Play it again, Aunty Bea!

 Aunty Bea is a legend.

Piatarihi Beatrice (Bea) Tui Yates, Te Arawa, Tainui, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Uenuku Kōpako, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Awa (AKA Aunty Bea) is one of the most gifted, clever and exceptional kaituhi Māori around. She was a force in the advocacy of human rights and Indigenous rights.

Along with wāhine toa, like Toi Te Rito Maihi, Katarina Mataira, and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, Aunty Bea lead the te reo Māori revival renaissance from the 70s and 80s. As a vital figure in Māoridom, she supported the rise of the Kōhanga Reo movement  through her exceptional creative spirit, and her knowledge of te reo Māori, and pūrākau, particularly that of Te Arawa. 

Image: 'Hera and her Kuri' by Piatarihi Yates

She is well known in Aotearoa for writing bilingual books and Māori readers for local schools and Kohanga reo. Her books, including the readers, were and still are used in kura and kōhanga reo to support the revitalisation of our Indigenous language, culture and histories. Without this movement and its advocates like Aunty Bea, I’d hate to think where we would be now. Our nation’s identification, threaded together by bi-culturalism and bi-lingualism of our histories, is the backbone of Te Tiriti o Waitangi!

Not surprisingly, Aunty Bea ran her own publishing house. This gave her creative reign over the stories she wanted to tell and publish. Like other wāhine toa, she wasn’t gonna be no slave to a biased narrative that favoured white supremacy.

Image: 'Te Rau Aroha: The Kai Truck' by Piatarihi Yates

As a right of reply to the mainstream narratives of the day, she wrote pūrākau and hītori from a te Ao Māori lens. She wrote about Te Rau Aroha: the Kai Truck – a truck that was presented to the Māori Battalion by children of the native schools.

She wrote frequently of our bond with animals, particularly mōkai, a well-known comfort to our spirits in te Ao Māori - a universally recognised one too! World-over, our pets will always be an important way to well-being and unconditional love.

Image: Foal at Cape Reinga. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1207-1590.

Hera and her Kuri follows a child living with her nan and beloved kuri. It was the first Māori Reader to be published, in 1983. This reader is one of my favourites. I adore the young heroine, her cheeky puppy, and her kick-ass kuia (she’s never seen without her pipe). It's beautiful to be reminded of the precious and innate connections we have with our natural world, and our friends and whanau. Thank you Aunty Bea for this timely reminder.

Image:  Inside 'Hera and her Kuri' by Piatarihi Yates

Many of Aunty Bea’s pukapuka are accompanied by songs she’s written, performed and recorded herself. Ae!. Bea Yates was also a gifted singer. Throughout the 90s and beyond, Aunty Bea toured her show around Rotorua district as the legendary Tina Tuna. My colleague here at Research remembers her well! Do you? Aunty Bea sounded just like Tina Turner! I'm a total fangirl!

Needless to say, Aunty Bea was exceptionally entertaining. Most of her books include a CD, so we can sing-a-long. Ka mau te wehi!
Let’s go!

Image: Aunty Bea display at the Research Centre

Please check out Aunty Bea and her wonderful collection of songs and stories. Her mahi is showing now in the display Hoki Hoki Tonu Mai at Te Wahi Rangahau Ki te Puku (Research Central), Level 2, Central City Library. Discover a kete taonga created by Aunty Bea and many more kaituhituhi rangatira. 

Also, please feel free (as a right of reply) to feedback in the comments below. Let us know your experience with Aunty Bea and her stories and music. We want to learn from you too!

Author: Rin Smeaton, Research Services Onsite.