Ngā mate
Kia ora Te Wheke whānau. On behalf of the Tikao whānau, our thanks for the support you gave at the tangi of Tony Carl Piuraki Tikao, our uncle and brother who passed away recently.
Your manaakitanga, mahi, and aroha were hugely appreciated. Uncle Tony is fondly remembered for many things – for being a decorated and courageous soldier, for his wicked sense of humour, and for bringing enormous aroha to all who knew him, especially his many nephews and nieces – who we know he loved dearly.
Once again, to all our whānau in Rāpaki, thank you. Tēnā rawa atu koutou mō ā koutou mahi.
Ngā mihi maioha
David Tikao.
Aunty Omaha Hawkings
Remembering you with fondness and much respect, deepest sympathy to Uncle Russell, Aunty Dawn Kottier and all the whānau.
Rā whānau
To all of our whānau with birthdays this month, enjoy your day and may you have a happy and prosperous year. Those we know to be celebrating spring birthdays are Rose Read, Rima Subritzky, Ray Kamo, Reuben Thompson, Sally Pitama, Cassandra Lee, Maurice Rehu, Miriama Kamo, James Thompson, Te Whe Phillips, Mishel Radford, Mariana Phillips, Huia Rhodes, and Cyrus Te Maio Mafeking Hutana-Waitoa.
Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Incorporated annual general meeting
This was held on Sunday 9 September at Rāpaki with Chris Henderson and Wally Stone re-appointed as secretary and treasurer. Ripeka Paraone and Sharlene Pirikahu are to share responsibility for the culture and identity portfolio, and Rangimarie Takurua has joined the Rāpaki education committee. Copies of the chair’s report can be obtained by contacting the office.
Te Poho o Tamatea Ltd, charitable company
Four nominations for directorships to the board were received at the annual general meeting and it’s expected that appointments will be made known after the October meeting. The annual reporting of Te Poho o Tamatea Ltd will take place in November.
Pou whenua blessings
Recently two pou were gifted, installed and blessed in the Lyttelton area. They were named Ōhinehou and Kōauau o Tāne Whakapiripiri. Riki Pitama and Te Mairiki Williams conducted the blessings, assisted by Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke chair Kopa Lee supported by Rāpaki whānau, Ngāi Tahu, Christchurch City Council, Lyttelton locals and the Whakaraupō Carving Centre.
Ōhinehou, installed at Ōhinehou (Sutton Reserve) in Lyttelton, is named after a female ancestor or guardian of the area. Sutton Reserve was a pā site and also the place where Māori held a market and sold fruit and vegetables to the early settlers.
Ōhinehou pou in the Sutton Reserve ceremony.
Kōauau o Tāne Whakapiripiri was installed at Ōtūherekio (Pony Point Reserve near Cass Bay). It marks a modern boundary between Rāpaki territory and Kemp’s Deed (a post treaty document). It also marks where Māori called their guests onto the marae (the karanga as part of the pōwhiri). This is an experimental pou as it has a flute-like function built into it that should sound in the easterly wind.
The pou were carved by students from the Whakaraupō Carving Centre Trust in Lyttelton, which teaches the traditional Māori art of carving (whakairo). Tutor Caine Tauwhare uses stories, mythologies and histories and tikanga to ensure that the carvings students produce have a spiritual quality.
‘We need to put more markers in the ground to give significance to the sites where our ancestors, both Māori and European, met, traded and lived. This is something all people in Aotearoa can be proud of,’ said Caine.
Chair of Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Kopa Lee said ‘telling our people’s stories using the pou means our mokopuna, both Māori and Pākehā, will be able to identify with this land and stand tall.’
Caine Tauwhare of the Whakaraupō Carving Centre Trust in Lyttelton explaining the significance of Kōauau o Tāne Whakapiripiri Pou.
Deputy mayor, Ngaire Button, accepted the gifting on behalf of the council. ‘Placing the pou is a way of celebrating the goodwill and sharing between Pākehā and Māori that happened in early colonial times and this is a genuine bicultural acknowledgement of the histories of Christchurch and the harbour basin.’
Photos and words courtesy of Joanna Bean, Christchurch City Council.
Marae hosting
During September we hosted the Airdmhor Montessori Kōhanga Reo group, which included Craig Pauling and his tamariki, a one-day Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu meeting, Ngāi Tahu Education Hui, Banks Peninsula Water Zone Committee Hui, Rangiruru Early Childhood visit, and Te Waka Trust.
In the school holidays, whānau (Pirikahu) from Taranaki (Ngā Rauru) brought their tamariki to Ōtautahi for a hīkoi, including a visit to Rāpaki. There were six adults and 19 tamariki in total (not including the whānau who live here – who are also included in the picture).
Visiting from Canada at the moment, are five members of the Saddle Lake First Nations Reserve who are entrusted with investing the income from their natural gas and oil ventures. This is a follow-up to the visit from the Blue Quills College in early July facilitated by Marilyn Shirt who is married to our own Rewi Couch.
Rewi would like to thank Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu for hosting both groups, and giving them insight as to how whānau from the Settlement through programmes such as Whai Rawa, Fisheries, Property and so on.
New role for Hawera head kindergarten teacher
Congratulations to Judith Nowotarski (Rangiwananga) who was voted in as national president of New Zealand Education Institution (NZEI), Te Riu Roa at the institute’s annual meeting in Rotorua. Judith, who has tribal affiliations to Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāi Tahu and Ngā Puhi, is the first person from the early childhood sector to hold the role of president of NZEI, and is looking forward to taking up the two-year appointment early next year.
Ripapa Island
Recently I was lucky enough to take a trip to Ripapa Island accompanied by Riki Pitama and two Department of Conservation (DoC) workers who were going across to assess the damage to the buildings and land for their insurers. We travelled in a small pleasure boat in choppy and freezing conditions. On arrival the two DoC workers went ahead to make sure it was safe for us to carry on after Riki did karakia for us. It was sad to see where masonry had fallen over and half the chimney had come down, but on the whole the building was in reasonable condition. When the DoC workers went inside, it was plain to them that quite a bit of damage had been sustained and the restoration would require a lot of work and money. When we left to come home, the black backed gulls and Canadian geese gave us a raucous send off.
Rāpaki waiata kapa haka practices
Practices have started and will continue from now until performance day at Te Atakura being held this year on Saturday 24 November at Lincoln Events Centre.