Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke

Te Rūnanga Representative and Alternate Appointment

We are pleased to confirm the re-appointment of Gail Gordon as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Representative, and the appointment of Rueben Radford as Alternate Representative. We wish Gail and Rueben all the best with their appointments and look forward to them representing the interests of our hapū and whānau. We also want to thank Brett Lee for all his mahi as the Alternate Representative and as a rūnanga executive member over the past three years.

Land Succession Project

Our land succession project continues with another successful workshop for whānau in October. Thanks to those that came to meet with whānau: Adele Tikao from Community Law Canterbury, Mike Quinn from Te Puni Kōkiri, George and Casey from the Māori Land Court, and MJ Heu from IRD.

Parihaka Commemoration 2022

It was positive to again be able to again be able to remember the people of Parihaka and share with our local communities.

This year a small team put together a series of events, the first being a film screening of Tātarakihi: The Children Parihaka for local residents, presented by Rukutai from Ngāti Ranginui. The second event was a commemoration event at Rāpaki for the local community who were welcomed to the marae, then a short hikoi to the Parihaka monument. The third event was at the Rose Gardens in Lyttleton, which is the site of the old jail; one of the many spots of the areas where the Parihaka prisoners were held. There was kōrero and waiata followed by a hāngī prepared by the local school children of Lyttelton.

Rangatahi Noho 2023

We are excited to be restarting our rangatahi noho in 2023. Each noho is an opportunity for 10 Ngāti Wheke rangatahi aged 12-16 to come together for five days of whakawhanaungatanga, whakapapa, marae tikanga/ karakia, rongoā, mahinga kai, mau rākau, raranga, waka and pūrākau, and will include a stay on Ōtamahua. There will be always 2-3 experienced supervisors, including at least one wahine and one tāne, as well as some other specialist kaiako for some of the kaupapa.

2023 dates:

• 23-27 Jan 2023

• 17-21 April 2023

• October TBC (either first or second week of school holidays)

Please contact the office asap to find out more.

A beautiful day greeted those who came to Te Rāpaki o Te Rakiwhakaputa for the annual Pioke Pursuit at the end of October.

After a mihi whakatau on the ātea, all the whānau headed down to the carpark and set up to watch the races.

Prizes were awarded but whanaungatanga and oranga were the biggest winners.

Ngā mihi nui ki Te Waka Pounamu and all our whānau and local kaihoe who helped make another great day.

More tamariki and rangatahi are getting on their education pathways with an action plan identifying their aspirations and the barriers to achieving those aspirations. The rūnanga can also assist with overcoming those barriers. The WEAP planning process is simple, and available to our Ngāti Wheke whānau wherever you live. Please contact Lynette Cotterill for assistance (lynette.cotterill@ngaitahu.iwi.nz 0273133951).