Pō Atarau

I whānau a Emira Maewa Kaihau ki Whangaroa, ki te Tai Tokerau, i te tau 1879. He mea whakaaweawe te waiata nei e te titonga piana e kī ana ko ‘Swiss Cradle Song’ nā Clement Scott i tito i te tau 1913. I te tau 1915 i whakahoungia te waiata hei poroporoaki i ngā hōia i haere ai ki Te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao. Nāna te whiti ‘Now Is the Hour’ i tito, nā, ka āpitihia ko te whiti reo Māori ‘Pō Atarau’ i te tau 1935.

Emira Maewa Kaihau was born in 1879 in Whangaroa, in the Northland region. This song was inspired by the piano composition ‘Swiss Cradle Song’ by Clement Scott, composed in 1913. The song was adapted as a farewell to the soldiers departing for World War I, in 1915. Maewa also wrote the lyrics for 'Now is the Hour,' which later became intertwined with the Maori version 'Pō Atarau' in 1935.