Kia ora koutou whānau,
Firstly we would like to acknowledge the recent passing of Rikki Cheerington, a respected local, mātāwaka kaumātua, who supported many Māori initiatives in Murihiku. Rikki will be missed by many. Happy birthday to all those who have had birthdays, and for those who have new additions to their family – arohanui. It has been very busy here in Murihiku, meeting after meeting and hui on the marae including Balclutha School, Te Pūtahitanga, plus our normal happenings like our Thursday roast and tāua cards on Wednesdays.
We had Pūtangitangi and being part of the kōmiti and for some of us it was our first time – what a great experience. There was lots of apprehension but once it got underway it was great. Absolutely wonderful to see our tamariki dressed up in their kākahu, singing proudly and doing the haka – ka pai tamariki mā, you were all awesome. Huge thanks to the kōmiti for making Pūtangitangi 2014 the best yet.
Arohanui team, you all did a great job organising it.
You will always get someone moaning about something or others using Facebook, for goodness sake. Kanohi ki te kanohi, that’s the way.
Everything else down here is great, on a lighter side our kapa haka group, Te Rōpū o Murihiku has been busy and we have just finished a fundraiser at the recycling centre. It consisted of two eight-hour days, and our tāua and pōua, koro and kuia and young helpers did a fantastic job. My hat goes off to you ladies and gents. You hung in there like the troopers you are. What an awesome team. Well done ngā mihi aroha ki te whānau, ki ngā kaimahi o te kapa haka. There were a few sore people on Monday but ka pai.
It’s Christmas next month – how quick the time has gone. We hope all whānau in the North Island are well and don’t forget to send some information on things happening in your area. You can email us at [email protected].
Well, that’s all from us here in Waihōpai. Take care, look after one another and we’ll see you all next month. Hei konā. Nā Squirrel on the Hill.
The crowd at Pūtangitangi.
Clutha Valley School students play some Māori stick games.