e Ani Tahuka me Wiremu Kerekere, “He whanaunga tata katoa. Nō te whakatūturutanga o te karapu o Waihīrere, ka tū ko Leo Fowler, [kaiwhakahaere o 2XG i Tūranga] hei hēkeretari. He Pākehā i arohanuitia e te iwi, ā, i nehua ki te urupā o tō mātou marae i tōna matenga.”

I te whakawhirinaki te rohe ki ngā kapa me ngā rōpū o Waihīrere mō ngā rā nunui i te rohe o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa. Ka titoa e Wiremu tana waiata, ‘Karanga mai Korokī’, ā, ka ākona e rātou mō tā rātou haere ki Waikato ki Tūrangawaewae i te wā o Kīngi Korokī, ki te Koroneihana, i te tau 1963. Ahakoa ngā āwangawanga o ngā mea taitamariki o te rōpū, nā Te Kani Te Ua rātou i whakahau kia kaua e hopohopo ki te tū, ko rātou ngā kanohi o ō rātou mātua i roto i Te Tai Rāwhiti, me manaaki i te pōhiri mai o Waikato, ka taea ngā mahi kei mua i a rātou.

He rawe hoki ki a ia ngā pēne kanikani o aua wā, ā, i mahi ia i roto i ēnei momo mahi waiata mō te 20 tau. Ka uru ia hei kaiwhakatangitangi piana ki te pēne nui o Ray Zame, he pēne rongonui I te takiwā o Tūranga.

Ka mārō i konei te hiahia o Wiremu ki te hautū kapa haka, ki te akoako rōpū mō ngā mahi o te marae, me ngā rā nunui o te iwi. Nā konei ka tupu ngā piringa ki ētahi atu iwi, kaihautū waiata hoki, me tana mahi ki te whakarite mahi mō ngā pōhiri ki te whānau o te Kuīni o Ingarangi, ā, ki te Kuīni tonu, mai i te tau 1963. I te kiriata o te pōhiri ka rangona te reo mātātoa o Wiremu e whakahau ana i ngā tira, i te haka me ngā waiata pōhiri ki te Kuīni. I rawea hoki ōna waiata e ngā iwi o te motu. I titoa e ia te waiata pōhiri, Karangatia e Te Iwi mō Kuīni Irihāpeti II me tōna hoa rangatira i 1964; ā, i mahia anō i ētahi atu pōhiri e rua i muri ki a ia, i 1970 me 1977.

I ngā tau o muri ka whakamāramatia e ia ki a Henare Te Ua ōna pūtake. I te tau 1963 kua tukua atu te pōhiri kia tae mai a Kuīni Irihāpeti II ki Waitangi i te Tai Tokerau i Aotearoa, i taua tau anō. Ki ngā whakaaro o te kāhui kaumātua o Te Tai Tokerau, tae atu ki a Hone Heke Rankin, kāore he kapa hapa tino matatau, mō tēnei taumata o te pōhiri ki Te Kuīni, arā, te taha haka, te taha waiata. Kātahi rātou ka tono ki Waihīrere o Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa kia tae atu, kia tū ki te pōhiri. Ki ngā kōrero a Wiremu e rua ngā whakakāhoretanga o te tono, me te whakahoki ki a rātou, mā koutou kē tēnei kawenga, mā koutou mā te tangata whenua hei whakarite. Nō te hokinga tuatorutanga mai ki te tono, ka whakaaetia e Te Kani Te Ua, me tana kī, āe, ka tae atu te rangatahi o te rohe o Waihīrere ki Waitangi ki te kawe i te pōhiri. I puta hoki i a Wiremu te whakamārama, me rangi Māori taketake, mō Waitangi, e kore te rangi Pākehā e pīrangitia, nā reira i tonoa ai a Wiremu kia titoa he rangi taketake mō ēnei waiata pōhiri.

E ai ki te whānau o Wiremu nō te aranga mai o te whakaaro kia whakatūria he ahurei kapa haka, arā, te Polynesian Festival, i whai wāhi ia ki ngā huihuinga i te taha o Minita Duncan McIntyre rātou ko Tā Kingi Īhaka, ko Jock McEwen me ētahi atu. Ka kitea nuitia hoki a Wiremu me ana kapa i te manawa tonu o te Aotearoa Traditional Māori Performing Arts Festival, ka tū ia rua tau. Nō muri mai ka hurihia te ingoa, ā, tau rawa mai ki te ingoa o te Ahurei nui o Te Matatini mō te hunga pakeke, o ēnei rā.

I mahi a Wiremu mō te Tari Māori i Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa mō ētahi tau, ā, i ngā marama whakamutunga o 1964 ka inoi a Leo Fowler kia nuku mai ia ki Pōneke ki te āwhina i te whakatūranga o te tari mō ngā kaupapa me ngā pānui Māori i roto i te Kāporeihana Pāpāho i reira (NZBC).

I muri i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero maha ki tana hoa rangatira, ki ngā kaumātua me ngā hoa mahi, ka whakaae a Wiremu ki te tūranga, ā, ka nuku atu ki Pōneke i te marama o Hānuere 1965. Ko Leo Fowler te mātanga mō te taha pāpāho, ā, ko tana hoa, ko Wiremu te mātanga mō te mātauranga Māori, me ana tini taura here whanaungatanga i te ao Māori, kāore e kore ka whai hua tēnei tokorua. Ka taka nei ngā tau ka piki a Wiremu hei kaipāho Māori rongonui.

Ināwhai anō tana hoki atu ki waenga i te Pōneke Young Māori Club i Te Whānga-nui-ai Tara; koirā tō rāua tūtakitanga ki a rāua, i ngā rā o te tuatahitanga, o te piringa tahi, – me te titiro whakatau mai a ngā pakeke –i ngā kanikani me ngā rā nunui o Ngāti Pōneke. Nō tana hokinga atu ki reira i taua wā kua pai tana “tāpae aroha” ki a Ngāti Pōneke, nā te āwhina i te kapa haka me te tito waiata. Ko ‘Tangihia’ tētahi o aua waiata.

I riro nā Wiremu i whakahaere ētahi o ngā pōhiri nunui mō ētahi o ngā haerenga mai o te Kuīni o Ingarangi me tana whānau ki Aotearoa, ko te taenga mai o te whānau rōera ki Waitangi i te tau 1963 tērā, ko te taenga mai a Kuīni Irihāpeti me Piriniha Piripi ki te Ahurei Poronīhiana i Tūranga i 1977 tērā, ko te huakanga o Ngā Taumāhekeheke o te Kotahitanga o Peretānia I Poipiripi i 1982 tērā, ā, ko te taenga mai o te Piriniha me te Pirinihehe o Wēra (Charles rāua ko Diana) ki Tūranga i 1983 hoki tērā.

Ka arahina e Wiremu te kapa haka o Ngāti Pōneke ki te whakatakoto waiata, i ngā taiwhanga hopu waiata o EMI i te Awakairangi. I roto i taua pukaemi Aku Mahi ētahi waiata e whā nā Wiremu i tuhi (‘Ka Huri Au! (I Turn To Greet You)’, ko ‘Tu Maramara Noa Te Tu Pōneke!’, ko ‘Ko Taku Whakapapa!’, me‘He Aha Taku Maoritanga?’); ā, nāna hoki i whakaraupapa ‘Karangatia Ra Pohiritia Ra!’.

E ai ki te kaiwhakanao matua, ki a Alan Galbraith he tino kauhautū pai a Wiremu, he tangata ka pīrangitia e ōna hoa mahi. “The sessions were always well-organised and rehearsed so not much for the rest of us to do.”

I roto i ētahi atu waiata rongonui nā Wiremu i tito ko ‘Tangihia’, me ‘Tūmaramara Noa te Tū Pōneke’. I te tau 1976 ka titoa e ia a ‘Aotearoa’ – tētahi kaupapa reo Māori o ‘You’re Our Way Naturally New Zealand’. I whakaputaina tahitia ēnei waiata e rua i tētahi rekoata takitahi nā Philips (NZ), ko Desna Sisarich ki te waiata i te kaupapa reo Ingarihi i tētahi taha, ko Wiremume ‘Aotearoa’ i tētahi.

I whakawhiwhia a Wiremu (Bill) Kerekere ki te tohu o Te Kāhui o Te Emepāea o Peretānia (OBE) mō tana mahi mō ngā mahi kapa haka i te tau 1972. I te marama o Oketopa 1995, ka whakawhiwhia ia ki tētahi puaki whakamiha nā teMusic Advisory Committee i raro i te Lilburn Trust, tētahi wāhanga ote Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust “hei whakamiha ki a ia mō āna mahi ahurei ki te ao pūoro Maori me te Pāpāho”.

I mate a Wiremu i te 10 o Hune, i te tau 2001, ā, ka nehua ki Waihīrere. E kī ana tana whānau, “I ēnei rā e ngaro tonu ana tētahi oro i roto i ngā reo o tō tatou tira.”

Moe mai rā e te rangatira, i te moenga tē whakaarahia, i te urunga tē taka.