Howard Morrison made this hymn very popular when he sung it at a Royal Command Performance for the Queen's visit to to New Zealand in 1981. It is sung to the tune of "How Great Thou Art."

Whakaaria mai Tōu rīpeka ki au Tiaho mai Ra roto i te pō Hei kona au Titiro atu ai. Ora, mate, Hei au koe noho ai       Show your cross to me. Let it shine there in the darkness. To there I will be looking. In life, in death, let me rest in thee.

Sing these words twice; first to the tune of the verse of How Great Thou Art, then to the tune of its chorus.
Or at a mixed Pakeha/Maori gathering, sing the verse in English, then the chorus in Maori.

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed Whakaaria mai    fa-kar-r'ya my Tōu rīpeka ki au Ti-aho mai Ra roto i te pō Hei kona au Titiro atu ai Ora, ma-te Hei au koe noho ai

Tune samples

Listen to Prince Tui Teka sing it, night-club style, similar to how Howard Morrison sangs it MP3 236 kb/s
This is highly compressed. The original, on the CD, "The Best of Prince Tui Teka," sounds even better.

Or listen to it being sung with traditional Maori harmonies MP3 244 kb/s.

How Great Thou Art

Whakaaria mai is derived from the hymn How Great Thou Art, which was written in 1886 by a Swedish pastor, Carl Boberg, after he was caught in a sudden thunderstorm while out in the countryside.

In time the hymn was translated into Russian and was learnt by Stuart Hine, a British missionary working in the Ukraine. Hine later translated it into English. An American preacher, Billy Graham made it well-known in English-speaking societies.

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed Then sings my soul my savior God to Thee How great Thou art How great Thou art Then sings my soul my savior God to Thee How great Thou art how great Thou art.

 

Howard Morrison
Singer, Maori youth consultant, popularized Whakaaria Mai in New Zealand in 1982.

Renowned entertainer and Maori youth leader Howard Morrison was born in Rotorua in 1935 and educated at Te Aute College. In 1955, while working as a surveyor's chainman, he started putting together vocal groups to entertain at rugby club socials in Rotorua. In 1956 he toured Australia as a member of the Aotearoa Concert Party.

On his return, he heard guitarist Gerry Merito and put together a group with him and two others, named the Howard Morrison Quartet. In 1958 they became part of Benny Levin's touring 'Pop Jamboree.' A recording they made of "Hoki Mai/ Po Karekare Ana" sold well, and in 1959 their parody of "The Battle Of New Orleans," written by Gerry Merito and recorded as The Battle Of The Waikato, became one of their biggest hits.

In 1960 they were so popular their managers released 13 singles, 3 EP's and 2 LP's. Another parody of Lonnie Donegan, "My Old Man's A Dustman" became "My Old Man's An All Black." This was highly topical because of the huge controversy over Maoris not being allowed to tour South Africa with that year's All Blacks.

Moving into 1962, two of their singles were more parodies, with Ray Steven's "Ahab The Arab" becoming "Mori The Hori" and Pat Boone's "Speedy Gonzales" becoming "George The Wilder Colonial Boy", celebrating the exploits of escaped convict George Wilder.

Due to the constant touring and absence from families, the quartet disbanded in 1965. Howard then worked as a solo entertainer and became very popular singing in Hilton hotels in Asia, and later in Hawaii.

But this gave him a strange sense of non-fulfillment as just a 'singer of songs.' In 1976 became a consultant on youth development for the Department Of Maori Affairs, undertaking a program of school visits designed to improve Maori pupil's sense of self esteem, and to encourage them to move on to higher levels of learning. He also developed wananga or education programmes on marae.

For six years, Howard became a scarce commodity on the entertainment scene. But in July 1982 he took part in a Television Special. An LP called "Howard Morrison" was made from this, and sold in huge quantities with Howard's versions of "Begin the Beguine," "Granada" "Howie the Maori" etc. But the real highlight was Howard's version of "How Great Thou Art".

While at a Tu Tangata hui in Auckland one day, he heard the hymn, "How Great Thou Art" or "Whakaaria Mai" being sung during the opening prayers. His hair stood on end and he knew at once that this was his song. It was a stunning success when released as a single, holding the number one position on the National charts for five weeks and remained in the charts for over six months.

In April 1990 Howard was nominated for a Knighthood and in October the ceremony was held at Howard's home marae of Ohinemutu where he became Sir Howard Morrison. MORE ON HOWARD MORRISON

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Published on the web 7 April 2002