Myra DUNN Obituary

The Great Kauri has fallen in the Sacred Forest of Tne
(Myra Leonie Chum Dunn 1917-2018)

It is with sadness and deep regret that I have become the "Manaia" (the birdman) - the messenger bringing this sad news from Tane's forest.

For those of you not familiar with New Zealand Maori folklore, and to understand the high esteem we hold Chum in - below is an explanation of that Maori expression - "a great Kauri has fallen".

Growing in our native forests is a huge tree of majestic proportions. A tree revered by Maori for it longevity, strength and wisdom. A tree that takes centuries upon centuries to grow and during its life time becomes the "mother" of all trees, for through its sheer size it nurtures and protects the young growing below it. For Maori, the tallest tree in the forest traditionally has regal status. In the north of New Zealand, the kauri holds that highest rank. This is reflected in sayings such as, 'kua hinga te kauri o te wao nui a Tne' (the great kauri has fallen in the sacred forest of Tne) - and is repeated whenever a great person dies. So like the fallen kauri, the passing of our dear mother, mother-in-law, grand-parent and friend of many there remains a sadness that will linger well after her death. But there is also great comfort to be had with the knowledge that so many of us hold pieces of her life in our minds and hearts. We have become the keepers of her story, and as we sit around the warm evening fires with our family and friends telling the tales of Chum's life, we unwittingly convey that history further into the future, cementing that knowledge into another generation.

I recall the many hours spent with Chum talking on all manner of subjects. And during those conversations names emerged sufficiently frequently that they are well remembered. They were her friends and family who, along with so many others, made such a marked impression upon myself. I am eternally grateful that she made me so welcome into her extended family where I've been a part of it for over 50 years. Indeed a mighty warrior and a corner stone of New Zealand's society and a champion to those less fortunate has fallen but she lives on through us all, in our memories forever. R.I.P dear Mum Chum.

There is also a Greek version of that Maori proclamation of death which can be found in an extract of Homer's poem called Ithaca.

... Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind,
to arrive there is your ultimate goal,
but do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
And even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
Rich with all that you have gained on the way,
Not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches,
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road,
But she has nothing more to give you,
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you,
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
You must surely have understood by then what Ithaca means. ...

The background to that poem is:
Ithaca is a small and insignificant island out of the many Greek islands in the Ionian Sea. So one may question why didn't Homer choose a better, larger, and fancier island for his poem? The answer is quite simple Ithaca does not matter in a literal way, it is the idea of Ithaca that was important to Homer and the Greeks in general. Ithaca exists for each and every one of us in a different way.

And so, the actual objective lies in making the voyage itself and to face all those difficulties; to overcome the difficulties in life and gain experience while you are making the voyage. Therefore, by the time you reach your Ithaca you will already have gained so much from the trip that is does not matter so much whether your reached your goals or not.

Respectively
Paul London

Thinking of you all with love. xx
Jan and Kevin
Nelson