Update from the marae

Kia ora whānau. Well springtime has finally arrived and we hope those whitebaiters amongst you are enjoying a bountiful harvest. It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner!

If you have enjoyed a birthday in the last month or have new additions to your whānau, congratulations and very best wishes for the year ahead. Over the last month, the executive komiti has been busy attending and organising a number of hui.

Takutai o Te Tītī Marae has been used for a number of hui over the last month, which meant a busier than usual time for the volunteer helpers in the kitchen. If you would like to help out at the marae in any way, whether it be in the kitchen, the nursery, the grounds or in any capacity at all, please contact the office.

Technology

With the introduction of iPads, some of us have needed to be up skilled on the use of them.

Shona Fordyce and Dave Taylor being guided by Jason. Jason has been of great help to everyone with his IT knowledge.

Strong start on road to All Black cap

By Tim Miller

For most rugby players scoring one try is an achievement but for Reuben Wairau (11) it is something he does about six times a game. This season the Kaikorai Valley College pupil scored 96 tries for his team, the Dunedin Rugby Club under-11 ‘Tiger Sharks’- a total of 480 points. The most points scored by a player in premier rugby in Dunedin was 235.
Reuben averaged six tries a game. His dream is to play for Otago or Southland, the province where he was born, and the Highlanders, and eventually to rise to the rank of All Black. And he might have the genes to help him – his grandfather Kevin Laidlaw played 17 games, including three test matches, for the All Blacks.

Reuben, who started playing rugby when he was six, said scoring tries had always come pretty easy. His shelves are full of the trophies he has won over the past five seasons, including this year’s most valuable player trophy and one for most points scored in junior rugby.
Tiger Sharks coach John Tili said at the start of the season Reuben did not know what position he wanted to play. ‘So I threw him in to No 8 and he took to that straight away, and he was scoring tries left, right and centre,’ Mr Tili said.

However, Reuben was just one of two or three effective line-breakers in the team and teams did not know who to look for when they played the Tiger Sharks, Mr Tili said

Photo: Tim Miller
Source: Otago Daily Times.

Touching down for a try is a familiar feeling for Kaikorai Valley College pupil Reuben Wairau (11), who scored 96 tries and a total of 480 points this season for the Dunedin Rugby Club under-11s.

Karanga wānanga

The karanga wānanga was held at the marae on the first weekend of September. This was an awe-inspiring learning experience and the weekend was greatly enjoyed by those who took part.

Karanga wānanga.

Department of Conservation hui

The Department of Conservation monitoring group stayed at the marae from 11 to 15 September followed by another group on 20 and 21 September. These groups did some awesome mahi around our marae. The mahi included re-cladding the shed, preparing gardens and the greenhouse for planting, putting new shade cloth and windbreak around the nursery and much more. Takutai o Te Tītī is a very special place which is visited by people from all over Aotearoa. So a big thank you to the Department of Conservation and all the volunteers who completed these long overdue tasks.

Tāne tautoko hui

The tāne tautoko hui took place at Rarotoka from 21 to 23 September with some 15 participants. Despite the scepticism from some quarters (mainly female), the whole event was organised with the precision of a military exercise! This hui focused on the many issues that are confronting Māori males, from their many roles in society to how best to support each other in those roles.

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