It’s now more than 70 years since Matawai Matara Pakai, now known as Mary Lim, met her late Chinese husband (James) Lim Chee, an immigrant from the East, in Ohakune, where they worked in market gardening. Mary had been sent to the town to look after the children of her sister Daisy, who was suffering from tuberculosis.
Mary and Jim, as he was known, married in 1943 and went on to have seven daughters and three sons. The youngest three were born in Pukekohe after the family moved there in 1952, where they continued to garden. At one stage, Mary and her daughter Annette (now 71), were pregnant at the same time. It wasn’t always an easy life and despite her large brood, Mary (now 93) also worked full-time on the farm.
“We Lims are tough,” says Robyn Lambourne, Mary’s youngest daughter, who has organised today’s get-together. “Mum never made a fuss about things. She’s no-nonsense, no frills and just got on with it.” These days, Mary’s short-term memory isn’t as good as it once was and she now lives in a nursing home. But she’s clearly enjoying having her hair and make-up done today and feels like a “living doll”.
When the big moment comes and the latest family arrival is placed tenderly on her lap, the great-great-great- grandmother of little Noah Aiga, who was born in January, shows that basic maternal instincts don’t diminish with age and expertly positions him in the crook of her arm. “Whose baby is this?” she asks a number of times, kissing and nuzzling the precious little bundle. “He’s just beautiful,” she notes. “He looks small but he’s very heavy!”
New parents August and Chynna
Baby Noah is the first child of Chynna Luamanu (20), Mary’s great-great-granddaughter.
Family members have been busy with a calculator and eventually pronounce the new baby to be Mary’s 174th direct descendent, with five more already on the way this year. They wonder if it’s some sort of record number with 10 children, 46 grandchildren, 97 great-grandchildren, 20 great-great-grandchildren and now, of course, little Noah.
His arrival has made Chynna and her partner, August Aiga (22), young parents, not to mention Chynna’s teacher mum, Tasha Pritchard, a youthful grandmother at 38. Tasha’s mother Tina Pritchard (53), is a great-grandmother and Tina’s mother, Mary’s daughter Annette Kemp (71), is now a great-great-granny. Her new status is certainly something to be proud of and Annette was quick to share the news with her colleagues at the paper bag factory where she has worked night shifts for almost three decades. Tina, who lives in Karratha, Western Australia, where she works as a cleaner, arrived in Auckland just eight hours after Noah entered the world. “He came a bit too fast for me,” she says. “It was okay, though, because there were lots of photos of Chynna in labour and of the birth!”
Tasha says she was slightly surprised with her promotion to grandmother-hood well before her 40th birthday, but she’s over the moon with little Noah. “I’ve been teaching for 11 years and I absolutely love children,” she tells.
Mary holding her great-great-great-grandson.
The Lims, with their huge extended family, are all very close and hold regular family reunions. They describe themselves as a “rainbow”, with Maori, Chinese, Pacific Island and Pakeha members in the mix. As the afternoon wears on, more and more whanau arrive to celebrate Mary’s sensational milestone and Noah is gently passed around for all to admire. He’s already perfectly comfortable in a crowd and makes barely a squeak. His mother says he’s been a good baby from the word go. “I’m just loving motherhood,” Chynna says, smiling at her little man. Her grandma, Tina, nods agreement.
“We’re all very hands-on and help each other with our kids, although I don’t get over too often unfortunately,” she says. “I love where I’m living – apart from the snakes – but it’s a 14-hour flight and very expensive.” At four o’clock, Mary begins to look as if she’s searching for something, but nobody can put their finger on what. After a few minutes, someone remembers, exclaiming, “They all have a brandy at this hour at her nursing home!”
Two decades ago (clockwise from top): Tina, Annette, Tasha, Mary and baby Chynna.
No brandy can be located, so a glass of wine must suffice. “You’re celebrating something really amazing today, Nanny,” the family tells her. Mary is already a little vague again with regard to what that something is, but seeing her broad smile, it’s evident that she’s just happy to be surrounded by so many family members who all love her dearly.
