Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio

Kāi Tahu whānui, tēnā koutou katoa!

Nei anō te mihi maioha o Kāti Māhaki ki a koutou katoa.

Nei rā hoki te mihi aroha, te mihi poroporoaki ki kā mate huhua kua hika mai, kua hika atu. Ki a rātou katoa kua hika, haere, haere, haere atu rā. Moe mai koutou i te rakimārie.

E te manukura, Matua Terry, e te Pōua, haere atu rā, hoea tōu waka ki Hawaiki nui, Hawaiki roa, Hawaiki Pamamao

We join our iwi in mourning the loss of our taonga, Terry Ryan. We acknowledge his extraordinary commitment and mahi over many years. He was a friend to so many and we are especially grateful for the support he offered to our hapū members and rūnanga when we were becoming established.

Ka maumahara tonu mātou ki a koe.

Rātou ki ā rātou, tātou anō ki a tātou. Tēnā anō tātou katoa!

Hui-ā-Tau

The Hui-a-tau was held in October back at Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae for the first time in two years, so it was great to have such a good turnout of rūnanga members attending. It was especially fantastic to see so many young enthusiastic whānau and a massive thank you to everyone and their hard mahi in the kitchen and the clean-up – many hands make light work.

Paul Madgwick

We would like to congratulate Paul Madgwick who was elected unopposed as Kaiwhakahaere at our recent elections.

Newly elected member Steve McLaren and re-elected member Kathleen Scott-Langi were welcomed and retiring member Shannon Mahuika was thanked for his contributions during the past three years.

Whānau were offered pounamu and aotea at discounted prices before our website launch, it was heart-warming to see so many whānau wearing their taonga with great pride.

Paul Madgwick took whānau on a tour of our whenua and explained the different blocks' history, land use and importance to Makaawhio.

Waitangi Day 2023

Preparations are underway for Waitangi Day, Monday 6th February 2023. This will run in conjunction with Ngāti Waewae and the Westland District Council.

This event will be held at Te Tauraka Waka a Māui Marae, Bruce Bay. The commemoration will begin at 10:30am with a pōwhiri, hāngī for lunch, followed by a history kōrero from Poutini Ngāi Tahu story tellers. There will be plenty of activities and games for tamariki.

We will have a bus running (possibly two depending on numbers) with limited seats from Arahura to Bruce Bay. Please contact the office 03 755 7885, or email Makaawhio.Admin@ngaitahu.iwi.nz to register your interest.

Ross School Visit

Ross School popped down for a night’s visit. Tamariki were excited and engaged with the kōrero of the house. The Tamariki had learned waiata and karakia before they came and were keen to show their hosts what they had learned.

Ka pai Ross School, you are a great little bunch of students, and we look forward to hosting you again in the future.

South Island U18s Scorpions: Aston Wilson

Aston was selected to trial for the South Island U18s Scorpions early August, after playing in the SZRL tournament in July for the West Coast. After many weeks of travelling to Christchurch three times a week for training and trial games, Aston earnt a spot in the final squad to travel to Rotorua to compete in the NZRL National Youth Tournament. Teams included: Upper Central Stallions, Mid Central Vipers, Waikato Mana, Wellington Orcas, Auckland Vulcans, Akarana Falcons, Counties Manukau Stingrays and the South Island Scorpions. The Scorpions played Waikato, Akarana Falcons and Mid Central Vipers in the pool play, after remaining unbeaten they went on to play their semi-final against Auckland Vulcans, and once again winning, this left them facing Counties Manukau in the Grand Final. Unfortunately, they were unlucky to not bring home the win, losing 26-12. An extremely valiant effort from the team – and an amazing opportunity for Aston to experience.

Upcoming Events:

December 19th Office closes for Christmas

January 7th Kumara Races, information will be sent out closer to the time

January 16th Office re-opens

February 17th Secondary Schools Scholarship Applications close. Please make sure your whānau contact details are up to date.