Obituary to Fauntleroy Aldershot Fenton - Taranaki Daily News

From: Margret

Sent: 20/08/2005 12:28 p.m.

Website: www.stuff.co.nz Select Taranaki Daily News Legendary historian dies, aged 86 19 August 2005 By VIRGINIA WINDER Waitara's humble historian, Hip Fenton, has died, aged 86. But his research will live on forever. The Maori historian spent a huge amount of time researching North Taranaki's Maori and military past, meticulously recording what he found, Puke Ariki researcher Ron Lambert said yesterday. "He and (archaeologist) Alistair Buist scoured the countryside for sites. For a number of years they were legends in the area, along with Alistair's Jaguar, which he used like a tractor."  Mr Lambert said Mr Fenton had a unique way of recording battle sites and Maori settlements, drawing them as they might have looked during their occupation. "He gathered an enormous amount of history, especially on early 20th century kainga (villages) in the Waitara area. There's not very much information remaining about these and he could remember a lot of them from his childhood."  He also used to lead "Hip History Trips". Even Massey University history students took his tour, covering North Taranaki battlegrounds. Danny Keenan, Associate Professor of Maori Studies at Victoria University, edited and catalogued Mr Fenton's research. A great deal of that has been published on www.newzealandwars.co.nz. A page dedicated to him is called Take a Hip History Trip.  Dr Keenan said not all of Mr F enton's work could be put on the site. He hoped it would be placed in Puke Ariki. Mr Fenton's wife, Mona, said her husband had been fully involved in his interests, which included go-karting, poetry, astronomy, racing motorbikes and sports. He had been a swimming coach and timekeeper, and a wrestling coach and referee. in 1969, he managed the first New Zealand wrestling team to tour the United States.  Mr Fenton had also been involved with search and rescue, St John Ambulance and was a ham radio enthusiast. He had even spoken with King Hussein of Jordan over the airwaves. The Waitara man's full name was Fauntleroy Aldershot Fenton, but he was nicknamed "Hip" because of his curly hair. In Maori, "hipi" means sheep. His mother, who was of Te Atiawa, was a fluent speaker of te reo. The former Waitara freezing works engineer fought in World War II, along with his four brothers. All returned home.  While on service, Mr Fenton lapped up the ancient history of Rome and Florence. He once joked of that time: "I lived history. I had the best maps in the whole army."  In 1953, Mr Fenton and his brother, Ike, represented their division at the Queen's Coronation in England. Mrs Fenton said her husband was a wealth of knowledge. "He loved people ringing up at night and asking him a question. If he didn't know the answer, he would go to great lengths to find it. Some people might call him a know-all, but he knew what he was talking about."