Kia ora whānau,
Well, Christmas has crept up on us pretty quickly! Where has the year gone? If you have enjoyed a birthday in the last month or have any new additions to your whānau, congratulations. The very best wishes for the year ahead.

Over the past month the office has been busy organising the printing and distribution of the our annual report. By now everybody should have a copy of this document, received either electronically or by hard copy. If however you have not received one and would like to, they can be downloaded from the Ngāi Tahu website: http://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/Te-Runanga/Papatipu-Runanga/Oraka-Aparima/ or alternatively please contact the office for a hard copy.

The marae has been well utilised over the last month with the Cultural Mapping Hui and visits from Invercargill Middle School and Riverton Kindergarten. If the volume of cards we have received in the office is a measure of success then it is fair to say these visits were greatly enjoyed by all those who took part!

The vegetable gardens and the tunnel house at the marae have now been planted out and are ticking along nicely. If you are keen to volunteer to water or weed during the season, or are interested in working in the nursery, once again please contact the office with your details.

Finally a big thanks to all of the volunteers who have contributed to the mahi of the rūnaka over the last year. Your presence is vital to our existence. The successes of the various projects both ongoing and new is testament to your dedication and commitment to Ōraka Aparima whānau. Nāku te rourou nāu te rourou ka ora ai te iwi.

Office hours during the festive season

Office closes 12pm, Friday 21 December,
re-opens 9am, Monday 14 January.

Have a joyful and safe Christmas and a happy New Year.

Ka mau te wehi Ōraka-Aparima rōpū kapa haka

Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka would like to congratulate our kapa haka group who performed at Hui-ā-Iwi.

They were fantastic on Te Atakura stage! They had the ‘āhua’ of a rōpū that have been doing kapa haka for a while, ka mau te wehi whānau. Congratulations also for winning the ‘People’s Choice’ prize. This prize was sponsored by the Waitaha Cultural Council in support of Te Atakura to develop and inspire new kapa haka rōpū thoughout the motu. It was fitting that the people who attended chose Ōraka Aparima Rūnaka. Thank you to the wonderful people behind the scenes who worked so hard, are dedicated to the group, and did such a wonderful job of getting everyone up to scratch and ready to perform. Well done.

Congratulations to the organisers of Hui-ā-Iwi

From all reports, the weekend of events was nothing short of spectacular. Everyone who we have spoken to that attended has nothing but high praise for all the hard work and effort that went into making the weekend most enjoyable. Kaumātua were looked after and treated like royalty.