Awarua Rūnaka

Tēnā koutou katoa, Te Rau Aroha Marae Tūhura Tuarangi

Te Rau Aroha Marae has been very busy with bookings. We had the privilege of hosting the opening of Tūhura Tuarangi Aotearoa in space – Otago Museum’s science showcase.

We started with a pōwhiri to welcome everyone. The Bluff School kapa haka group attended and their performance was amazing. After the pōwhiri, kai was shared and this was followed by astronaut, Dr Shannon Walker opening the roadshow.

Dr Shannon Walker is possibly the first astronaut to visit Bluff.

He has spent a year in space in total over two missions to the International Space Station. Local school students and guests got the opportunity to explore the show case and to ask Dr Walker questions – everything from how do you sleep to what do you eat.

Dr Andrew Mills from Tūhura Otago Museum and our marae co-ordinator, Gina Ryan both agreed they could not have picked a better place for this event. Surrounded by the beautiful carvings and the connection to space was fantastic.

This science roadshow consisted of many hands-on science interactive activities to partake in. It included a four-billion-year-old meteorite, virtual space tours, building a satellite, launching rockets and generating your own clean green fuel that might be the future of travelling in space.

Southland Girls High School pupil Sophie Ineson, twice national winner of the NASA scientist for a day essay competition spoke with enthusiasm and encouraging words for the younger students to reach for the stars.

The event was held from Monday 31October –Tuesday 1 November with a public session on the Monday night 5-7pm.

We had our very own space enthusiast Nico Goodman (9) who went all out and came along in his astronaut costume.

New Zealand Order of Merit for Estelle Leask

I had the honour and privilege of watching my beautiful Aunty Estelle receive her New Zealand Order of Merit at Government House in Wellington – an acknowledgement of all the years of hard mahi being an environmental kaitiaki of the whenua!

To say that I was proud would be a complete understatement. I sat with my lovely whānau who couldn’t stop smiling and beaming with such pride and admiration! The smiles in the photo speak volumes! It was such an honour to be there, to see you receive your tohu Aunty Estelle.

Thank you for being such a shining example of what passion, dedication, commitment, and hard work can achieve for me, my tamariki and all our whānau. Kaiporohu Williams thank you for giving the best Haka Tautoko for your Aunty! Not a dry eye in the whare! You bought our ancestors and whānau from afar front and centre into that room.

Nā Sarah Lee Bragg.

Rangatahi Zone 2022

Te Rau Aroha Marae was one of the many venue hosts for 1500 plus rangatahi from all over Murihiku who descended onto the streets of Bluff for three days in search of their favourite activity. The rain, wind and snow failed to stop them attending during the October school holidays.

Based on the famous ILT Kid Zone format, a team of locals pulled together a similar event targeted at rangatahi aged 10-18 years with the support of Jay Coote’s Tuurama Trust, raising $70,000 in funding to reduce any financial barriers for our rangatahi to participate. Huge thanks to our funders Invercargill City Council, Te Pūtahitanga, Well South, ILT Foundation, Vodafone Foundation, NZAS, South Port, Te Puni Kōkiri, Tu Manawa Active Southland Fund, Lions Foundation, Mataura Licensing Trust and Hokonui Rūnaka.

We had over 80 organisations involved, over 140 kaimahi who themselves or their organisation’s donated their time, and a dedicated hard-working Nanny and Koro team to tautoko the activities. We also had zone sponsors Te Rau Aroha Marae, Te Rūnaka o Awarua, Ngā Kete Matauranga Pounamu, Waihōpai Rūnaka

Hauora Services, Shine the Light in Dark Places, Whānau Consultancy Services, Awarua Whānau Services, Motu Pōhue Bluff Hill Trust and Hokonui Health Services

There were over 45 different activities spread across eight venues within walking distance of four street blocks. Our top activities were the axe throwing, Gaming by Your Corps, Smash It Room, Beauty and Hair barbers, making waffles and wontons. We had a range of other activities including making jewellery and body scrubs to take home, canvas artwork, traditional dress photo shoot, tree planting, pulling apart old heat pumps, virtual reality, weaving, poi making, and our all-important Wairua zone providing some healing to our rangatahi.

Here are some of the comments from our rangatahi: “Had so much fun would love to go again thank you for doing this for u.s” ”Best week of my whole year.”

“Everyone was so nice, had a great experience. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe.”

Te Rau Aroha Marae would like to especially thank all of the generous people at Prime Range, Mataura Alliance, Goodman Fielder, Kiwi Harvest Sanford Bluff and South City Party Nibbles who donated supplies. These suppliers helped us feed our kaimahi and rangatahi, and to provide ingredients for all the activities including Hayz at the Anchorage for Wonton and Chips, the Lodge team Bruce and Elaine Pagan, Danielle Stockwell and whānau who all made hundreds of waffles and cupcakes.

The organising crew: Jay Coote, Sumaria Beaton, Tami Topi, Sarah Lee Bragg, Elly Williams, Ferne Ryan, Gina Ryan, Jasmine Heads-Savage, Estelle Pera-Leask, Tania Allen, Serena Lyders, Alyiah Homes, Tere Junior Ngu, Rayanna Thompson and Raniera Dallas would like to thank everyone for the generous tautoko and look forward to the continued support next year.

Office News

You are probably reading this pānui because you are a whānau member registered with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, but you might not be aware that some Papatipu Rūnanga (including us) have their own membership lists. For more information, or to register with Awarua Rūnaka contact us by calling 03 212 8652 or emailing Meriani, office@awaruarunaka.iwi.nz

Updating your Membership Details:

It is important to inform us of any change of address, phone number or email address for us to keep our records up-to-date as well.

Korowai Wānanga

If you are interested in attending a Korowai Wānanga please email office@awaruarunaka.iwi.nz for a registration form. This is a great way to learn how to make korowai and meet others on their journey to make theirs. We are still accepting registrations for this although currently we are not having overnight stays at our marae.