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In July 1917 Paraire took 55 men and women to perform at Waiomatatini at the marriage of Te Rina, daughter of Ngata, to Hetekia Te Kani Te Ua. There, and later at Manutuke and Gisborne, Paraire's group raised more than £250. In September, following an invitation by Ngata, Paraire took Te Poi o Heretaunga, as the group was now called, to Wellington. Forty-five men and women performed in the town hall from 3 to 5 September, and later gave a performance at Trentham Military Camp. One of the songs they performed was written by Paraire, the later well-known 'Hoea ra te waka nei'. The group raised £550 for the Maori Soldiers' Fund. Paraire announced that the group, billed as Te Ope Ngahau o Heretaunga (the dance group of Heretaunga), was to perform for 10 days at Christmas in Auckland. In January 1918 Paraire published the words of his most famous song, 'E Pari ra', a tangi for the soldiers lost in battle. Later this tune was adopted by the Royal New Zealand Navy as their slow march. Other well known songs written by Paraire were 'Tahi nei taru kino', 'I runga i nga puke', 'Hoki hoki tonu mai' and the haka 'Tika tonu'.
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