Exploring Porirua streets. Tim Tufuga upbringing in P-Town 1970s-80s.

 Thanks for the ride around Waitai. Ive lived in Brisvegas for the past 45 years lived in P Town from the late 1960s, through the 1970s then migrated to Brisbane in 1981.

(Linden)

I have a few things that you will not know about P Town when I was brought up there. We lived in Hampshire Street, Cannons Creek in the early 1970s. I had attended the Moira Gallaghar Kindergarten. Then attended Windley School from Primers till standard 2. In 1976 we moved to Gear Terrace, it was a cul de sac then. There was a farm with cows and plenty of trees to explore and climb, we had a swing under one of thise huge pine trees, and plenty of places to explore in bushland around Gear Terrace at the very top end. Back in the 70s, We had carless days stickers, we had two oil crisis, the 1973 OPEC oil crisis ended universal welfare state, ended the free milk, free education through to university, Todd Motors demanded Samoan and Pacific Islander workers, Bill Rowling was Prime Minister before he was defeated by Piggy Muldoon. The dawn raids included my Aunt and Uncles deported back to Samoa. Other Samoans were the sell out and the Police simply made sure that my Uncles and Aunts boarded their flights back to Samoa. Back then SOS was the catch phrase Samoan Over Stayers. Funny thing was my Sister and I were born in New Zealand. My Sister was born in Keneperu Hospital in 1967. I was born in the Saint Helens Hospital in Christchurch New Zealand in 1968. My father was a Scholarship student at Canterbury University in Christchurch. My mother was an 18 year old Samoan migrant to New Zealand in 1964 and brought up my Sis and I in P Town. At Windley School I had fights with every Kid almost every day. At the back of the Cloak Room and out on the Field after school it was Bare knuckle fist fights for me growing up in Windley School I won almost all my fights at Primary School. That was cutting your teeth in P Town for a Samoan. Fighting Maoris, Tokes, and White Boys in and out of the class rooms. Bloodied nose and detentions for fighting was my formative years in P Town. When we moved to Gear Terrace I attended Porirua East Primary. Then after Standard four, I went to Titahi Bay Intermediate from 1980-81. Then migrated to Brisbane Australia. I returned in 1983 attended Aotea College. Less fights but I was fighting for the Porirua Tae Kwon Do Dojo in Porirua East School Hall at the National TKD in Wellington, 1985 I won the Silver medal in TKD only because I didnt fight for the Gold Medal, since I returned to Brisbane in 1985. I returned to Wellington in 1990 and attended Victoria University for my BA in Political Science degree. I returned to Brisbane in 1993 and continued my BA studies in Politics and Government.

Porirua Samoan Assembly of God Church, Fantame Street, Porirua, New Zealand.

I returned to P Town as a Tourist in 2000. I returned to Porirua Assembly of God Church at Fantame Street corner with Warspite Ave. My mother, my sister and I were the founding members of the Porirua Samoan Assembly of God Church. We were based at the Porirua East School school Hall in the early 1970s when Pastor Fred Ama moved from Vivian Street Wellington to Glouster Street, Cannons Creek in the late 1960s. Then from Porirua East School Hall, it was Russell School Hall, at Fantame street in the early 1970s before we built the Church at the corner of Fantame street and Warsite Avenue opposite the Salvos Church on the opposite side. In P Town if I wasnt fighting in TKD or at Primary School I attended Church learnt to read and write and speak Samoan in Church. Then I travelled and lived with my father in Samoa in 1988-89.

Once Were Warriors:

And as for the Pubs, the Top Tavern and the Blue Heron and the Bottom Tavern, the Mongrel Mob were notorious. I had been to the Top Tav drinking in the 90s and do recall the Once were Warriors history, because I saw it in Hampshire Street, Cannons Creek with the Maori drinking on Dole days. We went to church whilst the Maoris were partying and fighting and causing raucus including banging at my mothers house door in the weird hours of the morning. My mother never drank alcohol and only worked or attended church when we lived in P Town. Until we migrated to Australia. In 1984 my late mother became naturalised as an Australian and never returned to New Zealand to live since 1981. My mother is interned at the Beeneligh cemetery South of Brisbane since 2002. Ive remained here in Logan City Brisbane with the sporadic educational tenures in New Zealand via P Town and Wellington for University studies.

Memories Flooding Back:

I watched your video and everything flooded back to me so vividly. From Macdonalds opening in 1977, the Te Rauparaha Centre, the new Elsdon Museum in the 70s. Speaking to Mark Metekingi and Mr Grace as the Principal at Titahi Bay Intermediate school and learning the history of Te Rangitira Te Rauparaha, his misadventures with the British, his famous Haka and Ngati Toa Tribe and remembered the Mongies and the racial taunts and school racially motivated fights. The Fights at the Train stations between Viard College and Mana College schools and other interesting antics of the 70s. All flooded back with your bike ride around P Town. Thanks for the memories. Kia Ora.

Kia Ora, Talofa lava, and Gidday, P Towners. I lived in 52A Hampshire Street Cannons Creek P Town from 1969-1976. I attended the Moira Gallaghar Kindergarten in the early 1970s then Windley School from Primers 1-4 and from Standards 1-2. Then in 1976, Mum moved my Sister and I to Gear Terrace, Porirua East, and attended Porirua East Primary School from Stds 3-4. In 1980 I enrolled at Titahi Bay Intermediate in Form 1 and 2. Before migrating to Brisbane Australia in 1981. I had attended Brisbane State High School in 1982, during the Brisbane Commonwealth Games, I had returned to P Town, only schooling, in 1983-85, enrolled at Aotea College. I fought for P Town Tae Kwon Do with Mike Heath and Jim Babbington Porirua East School Hall Dojo and won a Silver medal at the Nationals since I had to Return home to Brisbane in mid 1985 and missed out the Gold Medal bout. I returned to Wellington in 1990-93 attended Victoria University doing my BA in Political Science and Public Policy, then returned to Brisbane in 1993 and only visited Wellington as a tourist in 2000. My last time in P Town. 26 years ago. Now since you know my background. I refer back to Hampshire Street which was back then reputedly the worse street in all of New Zealand where there were the Mongrel Mob driving up and down in Zepher Mark 1 Cars, threatening and accosting the neighbours. Every Dole day, there were drinking bouts, Guitar strumming Maoris, and of course loud music and fights. There were the Police and a raucus up and down the street, at least once or twice a week.

(TFS TV)

My mother, sister and I lived at 52 A Hampshire Street. When I had visited P Town in 2000, it was turned into the P Town Lawn Bowls Club Rooms and the lawns. I never returned there. My former bedroom was turned into a Club lounge room, with the Porirua City Flag flying aloft from my beroom fire escape banister. Our bathroom, was turned into the Bowling Club bar with alcohol and beverages being served to fellow bowlers.

Now Paradoxically my father was living in Samoa, since he was a scholarship student at Canterbury University in Christchurch back in the early 1960s whereby my late father had attended Saint Bedes College, in Christchurch, and went on to study Accountacy and Commerce at Canterbury University. I was born in Christchurch in 1968. My father was ordered to return to Samoa by 1968 and worked for the Samoan Government's Treasury Department and the Samoan Public Services Commission and ending up as a Senior Public Servant for the Samoan Auditing Officce until his passing in 2015. I had lived with my father in Apia from 1988-89.

In the meantime, back to 1969, my late mother, my sister and I in tow, moved to P Town, my older Sister, was born in Keneperu Hospital back in 1967 in the recently constructed Hospital. I was born at the Saint Helens Hospital in Christchurch in 1968. Mum moved up to Wellington and ended up in Hampshire Street. In the heart of the most notorious street in all of New Zealand. The Once were Warriors Movie reminded me of Hampshire Street and the Top Tavern.

My mother was a devout Christian. She was amongst the founding members of the Porirua Samoan Assembly of God Church which was based in Vivian Street in Wellington during the 1960s then the Congregation split with Pastor Va'a Saipani taking the Wellington Samoan Assembly of God congregation to Berhampore Wellington near Newtown, and Pastor or Reverend Fred Ama taking the other congregation, including my late mother, my sister and I, to establish the Porirua Samoan Assembly of Church congregation in Porirua. Our first church services were held at the Porirua East Primary School Hall. Then at Russell School Hall, then finally we built our church proper at the corner of Fantame and Warpite Avenue, which remains there to this day.

My formative years in P Town living in Hampshire street brought back memories of the Mongrel Mob, the parties, the intimidation. There children I would meet up at Windley School and I would have fights with them at the Cloak rooms and at the Windley School field after school on a very regular basis. You see even the Mongies kids were loutish and labelled me a Samoan Over Stayer and would challenge me during intervals and lunch time confrontations. After school meetings at the field was a regular gathering for school fights. It was the bare knuckle variety. As a 7 and 8 year old I regularly walked home with an odd claret streaming from my noggin after another day at Windley school. It was the kids fight club. And sure enough, their Parents were just as rowdy at home and I understood why I had to face their kids at school daily for our regular fightclub sessions. I got used to it.

I now fondly regale these moments as I watch your video. The other reminders was watching Once were Warriors. The insipid verbal abuse intermingled with the regular fight club sessions as a Kid at school would influence my perspective in life as I migrated to Australia and realise a much larger institutionalised form of Racism and Xenophobia that was mainstreamed throughout Australian Cultural history which made P Town street and school fist fights, institutionally, pale in comparison. The rise of Pauline Hanson and the cryto White Supremacy institutions were less spoken of, almost expected with entitlement by Mainstream Australian culture. Nowadays, it is normalised with the National Socialist Network, Hammerskins, and Bikie Gangs. But, this changed when the Lebos, Lebanese Gangs arose, with the West Sydney drug Cartels. Then recently, the Mongies have established their networks amongst the Older White New Zealand Drug Kingpins from the 1970s the Mr Asia New Zealand White Drug Kingpins that was well known in Australian underbelly.

Then the Mongies had cross patched with more established and new American influenced Bikie Gang networks. Of course, P Town Mongies were well integrated into the Australian Underbelly culture, which was been exemplified with the more recent 501 deportations from across the Ditch. The recent Coconut Cartel is a promotion of the assimilation of Samoans and other Pacific Islander groups to the subcultural underbelly of New Zealand society, that was alien and very estranged for people like myself and my late mother. We were brought up with the fire brimstone of the Samoan Bible and considered the antics of the Mongies banging at my mother's door late at night something that we were ill prepared to confront except that my late mother had her wooden rolling pin at hand near the door refusing to open the door to a drunkard Maori who wanted to pay a visit to our home. These were the indelible memories of Hampshire Street that we remembered.

In 1974, TV One or Television New Zealand from Avalon, visited my mother and asked for an televised interview, regarding Hampshire Street and its nototious reputation. Mum agreed to the interview. I was witness to this preaarranged meeting. However, when the TV crew arrived at the doorstep and knocked on the door. Mum had given it some thought about the TVNZ documentary item about Hampshire Street and decided not to do the interview. Mum became camera shy.

Whilst in Christchurch, for 1974 year, I was staying in Waltham with my Aunt for a year and I was enrolled at Waltham Primary School. I was the only Samoan in class and it was completely different from Windley School. No fightclub in Christchurch. Kids were White and not a single Maori or at least I never met any Maori at Waltham Primary School. Norman Kirk was PM who had officially declared Waitangi Day a Public Holiday in 1973. He died from a Heart Attack and his cask returned to Christchurch. I was then attending Waltham Primary School. Christchurch in the 1970s was an English like place. Canterbury University was like an English School. The Avon very Englishlike. The people were different and my late father was more familiar with this version of Palagi New Zealanders, unlike my late mother and my Sister and I's experience with P Town in the 1970s which was more akin to the Once were Warriors Mongie Maori race relations that I was more familiar with with our regular fight clubs at Windley School. It was character building for me as a 6-10 years old learning how to throw a punch and taking a punch was P Town conditioning.

I do have fond memories of P Town, the Sievers Grove Fish and Chips, the Whittikers Peanut Slabs, the K Bars, the 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cen white bags of mixed lollies. The Gear Terrace Cul de Sac cricket games, the exploration of the farm at the end of Ranui Heights with throwing cow dung at each other with the kids neighbours. Climbing the trees and swinging on the swings from the tree at the bottom of the Gully between Gear Terrace and Ranui Heights are found memories of P Town. But, these were self exploration and discovery moments of a Child in P Town away from the hussle and bustle of the Police dawn raids for Samoans which occured for my Aunts and Uncles with incompleted visa documentations whilst working in P Town factories, Todd Motors employed most Samoans. My Aunt and Uncle were part of the Dawn Raids and unceremonial deportations back to Samoa. Most were processed by other Samoans working for the New Zealand Immigration with the Police turning up to make sure that my Aunts and Uncles were escorting to the Wellington Airport for Auckland then onwards back to Samoa.

I met my Uncles and Aunts in Samoa at my mother's Village of birth and their lives were as normal as it could be in a Samoan Village sense.

A far flung experience from the P Town which your video reveals in a telling truth that was not overley encouraged or displayed. The Maori and Pakeha Xenophobia.

For my mother and her life in P Town it was completely disconnected from the domestic angst. My Mother was a backing Vocal for the Porirua Samoan Assembly of God Gospel Band called Porirua TEAM. They had toured up and down New Zealand singling Gospel covers from Andre Croach, Gaither etc from the Evangelical Christian music that they had Samoanised in Samoan Assembly of God Churches up and down New Zealand. They were the First Samoan Gospel Band in New Zealand in 1973-74. Then in December 1974 the Porirua Samoan Assembly of God Team toured the United States and performed up and down California. Promoting their Samoan version of the Charismatic Evangelical Gospel music that made my late mother somewhat of a Christian Rock Star for Samoans in New Zealand and America.

All the while New Zealand Pakeha and Maoris never knew anything of the Samoan Evangelical influence that was American connected and still is today. The New Zealanders never knew how Samoans were integrated with the US Military especially with the Samoan Assemblies of God Churches all over America. Thousands of us everywhere in America, Samoa and New Zealand. Australia was new and the Brisbane Samoan Assembly of God Church was establised by Pastor Vanu Toma and the first services were held at my mother's flat in Gray Street, in Hill End, West End South Brisbane Australia in 1981. Mum, my sister and I, were the founding members of the Brisbane Samoan Assembly of God Church in Brisbane and the first services were held in Mums Flat with some 30 Samoans in total as members. Yet, in American Samoa and in America we had thousands of members of the Assembly of God Church.

The White American version of our Church included Elvis Presley.

Yet in Hampshire Street in 1974 Mum returned from California after a rousing successful tour with the Porirua Samoan Assembly of God The Team Tour of America amongst the Samoan community that had launched other Samoan Evangelical musical careers that would include the Katina Brothers and other Samoan people.

Yet, in humble Hampshire Street, P Town, NO ONE KNEW anything about the Samoan Assembly of God influence and connection with the Americans. None whatsoever.

Im married to an American US Army Veteran. Whom has served in the Middle East and Europe. Her mother is from American Samoa and the military culture of the Samoans is not known by the Maori and Pakeha of New Zealand. But, as they say, ignorance is bliss. The Windley School fight club remains more P Townish and more akin to what P Town's global image is all about. The Allan Duff book and movie Once were Warriors has revealed this side of P Town like a proud Badge of honour for P Towners especially the Mongies and more recently the 501 deportees from across the ditch.

I remember sleeping in bed as a 5-6 year old with Mum sleeping in between my sister and I on the same bed. And I could vividly remeber the Maori Parties raging across the way, the singing and strumming of guitars. Ahhh, the Jake the Muss is singing and the chorus singalongs of a groupd of Mongies keeps us awake at night.

Tim Tufuga

Source:

1. Linden, Exploring Porirua, youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w9Z7emMKyY&t=2817s 

2. TFS TV, Inside Porirua, 'Cannibals Creek', Youtube.com, https://youtu.be/_TL1E5OsDB0?si=nLSKzFSRceb0n_NF