I WHAKATŌ TE MAURI KI TE RERE O KAPUNI

I heke iho ngā roimata a Ranginui, i pupuhi mai ngā hau o Tāwhirimātea

I rere mai nei ngā wai o Kapuni, hei oranga mō tātou katoa, ngā uri o Ngāruahine!

On the morning of 19 Haratua | May 2023, Ngāruahine uri, representatives from the Stratford and South Taranaki Councils, DOC, Livingstone Construction and ED Project Management, gathered on our tauheke maunga to perform the mauri ceremony to bless and prepare the whenua for the construction of ‘Te Rere o Kapuni’.

It was back in 2016 when Te Rere o Kapuni (previously Dawson Falls) was purchased and much mahi has been undertaken since, to prepare for this day. Our Cultural Advisors Phil and Puhi Nuku, spent time gathering kōrero and whakaaro from our people and Te Rōpū Toi o Ngāruahine, originally led by Bonita Bigham, was also created. In conjunction with Phil and Puhi, this rōpū led the core design phase of the project steeped in Ngāruahine cultural narrative and in 2022 Ngawai Hernandez-Walden was contracted as the Establishment General Manager.

During the mauri ceremony the branding and vision boards for Te Rere o Kapuni were unveiled and the mauri stone laid at where the entrance of the whare will be. Phil explained that the mauri stone represents all of the mahi that has been done up to this point, and the people who have done this mahi. Moving forward, everything that happens on the site will now be instilled in the mauri. Finally the ceremony acknowledged all of the kaimahi who will be working on the site during construction, ensuring a safe working environment for them all.

The development will be managed by Te Kīwai Mauī (Ngāruahines commercial arm) and will include 18 accommodation rooms, a restaurant, wānanga facility, a retail space, and a hauora space.

We all look forward to the opening which is planned for July 2024.