Kete

Chairperson's message Whakarongo ki te tangi ā te manu Tui, tui, tuituiā Tuiā i runga, tuiā i raro, tuiā i roto, tuiā i waho Tuiā te here tangata Ka rongo te pō, ka rongo te…

The name of our maunga Whakapunake is Whakapunake-o-te-matau-ā-Māui-tikitiki-ā-Taranga. Meaning the causing [of the maunga] to become the receptacle of the fishhook of Māui-topknot-of-Taranga. This refers to the maunga as the figurative repository of the legendary jaw bone of Muri-ranga-whenua, from which was fashioned the fishhook used to raise Te Ika-ā-Māui (north island) from the depths of the sea.

This is the first newsletter for the trust and forms part of a larger communications plan for the organisation. Much like our social media posts the newsletter is aimed at telling our whānau about what we’re up to. You may also notice a lot of newspaper and media articles about us which is also a part of our plan. These media articles are aimed at the wider public and promote what we are doing and how we can do more.

In February, the Ōrākau Remembrance Bill was passed into law. Hon Tama Potaka, the Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti, presented the bill, which acknowledges the Ōrākau battle site as one of the most significant locations in New Zealand’s history. This battle, fought in March 1864, marked a turning point in the New Zealand Wars, and the loss of life and whenua (land) deeply affected the whānau, hapū, and iwi of Waikato.