Ōtaki College News

May 2023

From Principal Andy Fraser Term One has been an enjoyable time back at College. For the first time in three years we have been able to have our students not only involved in full-time study on site but also participating in our athletics and swimming sports days without having any COVID interruptions.

Over 2023, I hope to take the opportunity to share with you information about significant places and spaces in the College. In this edition I would like to commence with an acknowledgement to the Rikihana whānau, as the College is now situated on what was their whānau land.

The Land We Stand On www.otakicollege.school.nz

Rikihana was the son of Kukura and Te Ahimate of Ngāti Koroki and Ngāti Raukawa tribes. He came to Ōtaki first as a child in one of the early Ngāti Raukawa hekenga, but at some date after 1842 returned to Waikato.

Wiremu Te Manewha, a fighting chief and leader of Ngāti Koroki, travelled to Maungatautari to bring Rikihana te Tarure back to Ōtaki to marry his only daughter, Enereta Te Whakarato.

Rikihana and Enereta had about 13 children; some of them died while still in early childhood and, of those who lived to adulthood, five married and had families. Fa mily names of their children include Johnson, Carkeek and Bell.

He’s reputed to be one of the first Māori to join the Salvation Army. The “S” of the Army can be seen on his jacket in this photo.

Spirit of Adventure, by Year 13 ŌC student Anika Edginton destination. Trainee Day proved to be more difficult than expected, we arrived at our destination late so there wasn't any time to swim, even though it was one of the hottest days yet. It really showed us how difficult it is to run a ship and organise everyone onboard.

My name is Anika Edginton and at the 2022 Ōtaki College senior prizegiving I was lucky enough to be awarded the XŌtaki Alumni Trust Stuart and Mary Pritchard Spirit of Adventure Scholarship, which enabled me to partake in a 10-day voyage alongside 40 other young people from across New Zealand. The voyage was set in the beautiful Hauraki Gulf and, over those ten days, I learned tons of new skills, made friends from across the country and pushed myself to try new things.

I started my voyage at the Princes Wharf in Auckland and, despite being nervous, I was so excited to meet everyone. We began boarding at 2pm and stocked up the boat with what felt like enough food for an entire year. That night we did some ice-breaker activities while sailing out to Motu Ihe. That evening, all of the trainees collaborated to determine what we wanted to get out of the trip and which activities we could do to aid this.

Every day we were assigned to different cleaning / prep stations, and after breakfast we would do our jobs for the day. We set the sails every day. At the start, it was very overwhelming as there was much to learn. After all the jobs were finished we would begin our mission. On day 3 we sailed to Mansion House Bay on Kawau Island, which is such a strange juxtaposition between the grandeur of the mansion and the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. Later on, we sailed over to Goat Island, on our way there a crew member and I spotted a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat. One of the things we had listed on day 1 was swimming with dolphins and, despite being so scared, we jumped overboard. Unfortunately, they disappeared, but we had a plan. We readied the rafts and, after anchoring the ship, all of the crew and trainees began paddling towards Goat Island. On the way there the dolphins came back and everyone jumped into the water. It was absolutely magical: for an hour or so we swam with the dolphins, hearing the high-pitched ringing of them talking and watching them curiously dive through and around us. They were so close that you could touch them. This was definitely a highlight of my trip: to interact with the natural world from a place of admiration and respect, and see the pureness of life existing. However, it made me feel for them and their environment, which we continue to pollute.

And, just like that, it was day 10. We woke to a great big moon setting over the beautiful Hauraki Gulf. We had bags to pack, cleaning to do, and showers to have. , For anyone who is thinking about going on the Spirit of Adventure, I couldn't recommend it more. I feel truly privileged to have had this experience. If you are looking to strengthen your leadership, communication and collaboration skills, and make friendships to last a lifetime, this is for you. It wasn't without its lows, but the highs far outweighed the lows. My thanks to the XAlumni Trust and particularly to Stuart and Mary Pritchard for making this fantastic experience possible.

The Rikihana whānau originally owned the land Ōtaki College is on today. On the College site they had their house and cows and they grew vegetables and flowers for the Wellington market. However, an inability to pay the high Council rates bills meant the whānau eventually lost their title to their land.

Article written by Queenie RikihanaHyland and Mishy Vieira.

Summer Tournament Success

Congratulations to Caleb Smith and Stella Park who attended Waka Ama National Championships in Rotorua over Summer Tournament Week. Both students competed in the W1 Category. Caleb won gold and Stella silver in the J19, W1 Bowl Finals.

Giorgio Bevan, Louis Bevan, Fin Butler, Witana Cameron, William Fogden, Jericho Housiaux-Roderique and Cam Butler (Coach) attended the National Secondary Schools Canoe Polo Championships where they won a bronze medal in the Senior Boys Division - outstanding.

It was awesome to get students away to summer tournament week this year after its cancellation in 2022.

Andy Fraser, Principal

On day 5 we finally had some proper wind, so we did lots of sailing. Throughout the entirety of the trip, we were learning how to hoist, set and stow all of the different sails so that on day 9 – Trainee Day – we could sail the ship on our own.

Trainee day!! Halfway through day 8 is the official handover, where the amazing crew helped us elect a captain and then left us to sort the rest out. Katie was Captain, I was First Mate, Melissa was Second Mate, Angi was the Engineer, James and Liam were the Navigators, and Bede and Georgie Rose were the Cooks. We had a great team, and our first job was to make a plan for the following day.

Our approach was very diplomatic in that we opened up the floor to everyone to share their opinions, which was more of a challenge than we had initially expected. I think that we all learned a lot in trying to meet in the middle of what we could actually achieve in our time frame. Day 9, we were in full swing of Trainee Day, and the morning started off smoothly with everyone working together setting sails and doing jobs. Our navigators had set the course and Katie had us moving toward our handover

Rāhui tops Rugby table

BY FRANK NEILL

Rāhui has kicked off the 2023 Rugby season with three big victories.

The Ōtaki-based team was the only team in the Horowhenua Kāpiti premier competition to remain undefeated following the first three rounds.

Rāhui convincingly beat Waikanae 41-14 after leading 21-7 at half time on 15 April.

Playing at Ōtaki Domain, the home team was dominant in most phases of the game, with its scrum particularly impressive.

Jonathan Fuimaono was outstanding, scoring two tries and being awarded three points as the most valuable player. Jake Quin, who also scored a try was awarded two points and two players, Leon Ellison and Alizay Roach scored one point.

Three other players dotted down for Rāhui – Joel Winterburn, Haapi Nikora and Mason Couchman. Alizay Roach kicked four conversions and a penalty.

Two players chalked up milestones in the match, with both Ngarongo Selby-Rickit and Haapi Nikora playing their 50th senior A games.

The team was also wearing jerseys with the name of new club sponsor Insulation Tech NZ for the first time.

Rāhui scored an absolutely massive victory over Levin Wanderers on 1 April, winning the match 74-0.

The Levin team had no answer to Rāhui, who ran in 11 tries.

Morehu Connor-Phillips, Tainui Kaihau and Paora Connor-Phllips – who also kicked two conversions – scored two tries each.

Jake Quin, Liam Tooman, Parekaia Tapiata, Brodhi Archibald and Kapu BroughtonWinterburn also dotted down.

Alizay Roach kicked one penalty and five conversions while Tama Cook also kicked a conversion.

Both Paora and Alizay made milestones in the match, with Paora scoring his 200th point and Alizay his 100th point in premier rugby.

Brodhi Archibald was awarded three most valuable player points, Dustin Wawatai one point and Ngarongo Selby-Rickit one point.

Rāhui defeated Paraparaumu in the season