Kāi Tahu whānui, tēnā koutou katoa.
Nei rā te mihi matakuikui o Kāti Māhaki ki Makaawhio ki a koutou katoa. Nei rā hoki te mihi poroporoaki ki kā mate huhua mai kua hika mai, kua hika atu. Ki a rātou o ia whānau, ia hapū, ia iwi kua haere atu ki tua o te ārai, haere, haere, haere atu rā. Moe mai koutou i te rakimārie. Rātou ki ā rātou, tātou anō ki a tātou. Tēnā anō tātou katoa.
Things have continued to be busy on the rūnanga front with hui, pōwhiri and a number of events keeping people busy. Spring has definitely sprung here on Te Tai o Poutini. The most obvious sign of the season has to be the whitebait stands which have reappeared on the landscape and already there has been news of whānau enjoying their first taste of fresh inaka for 2014.
Scoop netting on Hokitika River on a balmy spring day.
Wānaka marae
We have been trying to find an alternative date to hold our wānaka marae, which was to be held Queen’s Birthday weekend this year but was postponed due to our tutors being called away when a whānau member was hospitalised. Mark Waitangi Weekend 2015 in your diaries now.
Our wānaka marae will focus on whaikōrero, karanga, waiata and kōrero Māhaki. You will learn some of the skills required to tautoko our marae and hapū. It is being held at the same time as the Jacobs River School reunion, so there will be an opportunity to participate in some of the reunion events also. We will be calling for RSVPs closer to the date.
Communication
We are currently working to upgrade our website and will be including a members-only access section that whānau can log into. We are also exploring options to replace Ka tangi te kōkō and how we utilise Te Pānui Rūnaka. If you have news you want to share, please forward it to our office along with any photos (attached as a separate jpeg).
Our long list of members who have not updated their contact details has not reduced in size and we continue to receive returned mail. We also need to ensure your email address is the most up-to-date so that we can forward pānui, news and updates to our members. Please contact the office either by email or phone to update your details or if want to discuss anything.
You can see what we’re up to on our website www.makaawhio.maori.nz; on Facebook;
makaawhio.blogspot.co.nz; Twitter: @makaawhio.
You can phone us on 03 755 7885 or 0800 955 007; or email [email protected] or [email protected] Mā te Atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki. Mauri ora.