Ka huri te tiro o te manu nei ki ngā awe tapu o Ngāi Tahu whānui i tuohu i te mahara o tō tātou whanaunga kua hoki atu i runga i te karanga o tō tātou nei ūkaipō. Rātou ngā ihoiho o te pō, ngā manu piro o te nehenehe o Tāne koinei te whāriki aroha kua horahia.

Nō reira ki a koutou kua takahia te Ara Whānui o Tāne e kore e mutu ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa mō ā koutou mahi, ko ō koutou ringaringa kua raupā i te nui o ngā mahi kua mahia mō tātou, ā, mō ngā uri whakaheke. Tūhono atu koutou ki te tuna heke i te rangi, kātahi, e ngā whetū i pīata mai nei hai tohu mō rātou i hoki atu ki Te Pūtahitanga o Rehua ki te aroaro hā o tō tātou nei Atua. Moe mai rā i reira, okioki atu rā.

Rātou ki a rātou, tātou ki a tātou ngā kanohi ora, ā, ka huri, ka mātai te manu nei ki a tātou o te whānau whānui o Te Waka o Aoraki. Mauri ora ki a tātou.

E ako au ki te haka, e ako au ki te ringaringa
E ako au ki te wherawhera, e, kāore te wherawhera
E ako ki te kōwhiti, e, kāore te kōwhiti
E kōwhiti nuku, e kōwhiti rangi
E kōwhiti puapua, e kōwhiti werawera
E hanahana a tinaku e
Hi!

Congratulations

A big mihi to all the performers in our three local groups who performed at the National Te Matatini Kapa Haka competition in Rotorua: Te Ahikōmau a Hamoterangi, Te Kotahitanga and Ngā Manu a Tāne, kai ruka noa atu. We are looking forward to 2015, when we host Te Matatini in Ōtautahi.

Kawa of the drains

Wairewa rūnanga is the recognised kaitiaki of Te Roto o Wairewa and the tāngata tiaki are their gazetted representatives. We are trying to restore the customary fishery and our traditions around the lake. Below is the kawa of the drains:
Weekly limit of 200 eels only per permit
Permit must be held while fishing
Permits will be available from our office, if enough notice is given, or from tāngata tiaki
No catch returns, no more permits, no excuses
No fishing in the canal
Fishing in drains only (no tubbing)
This is a customary fishery (no sale of eels)
Help to clean drains
No walking in the drains
No crossing or bridging drains
Only take as many as you can clean and process
The season is from February to April only
Catch tally must be returned to tangata tiaki who signed it before issuing the next permit
Have consideration for others while using lights
Keep noise to a minimum at all times
Season ends when the big females arrive or when tangata tiaki decide
If fishery continues to decline we may have to consider a rāhui
No alcohol or food to be consumed at the drains
No urinating in or near the drains
No hīnaki or any other form of trap or net is permitted
Share the drains.

Joint consent with Christchurch City Council for lake opening

Wairewa Rūnanga and Christchurch City Council (CCC) have announced that they are jointly applying for renewal of consents for the opening of Te Roto o Wairewa. This is to replace previous separate consents for both the beach openings and our experimental groyne and canal opening. The application seeks renewal of consents for:

  • diversion and discharge of water from Te Roto o Wairewa into the coastal marine area by means of a beach opening and, or a permanent canal
  • earthworks and use of machinery for any opening and subsequent artificial closure, if necessary, at either of these locations
  • maintenance of the canal and associated groyne structure.

The application for consent was lodged with ECan on 4 March. ECan will now decide whether to notify or not notify the consent.

The application is part of ongoing work by Wairewa rūnanga and CCC to improve the lake’s water quality and cultural fishery, as well as minimising land inundation and drainage problems that arise when water levels in the lake are high. Coordinated management of lake-opening consents is an important component of the intergrated managment approach. The application essentially continues the management regime, which has been developed over the last three years. This would normally use the canal as the outlet and reserve the mid-beach opening for emergency situations.

A community meeting about the lake was held at the Little River Rugby Club on Wednesday 27 February. About 70 people attended to listen to the joint proposal. The main issues identified were:

  • lake levels – causes of flooding
  • openings of the lake
  • groyne
  • access way over openings
  • water quality – sewerage impact.

Even though flooding and culverts were not part of the consent, the majority of the hui was spent discussing this issue. This will have to be addressed by CCC and Environment Canterbury (ECan) immediately, as over the last two years Little River has been flooded three times.