The weather gods have continued to send us a mixed bag of weather here on Poutini. Although there have been some hints of raumati here, with Tamanui-te-raki shining brightly, we have also had more than our fair share of rain, which is keeping everything looking green and lush.

We have had a busy month and it doesn’t look to be slowing down. In February we saw three wonderful kaupapa brought to fruition, with the completion and handing over of a Poutini Taoka to Te Matatini, the unveiling and blessing of Oi Manawa a kōhatu mauri specially sourced from our rohe and gifted to the Christchurch Earthquake Memorial and the blessing and unveiling of Ka maumahara tātou ki a rātou, a kōhatu mauri gifted to the Westland-Hokitika RSA – adding a further link in “He ara roimata”, a trail of tears circling Te Waipounamu and up to Waiouru.

We also spent two days at our marae with the Department of Conservation (DoC) working on relationships, partnership in practice and how we will work together going forward. This led well into planning for the Westland National Park Plan Review which is currently being worked on. This is an excellent opportunity for us to see how the partnership works in reality as we pick up the pen to write the plan with DoC, and guide the journey within the National Park.

He pēpi

Tia Waitaiki Winiata, mokopuna of Marie Mahuika-Forsyth was welcomed into the world early 26 February weighing 8lb 5 ozs by her Mama Amber Forsyth and Papa Kemp Winiata, big brother Khaison and big sister Amara.

Tia Waitaiki Winiata.

Bach for sale

Only for descendants of traditional land owners and hapū members. Peter and Heather Orr wish to offer their bach for sale at a sale price of $130,000.

Expressions of Interest for Lot 1 – DP3882, Block XIV Bruce Bay to be sent to: The Secretary, Mahitahi Ahu Whenua Trust, PO Box 255, Hokitika 7842 or email: Rachael.forsyth@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Rūnaka website

For those of you who have not had a chance to check out our newly launched website, we invite you to do so: www.makaawhio.maori.nz registered members can access a members only section which allows them to access more information than anyone else visiting the site. All passwords have been emailed and posted out to whānau but if you have not received one yet please contact the office to confirm current address.

e-pānui rūnaka

These are sent by e-mail and can be accessed via a link in the members section of our website. If you have not received a copy please contact the office and let us know your e-mail address and we will add you to our whānau e-mail group. Let us know what you think and make sure you let us know if you have news and titbits to share. This will be a fortnightly pānui, so there will be plenty of room for contributions.

Maramataka

Mark your calendar. If you need more information, please contact the office. Nau mai, haere mai.

Hui Harikoa
To celebrate and acknowledge Tā Mark’s contribution as kaiwhakahaere a Hui Harikoa will be held on the 29 April at Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae.  Arrangements are still being finalised but please note your diary and send us an e-mail if you intend to come.

First Aotea Wānaka
To be held 22-24 April at Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae. A separate pānui has been sent with more detail.

Anzac Day
ANZAC Day and the potential launch of the new Kāi Tahu WWI book (launch yet to be confirmed).  This is an annual celebration commencing around 10.30am and finishing around 2pm.

Keeping in contact

Our recent mail outs have resulted in a lot of returned mail, which means our efforts to ensure that our membership database is up-to-date, still needs plenty of work. Members can help by contacting the office and checking we have correct address and e-mail contact details for you, your tamariki and/or your mokopuna.

Facebook: makaawhio.blogspot.co.nz; Twitter: @makaawhio; phone 03 755 7885 email: susan.wallace@ngaitahu.iwi.nz or Rachael.forsyth@ngaitahu.iwi.nz Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki. Mauri ora.

Our Komiti Mātauraka wishes to announce that we have a range of scholarships available. Applications are now being accepted for the following pūtea tautoko. Application forms can be accessed via the rūnaka website or by contacting the office.

Whaia te mātauraka

Secondary boarding school scholarship
These scholarships are open to Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio registered students attending secondary boarding school (especially Māori boarding schools), who meet a set of criteria aimed at demonstrating commitment to kaupapa Māori, our rūnanga, hapū and iwi. An application pack can be accessed via the rūnanga office. Applications close 31 March 2017.

Rakatahi matatū Māhaki

These grants are aimed at enabling our Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio registered rakatahi to participate in leadership and growth opportunities, particularly tribal and Makaawhio wānaka and hīkoi. There is no closing date for this grant, however, once the annual amount has been distributed, no further grants will be available. Application forms can be downloaded from the rūnaka website or are available from the office.

Rakatahi mātātoa Māhaki

Applications are open to Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio registered rakatahi, who meet registration and application criteria, to assist rakatahi who represent their region or Aotearoa in cultural, sporting, arts or leadership fields. There is no closing date for this grant, however, once the annual amount has been expended, no further grants will be available for that year. An application form is available via the rūnaka website or the office.

During the wānaka, I was captivated by the source of knowledge that our tribe holds within our tangata whenua. Trying to soak up every word that was spoken as I wrote quotes and phrases down, glancing at the new resources I was given and enjoying the new “lateral whakapapa connections” I was making with all the other wānaka participants/whānau.

One of the many things that really stuck out for me was that “to know where you are going, you must first know where you have come from”. Hence this particular wānaka was about our history as Ngāi Tahu and the Settlement which is only one chapter of Ngāi Tahu but granted, a very important chapter of the tribe. And that each generation has its own cause, so what will be ours? For myself, I believe that we need to be “cultivating our culture”. And as I am not a te reo speaker, my task is to learn, speak and show more of my culture so that I may teach my tamariki. “To feed the mind, you must also feed the body”. So chur to the whānau at Tuahiwi for the mean feeds during the weekend – I am still talking about them too! I could talk more about this humbling experience I was lucky to be involved in but Te Pānui Rūnaka probably will not want to publish my novel. Just know that I have come back inspired about my hapū and iwi and inspired by the possibilities and prospects that the future holds for us all.
Nā Rachael Forsyth.

Manawa Tītī 2017 at Tuahiwi Marae.

We have had a long relationship with the RSA who had been kaitiaki of a plaque honoring two brothers who left Mahitahi to fight in WWI, never to return. The plaque was returned to us and now features as part of our memorial window in our whare Kaipō, where we hold our Annual ANZAC Day Service.

In recognition of our relationship with the RSA we gifted in aroha a kōhatu mauri pounamu – Ka maumahara tonu tātou ki a rātou. One of a cache of pounamu we extracted from the Cascade Plateau following the passing of the Ngāi Tahu Pounamu Vesting Act 1997. Named  Kā roimata o Totoweka Tears of Totoweka by our people, it is a physical expression of sorrow, pain and the heavy impact of the war not only on our hapū but all Kāi Tahu. To acknowledge the heavy toll, pieces of “Kā roimata o Totoweka” were gifted to each papatipu rūnaka along with a taoka roimata (Tear drop pendant). In completing the gifting of these pieces, a symbolic “trail of tears” throughout Te Waipounamu, which commemorated all Kāi Tahu war dead, was created. Today, the trail, He Ara Roimata, encircles the South Island and northward connecting to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Wellington (pounamu crosses) and to “Tears on Greenstone-Roimata Pounamu” Memorial Wall. On the morning, another link was unveiled and added to the trail – Ka maumahara tātou ki a rātou.

Kōhatu mauri pounamu at the RSA opening.

Named Te Tai-pūkarukaru o Poutini – The gentle rippling waves of the Poutini Coast, by Tahu Pōtiki. Great composition is compared to the Poutini tides, the pictures the language paints and the emotions evoked and roused within every individual who hears the poetry.  The stunning trophy was designed and carved by Poutini artisans, Fayne Robinson and Turi Gibb using the finest pounamu to bring to life the poutini tides-Kahurangi from Ngāti Waewae, Inanga Tahutahi and Aotea from Makaawhio on a base of rimu inlaid with kōwhaiwhai taken from each of our Whare tīpuna.

We were honoured to celebrate te reo-ā-tuhi and the stories they tell. Having handed over the taoka, we were unsure about the process for handover to the winner on finals day. Waitaha Cultural Council Chairwoman, Tāua Ranui Ngarimu did the honours, handing the taoka to Te Mātārae i Ōrehu, a regular top nine contender from Te Arawa.

Te Matatini 2017 took another step up from ours – 47 kapa competing, excellent venues, stalls and manaaki. They picked up on the feedback from our hui and ran with it. Ka mau te wehi Kahungungu.

Te Taoka o Te Tai-pūkarukaru o Poutini.

Ranui Ngarimu presents Te Taoka o Te Tai-pūkarukaru o Poutini.

He pātai nui tēnei…kei whea te raumati?

Here on Poutini we could be forgiven for thinking summer has all but passed us by. Apart from the odd visit from Tama-nui-te-raki, we have been hit with rain and wintery blasts and that’s all before the weather bomb exploded, letting loose so much rain – not even the Poutini could handle the volume.

We have a few catch up stories from 2016 to share this month. We have also had some great celebrations already this year, in what is shaping up to be another busy one.

Tai Poutini Polytechnic Exhibition

On 4 November 2016, the local Polytechnic exhibited the the work of the latest cohort of certificate and diploma students in their hardstone and jade carving course. Makaawhio kaumātua supported the occasion with our Upoko, Richard Wallace providing a karakia. Congratulations to Josey Coyle, Tutoko Wallace-Jones and Josh Tamainu Pu who won awards. Certificate students Josey and Josh were recognised as the most improved (the award Tutoko won last year), and Tutoko was acknowledged for being the Pāpā Bear – tino kaitautoko o te rōpū supporting and helping other students with their mahi and designs, and holding the fort on a couple of occasions. Well done everyone, with a special acknowledgement of Josh (mokopuna of Nan Pu) and Tutoko, two Kāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio descendants creating another generation of kaiwhakairo pounamu. Ka mau te wehi.

Marae news

Bach for sale
Only for descendants of traditional land owners and hapū members.
Peter and Heather Orr wish to offer their bach for sale at a sale price of $130,000.
Expressions of Interest for Lot 1 – DP3882, Block XIV Bruce Bay to be sent to:
The Secretary, Mahitahi Ahu Whenua Trust,
PO Box 255, Hokitika 7842
or email: Rachael.forsyth@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Rūnaka website and e-pānui

For those of you who have not had a chance to check out our newly-launched website, we invite you to do so: www.makaawhio.maori.nz Members can access a members-only section which allows registered members to access more information than anyone else visiting the site. All passwords have been emailed and posted out to whānau. If you have not received one, please contact the office. Our pānui are sent by email and can be accessed via a link in the members section of our website.

Keeping in contact

Our recent mail-outs have resulted in a lot of returned mail, which means our efforts to ensure that our membership database is up-to-date still needs plenty of work. Members can help by contacting the office and checking we have your correct address and email contact details for you, your tamariki and/or your mokopuna.

Facebook: makaawhio.blogspot.co.nz; Twitter: @makaawhio; phone 03 755 7885 email: susan.wallace@ngaitahu.iwi.nz or rachael.forsyth@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki. Mauri ora.

Marae donations

Members have been asking how they can contribute to our marae when they live far away. One way is to make automatic payments into the marae bank account. If this is something you would like to do please note the following details:

Pay to: Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio Inc Marae
Bank account: 01 0797 0636793 02
Details to appear on their bank statement: Surname initials

We have several whānau that have been contributing small but regular payments since the marae opened in 2005. Others have made one-off payments and irregular payments as they want. The amount and frequency of payment is up to you.

We even had a visit from Hana Kōkō, who handed out presents. Another fun day had by all the whānau that came and joined in.

But there could only be one one pair of winners in the end – Mytchel Kirby and Mandy Olson – congratulations. We’ll have to polish up on the dart-throwing and pool ball sinking skills for next year’s competition.

Mytchel Kirby and Mandy Olson, winners of the pairs competition.

I hope you have had a restful break and are looking forward to a great new year.

Our whānau has much to look forward to and many challenges and opportunities as Tai Poutini faces the New Year.

I ask you all to consider how we, as a people with roots deep in the whenua of Tai Poutini, can stand and prosper in Tai Poutini and how you can be part of it. Our executive is looking to reshape our rūnanga to fit the vision and future we are hoping to build. However, nothing comes without work and I invite all of you to our regular rūnanganui hui that we advertise in these pānui and on our website.

We can achieve as much as we dream if we all make our contribution. So nau mai haere mai don’t be whakamā come with us.

Aroha nui, Tim Rochford, Chair.

Tim Rochford.