Ka pai tamariki mā

Congratulations

While Chantal Tumahai has a day job as a resource consents officer, her passion is dance and performing arts. As part of her ongoing development in the arts, Chantal has graduated from the Kristen Stewart School of Make-up with a diploma in make-up artistry. Congratulations Chantal.

Congratulations also to Quinn Tainui Lance Johnsen, who plays under 10 rugby for Kiwi Club in Hokitika. He also plays under 10 league for Hokitika Taipos. Quinn won player of the year for the under 10 Kiwi team. He also received the most outstanding player of the year award in his under 10 league team. Quinn was selected for the under 10 West Coast rugby team, which played Buller twice and won both games. Quinn was also selected for the West Coast under 9 league team to play in Christchurch in October. Quinn is the son of Miriama Blacktopp and Lance Johnsen. He is also mokopuna of Gordon and Iris Weaver and great-moko of Hector William Tuhuru Tainui and Te Maori Raukawa of Arahura.

Manu kōrero

Tēnei te mihi atu ki te manu kōrero
Congratulations to Matthew Sollis of Arahura (mokopuna of Aunty Nin and Uncle Bill Henderson), who won the Manu Kōrero Canterbury / Aoraki Regional Senior English speech competition for the second year in a row. Matthew, who boards in Christchurch and attends Christchurch Boys’ High School, will be heading to Hamilton for the National Speech Competitions with the other three regional winners and their support groups. Matthew’s speech was entitled, “If you aspire to leadership you must take off your coat”. He also had to deliver an impromptu speech on the day, which was a great crowd-pleaser and helped seal the win. We wish Matthew all the best in the very competitive national finals of Ngā Manu Kōrero. Karawhiua.

Congratulations

Annalise Rickey, eight, loves her kapa haka at Ruakākā Primary School, south of Whangarei. Ruakākā Primary recently joined two other local schools to perform at Mana Tū Day, for the people in the area. Annalise (Ngāi Tahu – Ngāi Tūāhuriri) is now taking a real interest in learning about her Ngāi Tahu whakapapa.

Annalise is descended from Takaroa Makatu, through both her husbands, George McDonnell (7th generation) and Michael Aldridge (6th generation).
Peti Huntly, the daughter of Takaroa Makutu and George McDonnell married her half-brother Harry Aldridge; he was also the son of Takaroa Makutu and her second husband, Michael Aldridge. Their daughter, Elizabeth Aldridge married her uncle, William Aldridge. (In those days it was normal to marry close relatives).

Their daughter, Florence married Samuel Robinson, my mum’s grandparents. Their son, Samuel married Esme Barbara (Brookfield). They were my grandparents.

My mother is Christine Robinson. I have another daughter, Chelsea Rickey, six, who is also very keen to join the local school kapa haka. We have lived in Ruakākā for the last 11 years and prior to that, I was in London for five years. I was born in Dargaville, where I attended school. Though we have been unable to visit, we affiliate to Tuahiwi Marae. Nā Terrianne Appleton.

Rugby season ends

Another year of winter sports has come to an end. Southbridge Rugby club were well represented, with Taumutu tamariki in the junior divisions. I coached the under 10 ½ rugby side. Our front row consisted of Robbie Togia (Marsh whānau) and Jayda Siykurima-Musson (Teihoka whānau), along with our local kids, Jacob Priddy and Moses McGoon. They were an unstoppable front row.

Along with that team, we also had Daniel Jackson (Nutira whānau), Quinn Martin (Martin whānau), Shanikqua Chase (Marsh whānau), and Kenai Togia (Marsh whānau) playing in other teams for Southbridge. We were pleased to have our local hero, Daniel Carter come out and have a training day with the tamariki. That was a high light for the tamariki. We even presented Daniel with a giant card for the new addition to his whānau.

We had a slow start to the season, but after a couple of games, we started to get the hang of things. Those peninsula tamariki teams are still hard to beat though. We enjoyed our day out at Wairewa and Waihora.

Our prize giving was on 25 August. This day has a special name, Albert Anderson Day. Albert also played for the All Blacks, and Southbridge of course. Albert helps out with the presentations, which is followed by invitation games and then an auction, with auction proceeds going towards local community groups, who express interest.

I will be stepping down from training so I can follow my grandson with his first year of rugby. I may even get rung up to coach that team, which would be enjoyable either way. I have really enjoyed the past six years of training the kids of Southbridge, and wish each and every one of them the best of luck for their future in rugby. You never know, I may one day be writing about our tamariki and how well they are doing on the All Black field. Nā Fiona Sloan (Teihoka whānau).

Congratulations

Our congratulations to Poppy Nicholas, who took part in Polyfest 2013 at the Civic Theatre.

Ngāi Tahu Sports Recognition Grant winner

Whai Rawa member Richard Clarke from Auckland is the latest recipient of the Ngāi Tahu Sports Recognition Award. Richard Clarke (Kaikōura, Hokonui me Awarua) is one of New Zealand’s most promising baseball prospects. He’s a young man who has worked hard to become one of the nation’s top age-grade pitchers. That work ethic has drawn the attention of both collegiate and professional baseball scouts from across the world.

For the first time New Zealand has been invited to send a group of 25 players to the Arizona Senior Fall Classic, the most important scouting tournament of its kind in America. It’s here that Richard will have the chance to show his talent to the 30 major league baseball teams and over 400 American and Canadian college scouts.

We wish Richard all the best in his endeavours and look forward to following his progress. Whāia e koe te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei. Pursue your treasured aspirations and if you falter let it be only to insurmountable difficulties.

The Sports Recognition Grants are designed to recognise regional and national achievement in sport. Any person enrolled with Ngāi Tahu and chosen to represent their region or nation is entitled to receive a contribution towards their participation costs. Call 0800 942 472 to request an application form.

Manawa Hou Ōnuku

The purpose of Manawa Hou is to grow and develop our younger iwi members. This hīkoi will leave Christchurch on Wednesday 10 October and will be based at Ōnuku Marae until Friday 11 October. The hīkoi will be based around place-based learning and will incorporate waka ama, kapa haka and Ngāi Tahu history on Banks Peninsula. The learning is to be situated outdoors in the natural environment, on our marae and in other places of cultural significance.

Activities
Each of the activities are designed to broaden rangatahi knowledge and interest in Ngāi Tahu history. During the three-day experience rangatahi will be involved in a range of activities including:

• Exploring Ngāi Tahutanga, te reo and tikanga through place-based activities
• Increasing rangatahi involvement, awareness and connectivity with the local takiwā
• Meeting other Kāi Tahu rangatahi
• Engaging with tribal leadership at a whānau, hapū and iwi level.

Participants
The hīkoi is for rangatahi in years 11, 12, 13 (senior secondary students), who are registered with Kāi Tahu, demonstrate leadership potential for their community and are committed to the kaupapa of Manawa Hou.

Please be aware that some activities will include physical challenges, so a basic level of fitness and swimming skills will be required. Rangatahi should be confident in the water and be able to swim at least 50 meters.

How to apply
Ngāi Tahu whānau and papatipu rūnanga with rangatahi in this age group can register their interest with Kristy Bedi on 0800 524 8248 or by email on [email protected]. We’ll get back to you with important things – like how to get there, consent forms, a gear list and a brief for caregivers/parents.

Check out the Manawa Hou Facebook album for photos and more information.

Earn while you learn – jobs available

Last year Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu joined forces with Aurecon to support the growth of job opportunities for Ngāi Tahu in the Canterbury rebuild.

As part of the partnership, Aurecon established a cadetship programme, which has a limited number of ‘earn while you learn’ positions available to Ngāi Tahu whānau. Cadets will work at the Aurecon Christchurch office, in the area best suited to their skills, with the aim of becoming a professional draftsperson or technician.
These cadet roles will involve the development of technical drawings for Land & Building projects and will help to develop solutions on how Christchurch will be rebuilt. Both roles include field and desk work. Alongside training within the office, Aurecon will pay for cadets to complete a formal qualification at CPIT.

Last year Antony Gray and Josh Mitchell were selected for the positions. The 18-year-olds are both extremely grateful for the opportunity and support they have been given to start a career – Josh as a cadet geotechnical engineering technician and Antony as a cadet drafter. Both have now enrolled for their New Zealand Diploma of Engineering, with Josh’s weekly workload involving 20 hours at Polytechnic and 32 hours at Aurecon; and Antony is about to replicate that, as his polytechnic study intensifies.

Antony (educated at Dunedin’s Bayfield High School), had to change cities to undertake his new job. He is private boarding with a family he knew from Dunedin and slowly turning Christchurch into his home.

“Aurecon is such an awesome place to work and I am trying to play a bit of volleyball and some basketball. That’s helping me get to know more people.”
Josh started at Aurecon after finishing at Shirley Boys High School and Ellesmere College.

“It’s a privilege to get this opportunity and I know what a huge difference it has already made in getting me started on a career,” he said. Mondays are the most challenging day for Josh with 12 hours of classes at Polytechnic. Kaiwhakahaere Tā Mark Solomon, a proud supporter of the programme, says cadets will ultimately gain certification in a profession of their chosen technical field.

“The cadetship creates a significant opportunity for Ngāi Tahu whānau to gain a meaningful career and contribute to the recovery of Canterbury.”

If you have a ‘can do’ attitude, are keen to learn new skills and want to help with the rebuild of Christchurch, a cadetship with Aurecon could be the career for you.
Applications are open now and close 1 November
Te Tapuae o Rehua can help you apply for a cadetship with Aurecon, so please contact Eruera Tarena on
03 365 9206 or 021 989 852.

Or if you have everything sorted, email your CV and cover letter to [email protected] no later than 25 October.

Aurecon provide engineering, management and specialist technical services for clients all over the world, and are proud of delivering award winning projects. For more about Aurecon go to www.aurecongroup.com