Auckland.
1st July, 1901.
H.E. Partridge Esq,
Auckland.
Dear Sir
Your letter of the 28th June last has been received by me. Before
giving you the literal meaning of the words "Kia Ora" as used by
our people I might as well seperate the two & show the use they
would have in English: Take "Kia" - this represents your word
"To".
Take "Ora" - this represents "Live" or "Life".
There are many other words for which "Ora" is used: such as "safe"
"saved" "satisfied" and a few others:
However when the words are used jointly the literal meaning would
be - "To Live".
The wider use of the words however has always been accepted by the
Maoris to convey, _
(1) Long Life (2) Good health, happiness & prosperity
(3) Kind Greetings.
In fact it conveys all the best wishes one person intends to convey
to another or to a number of people: The two words are used so as
to avoid the expression being made cumbersome by the use of many
words. To make it as simple as possible but to convey as much as
possible. The weight & strength of the expression & the
length, breadth & depth of its meaning would be better
understood & appreciated by the kindly & sincere manner of
the person who gives it utterance. When you say in your letter that
the Duke of Cornwall & York must have been struck with the
words "Kia
Ora" as witness his constant use of them. I can only say that the
Maori tribes of New Zealand who were assembled at Rotorua felt
& appreciated the use of the words by our Royal & most
Distinguished Visitor.
Yours very truly
Hone Heke.
Tukua mai āu nā kōreroSubmit your storyTāhuhu kōrero
Contributed stories
Do you have a story related to this letter from the Partridge Correspondence? Maybe you have images of the person who wrote it? If you would like to see your story published on this website, please submit it here. All stories are reviewed before publishing.