Whanau Hui 2014

As time goes by, it becomes very apparent that the Priestley Hui of 2014 in Gisborne was an important milestone in our family's history. It not only marked the first Priestley family hui in many decades, but it more importantly, it marked the dawn of a new era of understanding for our family.

This chapter is an account of how and why this hui came about, how it unfolded, and what it achieved. This perspective has been written by Merv Priestley - March 2017

Hui Summary

Drifting Apart (1960's-2010)

For various reasons, our Priestley family starting drifting apart from about the 1960's and as more of William and Kate's children gradually passed away, we slowly lost their guidance and family focus. We moved to different parts of the country and found it increasingly difficult to keep track of one another. Communication, travel, tolls calls and other forms of communication were expensive in those days. We bore families of our own who needed nurturing and our work lives became increasingly busy to support them. By 2010, and for the most of us, we had eventually became separated from all our extended relatives and only had regular contact with our immediate families.

Drifting Together (2011-2014)

With the advent of the internet, it not only became possible to find family members, but to also to easily correspond with each other in real time. This is how our coming together began. It started in Jan 2011 with an random online search for William Augustine Priestley by Merv Priestley and he made a match with a living person!

Correspondence started, and it was quickly established that the William Augustine in question was the young son of Analeesha Priestley who had recently started up a Facebook account for her son, and although Merv and Analeesha had no idea of how they were related, they knew enough to understand that somehow they were.

Analeesha decided to start up a public Priestley Family Facebook page to see if they could find other family members wanting to correspond. Over the following weeks, months and years, more whanau appeared and shared what family history they knew. Eventually the page had dozens of members and as it gained more momentum, a gathering seemed inevitable.

Let's have a hui! (2014)

The key to our hui of 2014 was Bernie Priestley, and although he wasn't very well versed with online methodology, what he read on the Facebook page was enough to convince him that we needed to get together in person. Bernie is a well-known, knowledgeable and well respected family member, so he was able to contact various key members of the family and convince them to gather in Gisborne. The date of August 2014 was set.

It was decided that this hui would be an investigative hui to determine what, if anything, we wanted to do as a family. It was intentionally kept simple with only a select group of representatives invited. This decision was made in order to maximise our productive time together at the hui. It would have been detrimental to have people stuck in the kitchen or preparing for and cleaning up after the masses when we really needed them contributing to the kaupapa (purpose of the hui) at hand.

Although there was a little apprehension at first, what drove us forward was the need to connect to out roots.

The 2014 Hui

Day 1 - Gisborne Cossie Club

We met in the morning and had planned for only a couple of dozen people. After some late arrivals, we eventually ended up with not only the expected representatives, but also their support crew in tow. So around 40 whanau were present... a welcome surprise indeed.

Many of those who participated in the hui also arrived with a treasure trove of photos, information and memorabilia related to our rich and proud family history. So much so that it would have taken a month to view it all let alone copy and catalogue it all. And to think that this was only some of what they could have been brought!

It was suggested that we investigate setting up a family history website to share all these treasurers with the wider whanau. There was also a suggestion that a new Facebook page be set up so that we could share information about ourselves within a closed family forum rather than a public forum.

The highlight of the first day would have to be the presentations given by Uncle Bill Paku and Robin Hodkinson. These were delivered with a poise and passion that were not only informative but also very inspirational.

A big thank you to Maurice Priestley for capturing and sharing Uncle Bill's presentation below with us.

We wound up the first day with informal discussions with the main purpose being whanaungatanga (getting to know each other). What we discovered was that it was embarrassing not knowing our own family members and not knowing how we were connected, so these issues also needed to be addressed. It was suggested that an online whakapapa website be investigated.

We enjoyed dinner at the Cossie Club and and a late-ish night together.

Day 2 - History Trail

The day dawned showery but the weather improved markedly by the time we had arrived at Te Arai Urupa. Uncle Bill Paku was magnificent as always providing commentary on our various tipuna who lay there and at the other various places we visited that day.

It was determined that some family members had to leave Gisborne early to get home so some of the obvious historic places we could have visited were not. (Cochrane St/Racecourse site, Makaraka Cemetry, Taruheru Cemetery to name a few). We thought at the time that these sites can always be visited at future hui.

Our convoy then travelled up the coast to the home of Paikea, Whangara, where we visited the urupa where many of our whanaunga now lay.

Our next stop was one of the highlights of the day, the site of the first Priestley homestead in New Zealand - Waihau Beach. Very few whanau knew this part of our family history let alone having the opportunity to visit it before. Doing it with as many whanau as we did, made the visit that much more special.

The other highlight of the day was to visit the site where William and Kate first resided as a couple at the Kirikiriroa land block (25 Andrews Rd, Pouawa), and where the famous family photo of them sitting outside their whare was taken in 1898. This again was a first visit for many of the whanau.

Hui 2014 History Trail Slideshow

Most of us said our goodbyes at this point because they had work or other commitments the next day. Those of us who stayed the night in Gisborne enjoyed dinner together and shared more family time.

We said our goodbyes at the end of the night vowing to stay in touch and to forward the hui initiatives discussed.

What did we achieve? (2014-Present)

We congregated in Gisborne with no expectation and with no proper agenda, so above all else, just getting a group of us together after many decades was by far our biggest achievement. It's hard to believe now that many of us didn't know each other from a bar of soap back in 2014 and yet today we carry on as if we have known each other all our lives.

The hui initiatives to share our family history with wider family are now realities

• Our Closed Facebook page

• Our Family History website

• Our Family Whakapapa website

By in large, the whanau have supported these online family sites by sharing the invaluable information that is now contained within them, and this has to be acknowledged as it is the lifeblood for them to function.

The spin-off effects of these are,

• They are providing us all with solid connections to our ancestors (tipuna), our historic places (turangawaewae) and most importantly, with each other. This knowledge is both empowering and comforting, as it gives us an identity and a genuine sense of belonging that not many other families share

• They have had the unexpected benefit of finding long lost whanau and whanau we never knew existed

• They have given us the ability to work together to achieve things we never thought possible. Papa Charles unveiling being a case in point

The websites in themselves are now considered family treasurers by many as they can be handed down to our future generations and forever provide them a pathway to their roots.

There are so many other intangibles that can't be described in words or on lists except for what can only be summed up with what we have all experienced since that hui. It's the wairua aroha (loving spirit) that now firmly bonds us together.