CPIT Rakatahi Awards
Congratulations to Ariana Reihana (Yr 12) who was a winner in the Te Rau Tītapu section at the CPIT Rakatahi Awards. This award recognised her excellence in te reo Māori NCEA level 1. These awards are aimed at encouraging and recognising outstanding achievements among Māori students and to encourage positive engagement of Māori learners in education. Te mutunga kē mai o te pai Ariana.
CPIT’s Megan Grace on stage with recipient Ariana Reihana.
Tuahiwi marae update
Come and have a look at me now. I’ve got glass doors, glass windows and the ablution block is all up for showers and other things. My sister the wharekai is oh so lovely and of course our porch is looking good.
They are now pulling down all the scaffolding from around the wharenui so come up and have a look.
Three of our staff (Rex, Denise and Johnny) went down to Ngāi Tahu to pick up our furniture and what-not’s that were stored there. A job well done.
The wharekai has sliding doors and they are looking so lovely. The sun shines all day on the porch, so when summer comes it will be lovely. The boys are going into suss out the kitchen arrangements. I can’t tell you much about the wharenui, what’s going on inside. Will have to wait till it’s finished. As for the wharekai, well when I can see inside when the sun shines, it’s awesome.
I did not go into the wharenui because being a woman the whare wasn’t blessed, and that was not my time to go in. So as we were told it’s a community hall. Don’t know where the yarn came from, but to us who have been there since day one it is our wharenui. I was also told it is only a building, so true but a lovely one. It’s a pretty big job and it’s getting done.
As you all know Rik Tau (Snr) is away in Aussie where it is very warm. But by the time you read this he will be home. Well when he left he showed, Rex, Denise and myself where and how he wanted the waharoa facing. But at the rūnanga meeting other ideas came up. So we are waiting for him to come home, which will mean things may take a bit longer. Never mind, we’ll wait till it’s finished.
Our Aunty Joan is also away having a wee break from our rainy weather. But by the time you read this she will be home preparing for another holiday, maybe Hawaii or Rarotonga. You never know we might all go, what do you think about that?
Had one day off this month because it was poker machine day. We had a couple of visitors from Environment Canterbury, Nare and Narrelle, nice to see them. They didn’t stay long, so out to my throne to sit in the sun.
Well I had a week off so I could be with our, tāua, aunty, niece and very good friend Maruhaeremuri (Aunty Kui), as you all know passed away.
Aunty Kui sat a whole week with me and my whānau when my baby Danny passed away. The boys would pick her up in the morning and Roberta would take her home after karakia. So Aunty Kui, I am going to miss you very, very, much. On the day Aunty Kui got buried it rained so hard at the urupā that everyone got wet. Not me, I told my moko who was driving me, to drive in and park beside Danny’s grave. Well! Everyone was wondering who was coming in by car. So Joan said it would only be Patricia and Patricia it was. Well my moko and I sat in the car and didn’t get wet. But, let me tell you it didn’t rain in Rangiora or even past the marae, nor anywhere else – so think about that one.
I haven’t been writing much lately because I have been home watching the Olympic Games. I don’t miss a blow, up all night and sleep half the day.
Well (Pete) the boy who used to give me info about inside the whare has left and gone to Australia. He reckons bigger money. He was one of the first boys to start building the whare. Never mind Pete, have a good trip. We are going to miss his cheeky ways.
Our sympathies go out to the King whānau, Takahanga, Stone family Rāpaki, Hopkinson whānau, Ngāi Tūāhuriri and our lovely lady Marama Leonard-Higgins.
Nā
Patricia Silk–Anglem.
Tuahiwi Māori Woman’s Welfare League
Our bus trip to Blenheim for the regional hui 31 August – 2 September left Ōtautahi at 7.45am, it was supposed to leave at 8.30am, oh well lucky I was dressed at 5am.
Pani, Joan, Clare (who was the driver, so cool) and I called in to Kaikōura for kai. We also stopped to go in to the urupā at Mangamaunu so Clare could take in a lovely spray of putiputi for her dad for Father’s Day.
I saw lots of jobs along the way to Blenheim where 70+ can work on the council. Holding the lollipop sticks, which says stop/go, you can sit on the chair and just turn it around (cool eh). Well when we called into Kaikōura for kai that was the end of the Jenny Craig diet. But, when we got to Blenheim, how could we refuse roast pork, roast beef, five vegies, all sorts of sauces, pavlova, fruit salad, baked jam tarts, chocolate mousse and ice cream and so nicely presented.
We arrived at our motel about 2pm, settled in then went to go to the club for the pōwhiri, but our car packed a saddy. Clare rang Frank as we were all booked at the same motel, and we went with him.
Leah brought us home. Oh by the way, Leah is Honore Tau’s daughter and Aunty Muri and Pōua Jim Tau’s granddaughter. After the meeting finished we had kai. It was so lovely, sausages, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, little savoury tarts, baked beans and pancakes with maple syrup. How could you refuse all the goodies. Finish dieting, after the nationals at end of month, by then it will be Christmas (well there you go).
We did very well at the hui competitions. Below is our glowing report.
Results of competitions:
Jams and pickles 1st
Cup cakes 1st
Putiputi (harakeke) 1st
Banner (of diamonds) 1st
Book marks 2nd
Also Leah, our glamour girl, won the parade of a Blingy Dress Competition.
Nā
Patricia Silk–Anglem.
He Toki ki te Rika – Amos Neate stepping up!
He Toki ki te Rika (Māori Trades Training) carpentry student Amos Neate had a chat with the Minister for Social Development And Employment, Hon. Paula Bennett recently.
As part of his He Toki training, Amos Neate was on a work placement with Hawkins Construction at the Christchurch International Airport when the minister visited for a firsthand update on skills training for the Christchurch rebuild.
Amos admitted to a few nerves before meeting the minister, however ‘she was quite laid back and not formal’, he said.
‘It was good to see someone from the top coming to have a look around. I’m quite proud of being in He Toki so to tell her how I felt about it was good. And I’m quite proud to be part of Hawkins too.’
Amos first heard about He Toki through his local marae in Kaikōura and began training at the start of the year. ‘I wanted to gain a qualification and not be a labourer all my life,’ he said.
‘I gave up a job to come here. With a bigger company there are more opportunities and more chance of getting an apprenticeship.’
Amos is now on a three month contract with Hawkins, which has taken him into Christchurch’s red zone and to the airport terminal upgrade.
Having Hawkins on board gave graduates clear pathways to employment. ‘The model is really successful’, he said.
‘It was the best decision I have ever made because I enjoy what I do, knowing there’s a nice reward at the end of the training. It’s a ticket to travel the world and something to always fall back on.’
Support from the He Toki tutors was fantastic, Amos said he also appreciated being part of a proud tradition of Māori Trades Training at CPIT.
Paula Bennett front with Amos Neate behind on the left.
Unclaimed dividends
The Rakaia Incorporation have received certificates of excellence from Fonterra for the grade of milk they are delivering.
The Rakaia Incorporation is very keen to pay out dividends to shareholders from the unclaimed dividends account. To do that they need the names and addresses of any shareholder who believes they are entitled to be paid. They can either email Mark Tynan at; [email protected] or ring 03 366 7154. 
North Canterbury kapa haka celebration
Tuahiwi School organises an annual celebration of kapa haka in the North Canterbury region. This ‘festival’ began in 2006 and has grown steadily. This year’s event was held on Wednesday 12 September and 21 kapa groups took the stage over four sessions.
See the next edition of Te Pānui Rūnaka for stories and photos.