Te Hau Mutunga blessed

Ngā Mate o ngā whānau o Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha hoki haere ki te whare o ngā tūpuna haere, haere, haere atu rā. Kia ora whānau o Waihōpai ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter holiday. I did. I got pipis, fresh water kōura and watercress with the whānau from Chaslands and Owaka. Awesome whānau.

Enough of that – things are moving along quite well here in Waihōpai, the jewel of the south. Our kitchen and toilets are just about done – thank goodness, as it’s been 10 years plus in the making. There’s been lots of little hui going on at marae and around town, that I’ve been busy attending. We had a tikaka wānaka at Invercargill prison and it went very, very well, just like the last 30-plus we’ve done from here to Wellington.

We are looking forward to getting back to normal at the marae, as we do have a lot of hui booked in this month and beyond. For the ladies (tāua) of the kitchen it will be all go – more sweat, tears and laughter, why? Because we will have a new part-time cook.

Our urupā and the new gateway, Te Hau Mutunga, have been blessed; and the re-interment of our kōiwi has been very exciting for iwi Māori here in Waihōpai. Have we not had just the best of sunny days this summer – tanned and sunburnt people everywhere. I hope you’ve all had a good summer. Not much more from me, but I would like to thank the whānau from Taumutu for taking the time to hui with us. Thank you very much, arohanui to you all. To the whānau in Te Ika o Maui and overseas, don’t forget to send us photos and news of you and your families. We like to know how you are. Arohanui whānau. Nā Squirrel on the hill.

Left to right: Michael Skerrett, Jane Davis, Rino Tirikatene, Stephen Bragg, Marcia Te Au Thomas, Winsome Skerrett, Riki Cherrington, Ora Barron.