Firstly an official apology for a mistake I made in the Shag Party story from last month’s edition. I incorrectly reported that there was a "Pixie" in attendance when in actual fact it was a "Purerehua". After a few rums, I really couldn’t tell the difference ay but anyway, my bad! It’s been another extremely busy month for our whānau of Whakaki with a wedding, a kapahaka regional and a couple of birthdays being held all in the first weekend of March, three unveilings at home the following weekend, two reunions at home Easter weekend, another graduation ceremony for me and ending off with an ordination ceremony for another one of the cousins back in Wairoa. With that in mind let’s get on with it shall we? Ok then!
I’ll leave you with a thought that was passed onto me from a wise man regarding marriage. This whanaunga of infinite wisdom said
"A HAPPY WIFE IS A HAPPY HUSBAND!"
Aaron Munro BA, BBC, Dip APP MAN
Aaron "The Kaiawhina" Munro
UPCOMING
EVENTS
Monday 14th April
Ngāti Kahungunu Secondary School (Non Competitive) Kapahaka Tournament to be held at the Hawkes Bay Opera House in Hastings. Wairoa College finally returns to this rohe after years of competing in the Tairawhiti Region.
Kapahaka Regionals
Saturday 1st March
Saturday the 1st of March will be remembered as the day when our Whakaki whānau were split between a number of different events being held all on the same day throughout the country. The first event was the Ngāti Kahungunu Kapahaka Regional’s held in Hastings where many of our own were members of the Wairoa roopu, Te Rerenga Kōtuku. This year teams from Tauranga were also present and were able to whakapapa into our rohe through the Takitimu waka.
Suffice to say, Ngāti Ranginui from Tauranga took out second place overall behind defending champions Te Rerenga Kōtuku and as a result both teams will represent our rohe in the upcoming Matatini Nationals to be held in Tauranga
February 2009.
Word is that many have ALREADY organised their own accommodation there in anticipation that this will be a huge festival, especially with the kōrero being that Te Arawa waka will be back in force next year. Congratulations to Te Rerenga Kotuku for taking out the regional’s again and we wish them all the best for 2009. Hikitia to reo!
W
edding
Puata and Ariana
Saturday 1March 2008
The second event of the day was the big wedding of Puata Tuahine and Ariana (Ana) Roberts at the marae. Months of planning came together with the only concern being that of the weather as the ceremony was to be held outside underneath a gazebo by one of the pohutukawa trees that Puata remembers playing on as a kid. (Must be a bloody old tree cuz!)
Fortunately it stopped raining just as the bride arrived, much to our relief, and we were able to continue on with Plan A instead of Plan B, which would’ve meant trying to squeeze all of our manuhiri into the dining room. Ana and her entourage looked stunning and Puata and his groomsmen looked especially smart in their matching attire. After a mihi whakatau from Uncle Wi, the ceremony was lead by Aunty Raina with help from Uncle George Nicholson representing Te Hāhi Rātana. Through the power of technology we were also able to make it so that our manuhiri could hear the entire ceremony through the P.A speakers! (Flash alright!) After a moving exchange of vows and the traditional kiss to seal the deal, it was time for photos whilst our manuhiri retired to the dining room for "happy hour…and a half…or so!" Informal speeches were held and then our manuhiri moved to the big hall for the formal reception. Hats off to all those who worked hard the previous evening transforming our hall into something incredible! Our Whakaki whānau welcomed in our manuhiri with waiata and the bridal party were lead to the stage with ‘Ave maria’ from Aaron Neville. After a beautiful kai, the formal speeches began with Ana’s brother from Christchurch being given the responsibility of speaking on behalf of Tainui waka. And did he ever! With the rest of the speeches over came the cutting of the cake, the speech from Puata on behalf of the happy couple and finally the first dance where the entire bridal party, including the nanny’s, were able to strut their stuff on the dance floor to a song called "I Pledge My Love To You." It was beautiful to watch and very reminiscent of past cabarets that were held in our great hall many years ago. With the formal ceremony complete, it was time for the whānau to let their hair down and party on till the break of dawn. (Actually more like 1am cause that’s when the permit runs out!) A big mihi to all those were involved in putting the whole occasion together, the ringawera, our manuhiri who came from far and wide and finally to the happy couple Mr and Mrs Tuahine.
Walker Birthdays
Saturday 1March 2008
The last event saw a contingency of home-folk make the trek into the heart of Te Arawa country to
Marae in Horohoro. to celebrate the birthdays of Uncle
Patrick Walker who turned 60, Irahei Walker (son to Patrick and Sue) who turned 21 and two other moko as well. The birthdays were held at Rongomaipāpā.
Walker Unveillings
Saturday
8th March
Friday March 7, 2008 saw a number of mōrehu return to Whakaki after a long absence for the unveilings of Paku / Sharon Walker (of Rosina Walker / Lowe), Erueti Waaka / Edward Walker (of John Walker, Brother of Rosina, Father of Thomas Walker) and Hone Puaha / Waaka – John Walker (of Waaka Puaha and Paku Haraki). After a very long time since the passing of these three tipuna, dad (Tommy) drove the project of ensuring they were finally acknowledged. Some whānau also travelled from as far as the South Island, Taupo and Hawkes Bay and for many it was also their first visit to our marae. Ka nui taku mihi aroha ki a koutou ngā kuia, ngā koroua ka karanga i te reo powhiri.
From there the scene was set for all to enjoy the tranquil mauri of Hereheretau. After kai Uncle Seenie Kahukura and I presented a whakapapa session and we were fortunate to have a full sheet of flip charts to allow our Walker whānau resident in Napier / Hastings to display all of their mokopuna. Tēnā koe Uncle mō to mahi tohunga i te whakapapa ō o tātou papa kainga.
On Saturday morning after a karakia from Nanny Raina, the whānau departed for the urupā (what a mass display of our Whakaki Tee - shirts). Nanny Raina, Jackie Te Amo and Papa Sonny from Tuwharetoa officiated a beautiful service that was well supported by the weather. Moe mai ra ō tātou tipuna, takoto tiraha, takoto okioki.
As always our ringawera produced a hākari fit for our Ministers and the kitchen rocked under that korowai o te whanaungatanga.
Tēnā koutou ngā whanaunga i hapai i te ahi kaa ō o tātou marae!
(Story by Shayne Walker)
Kemp and Aroha 27 Years
14th March
Yes it has been 27 years of wedded bliss for us. Well most of it anyway. Kemp had joined the Army in November 1980 we married the following March 1981. Kemp reckons that I have also done 27years in the Army. He is now enjoying the benefits of those years and is able to work from home while travelling to Napier, Waiouru or Linton when needed. We were married here at Whakaki on March 14th with a small wedding. The formal side was held at St Pauls Anglican Church in Wairoa. We then had our wedding dinner at the Wairoa Hotel and then came home (where
we live now) for the more informal side – the party. Mum (Hine Wilson) wanted to do the supper so we had that at home. If you know my mum it was a feast, much better than the wedding dinner. Butcher ( Rangi Wilson) drove my sister Miria, who was the bridesmaid, my brother Hori, who I think must have been a big page boy and myself into town to the church on the day. I remember it being a very fast trip because Hori had to hang out the window to hold onto the ribbon that had come off the bonnet of the car while Miria and I were getting thrown around in the back seat. That is the first and only time I ever saw Butcher rattled. Kemp had only just arrived at the church before me. Later I was told that he wasn’t very well from the night before and that morning where he thought he was having a raspberry and lemonade but his brothers had spiked his drink with vodka. Thanks bro’s. Our wedding wasn’t very traditional because I decided that this wasn’t a white wedding because Kemp and I had already been an item on and off for the past 5 years so my wedding dress was a simple easy to wear off the rack summer dress, Miria wore a brown and cream version. You could tell I was the bride because I had this big summer hat on. Kemp played for the Nuhaka Rugby Club at the time and they shouted us a night at the Wairoa 3 Oaks Motel where we spent our wedding night. Our wedding was small and not at the Marae because it had always been an understanding in my family, a Wedding or a 21st birthday not both. I had already had the big 21st birthday down there so we had the small wedding. We couldn’t afford a big wedding anyway because we didn’t have a lot of money. We had not long got back from Australia where I had been for three years with only a few dollars in our pockets and lots of great memories. Over the years we have had opportunities to travel around the world, made good choice in our lifestyle, focussed on family, lived by our morals and worked hard to achieve our goals. We were fortunate to have had two children, Kemp and Nikki. They both live in Australia on the Gold Coast but were home just recently for a holiday. What a treat to have them with us for a short time. We will most likely do our usual wedding anniversary celebration and have a nice meal maybe at the Vista in town and as in the past it had always been celebrated with our children too. However, they won’t be here but we will be thinking of them and laughing about the years they were growing up and the great things we did together over those years and being thankful for what we have. Here’s looking forward to a lot more years of wedded bliss.
Here’s another update from cuzzie Heni Waikawa as we continue to track the progress of her daughter Shay in preparation for the Australasian Badminton tournament in Perth.
Mid March
We had an awesome time with the whānau at the Smith Reunion in Whakaki. We learnt heaps of whakapapa and the kaupapa for the weekend was awesome as well.
Shay has just finished an U16 Cricket Tournament in Tauranga for Poverty Bay. She leaves for Hawkes Bay this Friday for her CP Madden Badminton Training Camp over the weekend and next week has a Division 5 Badminton Tournament held at home here. Two weeks after that the training camp again will be held in Wanganui, another long haul across country. Kei te pai, that’s what happens in this whānau.
Shay was also awarded top woman player for Tairawhiti Touch, 2008. Nice little trophy and the whānau who ran the tournament knew us but didn’t realise that Shay was our daughter. A big laugh when they found out. They only knew her as Shay with no last name.
As her Australian trip draws closer the purse strings get tighter, so we are currently beginning to fundraise to pay her last instalment of $1500. That’s due in June so we have a little bit of time. That’s ok, we'll get there. Thanks to Telecom Downers for sponsoring her new pair of playing shoes and a brand new, state of the art racquet that cost a fortune. I have attached a photo taken with the Manager in Gisborne. His name is Jim Goodall.
Smith/Walker
Reunion
21st-24th March
Easter weekend saw the population of Whakaki swell by an extra 50% as whānau representing both the Walker and Smith families returned to their turangawaewae from all over the motu for a bit of W & W: Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga. A highlight of the weekend included a trek around the village on Saturday to visit some of our more prominent landmarks including our urupā and our maunga, Ōrangi. For those who grew up in Whakaki it was also an opportunity to relive old memories as well as let their children and mokopuna experience the serenity of our humble village for the first time. Whakaki was rocking Saturday night
with parties being held all over the village. Sunday
was recovery
day for many and with it being a long weekend some
chose to stay until Monday. Hopefully they were all reinvigorated and ready to return to their normal lives. Reunions like these become increasingly important as time passes on as a means of rekindling those home fires (ahi kaa) and in doing so helps to maintain and strengthen our Iwi and hapū affiliations. One would also hope that many of the younger generation would leave with a sense of identity and a desire to return in the future or at least leave with the knowledge that their marae is in a little place called Whakaki.
Official Ceremony
28th
March
Well once again whānau I got to dress up in some flash clothes, chuck on a spunky square hat and parade across the stage at the Hawkes Bay Opera House in Hastings to officially receive my Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications (the whole reason I returned to Christchurch last year) and my Diploma in Applied Management (completed through EIT Hawkes Bay). This time was a bit different though as I was also attending the graduation day as an employee of EIT Hawkes Bay and part of my mahi involved helping out with the Haka Powhiri for both the morning and afternoon ceremonies. This was probably the main reason I didn’t really let many know because I knew I was going to be too busy with the kapahaka to organise any kind of get together for our whānau later on.
As with the previous graduation I attended back in 2006, my tohu were to be presented to me during the morning ceremony but even more scary was the thought that the Faculty of Business and Computing (which my Diploma of Applied Management falls under) was the first faculty of the morning and so we were seated in the very front row in alphabetical order. I swear only about 10 minutes past and it was our turn to get up and wait by the side of the stage.
Now I hear you asking the question how the heck was I able to pull off getting my Broadcasting degree that I’d done through Christchurch Polytechnic presented to me in another institutions graduation ceremony? Some would even call that being a bit cheeky! Well whānau, apparently some institutions do this practise occasionally and plus “it’s who you know ay!” I was lucky that the CEO of our polytechnic is a good mate with the CEO of Christchurch Polytechnic and so, after a few e mails about how I couldn’t afford to fly back to Christchurch to receive it and a bit of organising it was a done deal. It’s amazing what can be achieved if you only ask ay!
Aaron Munro
BA, BBC, Dip APP MAN
Ordained as a Priest
30th March
Our cousin Ettie Rosetta Irihapiti Tuahine, daughter of Bella Tuahine (nee Munro) was ordained as a Priest into Te Hāhi Mihingare on Sunday 30 March 2008 at Takitimu Marae, Wairoa. In total there were three Kaikarakia, one Deacon and five Priests ordained that day and it was awesome to see so many people there in support. Whakaki also had a strong representation there to tautoko both Ettie and her whānau. The entire service was lead by Archbishop Brown Turei supported by a congregation of Anglican Ministers including our very own Aunty Mona Scott and Uncle Jim Biddle. Before the service had begun, Uncle Jim had even jokingly said to Aaron that he had bought a spare set of robes for him in the car! Aaron looked more shell-shocked than anything else!
The service began with a kōrero from the Archbishop followed by ordination of the Kaikarakia who were Wikitoria Rautu, Chaans Tumataroa and Rerewa (Lily) Pomana. Following that Fred McRoberts was ordained a Deacon. Finally the five candidates to be ordained as Priests stepped forward. They were Marjorie Rangi, Sue Wolff, Mahuenga Kaui, Pirihira McKenize and cousin Ettie. Here’s some interesting kōrero about Ettie’s religious journey up to present day. She became involved in the church at the age of 26, was then ordained a Kaikarakia in 1993 and finally ordained a Deacon in 1999. The service continued with the reading fo the word, the collection and ended with a mass holy communion. Also intermingled into the service were a number of hymn sung in both Māori and English.
With her elevation now to that of a priest no doubt Ettie will take a more proactive role in our monthly services back at home. Thank you to all of our Whakaki whānau who were able to attend the ordination and congratulations once again to you cousin Ettie.
Na reira, ma te Atua, koe e manaaki e tiaki mō ake tonu atu!
Belated Birthdays from March
5th Ngaro Brown celebrates his birthday today.
20th "Ngatai Te Akonga Rimaati Edwin" was born 8.58am on 20 March 2008, a healthy 7 pound 6 ounces. Mum, Natalia and Dad, Irai are such proud parents of this little one as are the grand parents John and Pauline Crawford. Detroit and Tenne are the coolest big sister and brother and give him heaps of cuddles and kisses as does all the whānau.
28th Ethan Jack Te Ritorangi Crawford
30th Natalia Crawford
Whanau Celebrating Birthday in April
1st
My mum, Wairaima Munro (nee Hinaki), would’ve been 75 years young today. Also sharing a birthday with her is Aunty Dawn Waikawa (nee Solomon)
Mahinarangi (Daisy) Maihi, mokopuna of Seenie, daughter of Maia turns1
2nd Henry Beattie from Foxton turns 36.
4th Ryan Forsyth, son of Mary, turns 7 and instead of a big party mum has bought them both the BEST tickets to WWE Smackdown coming to Auckland in June! (Lucky boy!)
5th Horowaitai Te Atawhairangi Shontei Roberts-Tuahine, daughter of Puata and Ana Tuahine, turns 13.
7th Young Master Paris Brown (son of Ngaro and Jilly) turns 14.
Also celebrating a birthday the same day is cousin Joseph (Jah) Kahukura, son of Uncle Archie and Aunty Georgina Kahukura.
Lequile Robin-Tuahine, son of Arapera Tuahine & Toni Robin, Moko of Malcolm Tuahine & Great Moko of Aunty Bella Tuahine turns 3.
Meihana Grindlay.
9th Cuzzie Joyleen Tuahine, daughter of Aunty Bella Tuahine turns the big 40! Tu meke cuz!
Vicki Grindlay
10th Paul Dwyer
12th Te-Ariana Tuahine, daughter of Malcolm Tuahine, moko of Aunty Bella Tuahine turns 12.
Uncle Walter and Aunty Alma’s son Michael has his birthday today.
13th Taylar Menzies, daughter of Jodie, moko of Rugby Smith, turns 13.
Cousin Nancy Dwyer, based in Motueka, celebrates her birthday.
14th Happy 27th Wedding Anniversary to Kemp and Aroha Solomon and may you have many more.
18th Mahinarangi, daughter of Alma, turns 3l.
19th Te Ahu, son of Tracey Dwyer and partner Corey, celebrates his big day.
20th Casey Smith (Rugby’s daughter)
21st My brother Gerry Albert Munro turns 52. Happy birthday bro all the way over there in Australind, Perth.
25th Puata-Morehu Te Aoturoa Roberts-Tuahine, son of Puata and Ana Tuahine, turns 9yrs old.
26th Lisa Marie Tuahine, daughter of Rodger and Carol Tuahine, moko of Aunty Bella Tuahine turns 15.
28th Cuzzie Angie Smith turns the big 50! (Must be a party in Auckland ay cuz!!)
A big happy birthday to Mrs Jilly Brown, wife of cuzzie Ngaro Brown.
Saturday the 1st of March will be remembered as the day when our Whakaki whānau were split between a number of different events being held all on the same day throughout the country. The first event was the Ngāti Kahungunu Kapahaka Regional’s held in Hastings where many of our own were members of the Wairoa roopu, Te Rerenga Kōtuku. This year teams from Tauranga were also present and were able to whakapapa into our rohe through the Takitimu waka.
Suffice to say, Ngāti Ranginui from Tauranga took out second place overall behind defending champions Te Rerenga Kōtuku and as a result both teams will represent our rohe in the upcoming Matatini Nationals to be held in Tauranga
February 2009.
Word is that many have ALREADY organised their own accommodation there in anticipation that this will be a huge festival, especially with the kōrero being that Te Arawa waka will be back in force next year. Congratulations to Te Rerenga Kotuku for taking out the regional’s again and we wish them all the best for 2009. Hikitia to reo!
The second event of the day was the big wedding of Puata Tuahine and Ariana (Ana) Roberts at the marae. Months of planning came together with the only concern being that of the weather as the ceremony was to be held outside underneath a gazebo by one of the pohutukawa trees that Puata remembers playing on as a kid. (Must be a bloody old tree cuz!)
Fortunately it stopped raining just as the bride arrived, much to our relief, and we were able to continue on with Plan A instead of Plan B, which would’ve meant trying to squeeze all of our manuhiri into the dining room. Ana and her entourage looked stunning and Puata and his groomsmen looked especially smart in their matching attire. After a mihi whakatau from Uncle Wi, the ceremony was lead by Aunty Raina with help from Uncle George Nicholson representing Te Hāhi Rātana. Through the power of technology we were also able to make it so that our manuhiri could hear the entire ceremony through the P.A speakers! (Flash alright!) After a moving exchange of vows and the traditional kiss to seal the deal, it was time for photos whilst our manuhiri retired to the dining room for "happy hour…and a half…or so!" Informal speeches were held and then our manuhiri moved to the big hall for the formal reception. Hats off to all those who worked hard the previous evening transforming our hall into something incredible! Our Whakaki whānau welcomed in our manuhiri with waiata and the bridal party were lead to the stage with ‘Ave maria’ from Aaron Neville. After a beautiful kai, the formal speeches began with Ana’s brother from Christchurch being given the responsibility of speaking on behalf of Tainui waka. And did he ever! With the rest of the speeches over came the cutting of the cake, the speech from Puata on behalf of the happy couple and finally the first dance where the entire bridal party, including the nanny’s, were able to strut their stuff on the dance floor to a song called "I Pledge My Love To You." It was beautiful to watch and very reminiscent of past cabarets that were held in our great hall many years ago. With the formal ceremony complete, it was time for the whānau to let their hair down and party on till the break of dawn. (Actually more like 1am cause that’s when the permit runs out!) A big mihi to all those were involved in putting the whole occasion together, the ringawera, our manuhiri who came from far and wide and finally to the happy couple Mr and Mrs Tuahine. 
Friday March 7, 2008 saw a number of mōrehu return to Whakaki after a long absence for the unveilings of Paku / Sharon Walker (of Rosina Walker / Lowe), Erueti Waaka / Edward Walker (of John Walker, Brother of Rosina, Father of Thomas Walker) and Hone Puaha / Waaka – John Walker (of Waaka Puaha and Paku Haraki). After a very long time since the passing of these three tipuna, dad (Tommy) drove the project of ensuring they were finally acknowledged. Some whānau also travelled from as far as the South Island, Taupo and Hawkes Bay and for many it was also their first visit to our marae. Ka nui taku mihi aroha ki a koutou ngā kuia, ngā koroua ka karanga i te reo powhiri. 
From there the scene was set for all to enjoy the tranquil mauri of Hereheretau. After kai Uncle Seenie Kahukura and I presented a whakapapa session and we were fortunate to have a full sheet of flip charts to allow our Walker whānau resident in Napier / Hastings to display all of their mokopuna. Tēnā koe Uncle mō to mahi tohunga i te whakapapa ō o tātou papa kainga. 
mai ra ō tātou tipuna, takoto tiraha, takoto okioki. 
We had an awesome time with the whānau at the Smith Reunion in Whakaki. We learnt heaps of whakapapa and the kaupapa for the weekend was awesome as well. 
Easter weekend saw the population of Whakaki swell by an extra 50% as whānau representing both the Walker and Smith families returned to their turangawaewae from all over the motu for a bit of W & W: Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga. A highlight of the weekend included a trek around the village on Saturday to visit some of our 
more prominent landmarks including our urupā and our maunga, Ōrangi. For those who grew up in Whakaki it was also an opportunity to relive old memories as well as let their children and mokopuna experience the serenity of our humble village for the first time. Whakaki was rocking Saturday night
with parties being held all over the village. Sunday
was 
recovery
day for many and with it being a long weekend some
chose to stay until Monday. Hopefully they were all reinvigorated and ready to return to their normal lives. Reunions like these become increasingly important as time passes on as a means of rekindling those home fires (ahi kaa) and in doing so helps to maintain and strengthen our Iwi and hapū affiliations. One would also hope that many of the younger generation would leave with a sense of identity and a desire to return in the future or at least leave with the knowledge that their marae is in a little place called Whakaki.
Well once again whānau I got to dress up in some flash clothes, chuck on a spunky square hat and parade across the stage at the Hawkes Bay Opera House in Hastings to officially receive my Bachelor of Broadcasting Communications (the whole reason I returned to Christchurch last year) and my Diploma in Applied Management (completed through EIT Hawkes Bay). This time was a bit different though as I was also attending the graduation day as an employee of EIT Hawkes Bay and part of my mahi involved helping out with the Haka Powhiri for both the morning and afternoon ceremonies. This was probably the main reason I didn’t really let many know because I knew I was going to be too busy with the kapahaka to organise any kind of get together for our whānau later on. 
Our cousin Ettie Rosetta Irihapiti Tuahine, daughter of Bella Tuahine (nee Munro) was ordained as a Priest into Te Hāhi Mihingare on Sunday 30 March 2008 at Takitimu Marae, Wairoa. In total there were three Kaikarakia, one Deacon and five Priests ordained that day and it was awesome to see so many people there in support. Whakaki also had a strong representation there to tautoko both Ettie and her whānau. The entire service was lead by Archbishop Brown Turei supported by a congregation of Anglican Ministers including our very own Aunty Mona Scott and Uncle Jim Biddle. Before the service had begun, Uncle Jim had even jokingly said to Aaron that he had bought a spare set of robes for him in the car! Aaron looked more shell-shocked than anything else! 
The service began with a kōrero from the Archbishop followed by ordination of the Kaikarakia who were Wikitoria Rautu, Chaans Tumataroa and Rerewa (Lily) Pomana. Following that Fred McRoberts was ordained a Deacon. Finally the five candidates to be ordained as Priests stepped forward. They were Marjorie Rangi, Sue Wolff, Mahuenga Kaui, Pirihira McKenize and cousin Ettie. Here’s some interesting kōrero about Ettie’s religious journey up to present day. She became involved in the church at the age of 26, was then ordained a Kaikarakia in 1993 and finally ordained a Deacon in 1999. The service continued with the reading fo the word, the collection and ended with a mass holy communion. Also intermingled into the service were a number of hymn sung in both Māori and English. 
