Murihiku Marae has been having all sorts of hui and different meetings – all good too. Lots of little but essential things have happened like our kaumātua went to see the Māori Quartet and they very much enjoyed it – it was a good night out. We have our community garden going well, some teething problems but otherwise all ka pai and some whānau are being given fresh vegetables grown at Murihiku Marae and it’s a good relationship between us and the community. Excellent job! A big shout out to all our whānau overseas and those that are living away from Murihiku, tēnā koutou ngā whanauka mihi aroha we hope you are all well, cheers whānau. To all the whānau that have had new pēpi congratulations from Waihōpai whānau and the same for all our birthday whānau – a big congratulations to you guys as well. And most importantly to our whānau that have lost a loved one since our last kōrero. Waihōpai sends their condolences and aroha to you all aroha nui.

It’s time for me to hang up my pen for another month and get on with my mahi. Listen folks take very good care of one another arguing and fighting is not good, hugs and laughter are better ka pai. Nā Squirrel on the Hill, hei konei rā Waihōpai Rūnaka.

Murihiku Māori Warden and volunteers at the World Shearing Champs in Invercargill.

Kaumātua at Hilton High Tea.

Nō reira, ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa to the whānau that have lost a loved one, Waihōpai sends their condolences and aroha to you and your whānau, aroha nui. Also a huge congratulations to whānau that have a new addition aroha nui to you and your new pēpi. Cheers whānau. Lastly to all the whānau who have had a birthday over the break, a big congratulations to you all and hope you had a great day.

Sol Somerville attended TOA Sports (Sports training and Indigenous culture) at Ara Institute of Canterbury and was awarded the top student for 2016. Sol is planning to complete a Certificate in Fitness this year at Ara. He is the grandson of the late Sue Somerville and the son of Niels Somerville and Kim Lowe.

Daniel Kahura, Ara Sports Tutor and Sol Somerville at graduation in 2016.

Samantha Te Au

George Te Au’s great-granddaughter, Samantha Te Au was admitted to the Bar as a barrister and solicitor in the Auckland High Court in 2016. Well done, we wish you all the best with your further studies and career.

Samantha Te Au, recently admitted to the Bar.

Have a great month, till then hei konei rā, nā Squirrel on the hill.

What a great leader – a very humble man – thank you very much Tā Mark for taking us all on a fantastic journey of growth for Kāi Tahu, Kāti-Māmoe and Waitaha. You have done your mahi with honour and integrity. You have upheld your mana and your whānau mana as well.

Waihōpai whānau wish you and Lady Maria all the best for the future arohanui to you both.

Kukupa Tirikatene and Tā Mark Solomon at his farewell event at Murihiku Marae.

Welcome back Cyril Gilroy who has been in Australian the past four weeks visiting whānau and catching up with friends. Congratulations to those whānau who have recently had birthdays and celebrated significant events. If you email info@waihopai.org.nz we would love to put these in the next pānui with any photos.

Appointment Committee

Congratulations to the following whānau appointed to the Waihopai Rūnaka Appointment Committee:

• Donald Mowat
• Dorothy Dawn Wybrow
• Ora Barron
• Ailene Stehlin
• Sandra Stile

The committee has commenced its work regarding the appointment of the Waihōpai Rūnaka Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Representative and Alternate Representative and we will notify you of the outcome in due course.

Papatipu rūnanga aspirations

The whānau had a great visit to Christchurch to support the Waihōpai Papatipu Rūnanga Aspirations Group (PRAG) presentation. It was fantastic to see the vision and current work being done by all our Papatipu Rūnanga. For the whānau that weren’t able to attend I recommend going to the Ngāi Tahu website and watching these videos. For Waihōpai we will be referring back to these aspirations on a regular basis at our hui.

Also thank you to Tina, Alice and all the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu team who showed the whānau around Te Whare o Te Waipounamu and spoke with them on different aspects of their work – we greatly appreciated your time and knowledge.

Ōreti Beach memorandum

Waihōpai Rūnaka is pleased to partner with the Department of Conservation, Environment Southland, Invercargill City Council, Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand Police, and the Southland District Council, in establishing a Memorandum of Understanding for Ōreti Beach management. This is a significant piece of work that outlines the roles and responsibilities each party has in relation to the management of Ōreti Beach and clarifies the management roles of the parties that have a statutory interest in Ōreti Beach.

Papatipu rūnaka scholarship

Congratulations to Deborah Paterson who is the recipient of the Waihōpai Rūnaka Papatipu Rūnaka Scholarship 2016. Deborah will be studying towards a Diploma in Farm Management at Lincoln University next year and we wish her all the best for this.

Marae events

We have been fortunate to host a range of hui at the marae. We have had a 21st birthday, schools, government agencies and kapa haka groups. We have a very busy October calendar and will include photos of some of these in next month’s edition.

Rūnaka

We are currently looking at social housing options in Invercargill and working with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu on this. The first step is to gain an understanding of whānau in our rohe and we are looking at developing a profile of qualitative and quantitative information to get clarity around the real needs in Waihopai in relation to housing. We will keep you updated.

There have been heaps of hui happening at the marae including whānau kapa haka challenges and Pūtangitangi competitions, a sign of a promising future for our culture. We had the Māori Women’s Welfare League conference at the marae, a two-day cultural mapping hui down at Te Ao Mārama and what a great turn out there was. Well done team. In August, some of the whānau went to Christchurch to speak on Waihōpai Aspirations and it was great to hear how others are getting on. We will see how everyone has progressed in the next three years, I certainly hope we will have.

Cheers to all the whānau who have had a birthday in the last month, the best of wishes to you all. Anyone who had a wedding in the last month good luck, all the very best to you both from Waihōpai whānau. Last but not least, to all the new babies and new mums that have graced our world, Waihōpai sends massive congratulations on your new addition, aroha nui whānau.

That’s it from me folks, all the best and have a great month. Stay true, be safe, and take care of one another. Cheers. Nā Squirrel on the Hill.

Ailene Stehlin and Mateka Pirini at Te Whare o Te Waipounamu.

Tāua from Waihōpai (and other rūnaka) at Papatipu Rūnaka Aspirations hui.

To all the whānau that are now a year older this month a huge congratulations to you all. I hope you all had a great day, cheers. To all the new mums and dads who have a new member of their family, a very huge congratulations to you all, and the great-granny’s, cheers guys.

A big hello to our whānau who are in Australia, the North Island and far away overseas if you get Te Pānui Rūnaka, a very big hello, ngā mihi aroha kia koutou katoa whānau. I hope you are all keeping in contact with your whānau.

What’s been happening at the marae? Lots of little hui, cruising along, a lot of good things are in the pipeline.

One of our whānau members has brought in a story about her father. Many of us know him as Uncle Rongo or Rongopai and he has always been associated with the Tītī Islands. He was a character, he loved his family, and nothing would stop him from going to the Tītī Islands. A lot of our whānau who are still going there in their 70s and 80s never shy away from hard work. Thank you Merania Spencer – there’s a lot more about this man but you would need a book. Cheers Spencer whānau, arohanui.

Well, that’s it from me take care. I hope you are all warm and if you are not, make sure you get hold of family — stay warm kā pai. Waihōpai Rūnaka sends big love to you all — arohanui whānau. Kā kite. Nā Squirrel on the Hill. Mauri ora.

We have had a few hui recently here at Murihiku Marae. South Alive are a group of people working to make South City Invercargill a beautiful place to be and it’s looking really good too, next time you are in Invercargill go to South City and enjoy — cheers whānau.

Child Youth and Family Services held their meeting here. We have a good relationship with Child Youth and Families Services and have been having great kōrero over the three years this has been taking place. Invercargill City Council staff came up to Murihiku Marae for their cultural experience and really enjoyed it too.

James Hargest College kapa haka group had an excellent noho marae. There was plenty of noise coming from the group. The Otago/Southland campus also had a noho marae for their cultural training and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had a visit from the (hopefully) new Mayor of Wellington, Mr Mick Leggett, his wife Emily and their daughter Maddi.

Remember whānau it’s not hard to say “I love you” — stand up against violence. Kia ora to our Waihōpai whānau outside of paradise. I hope you are all well, let us know how you are and send us some photos please.

Nō reira ngā whānau ki te whānau o ngā mate, aroha nui, aroha nui, aroha nui our deepest condolences for your loss Waihōpai Rūnaka whānau. Ngā mihi aroha,
ki a koutou katoa.

Nā Squirrel on the Hill.

Rodney Trainor and his team of whale bone cleaners that were looked after by Waihōpai Rūnaka.

Invercargill City Council staff at the marae for their cultural experience.

Marcia, Tiaki and Jodi at graduation.

Waihōpai Rūnaka Incorporated

Notice to Intention to Hold a Postal Ballot
Waihōpai Rūnaka Incorporated (“the Rūnaka”) wishes to inform current and potential members of the Rūnaka of its intention to conduct a postal ballot for the purposes of electing the members of the Rūnaka’s Appointment Committee. Once elected, the Appointment Committee will be responsible for appointing the Representative and Alternate Representative of the Rūnaka to represent the interests of the Rūnaka at meetings of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Please note only those people who have established their entitlement to be members of the Rūnaka and are registered with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu before 5pm on Wednesday, 3 August 2016 will receive voting papers for this postal ballot. All persons eligible to become a member of the Rūnaka are encouraged to apply to be registered with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Members of the Rūnaka who have previously been registered are encouraged to ensure that their contact details as held by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu are correct.

Appointment Committee Nominations

Waihōpai Rūnaka is also calling for nominations for the Appointment Committee and you can contact the Waihōpai Rūnaka Office Telephone: 03 216 9074, Fax: 03 216 9916 or email: info@waihopai.org.nz for information regarding criteria and nomination forms. Written forms and requirements are to be received by the Waihōpai Rūnaka office before 5pm on Wednesday, 3 August 2016, to: Waihōpai Rūnaka Office, PO Box 7017, Invercargill 9812.