Susan Tawaka

Susan Rawaka

Photo: Naomi Aporo

SUSAN TAWAKA - NGĀTI KOATA, TE ĀTIAWA, NGĀTI KUIA, RANGITĀNE, NGĀI TAHU, TUHOURANGI NGĀTI WĀHIAO, NGĀ PUHI

I am the youngest of three. I’ve an older brother, Callan, and a sister, Janis. I grew up in Whakatū until I was around 11, when my English step-dad and my mum decided to move to the UK. I lived with them in the UK for a year. Although it was an interesting experience, I got homesick, so I asked if I could move back to Aotearoa and live with my grandparents, Teoti-Hou (Jo) and Shirley (née Wilson) MacDonald, and my sister, Janis. Looking back on it now, I’m surprised my parents agreed, but they did, so I moved back to Whakatū.

My grandparents and sister have been hugely influential in my life. They were all deeply involved in the Māori community. Grandmum was a stronghold of whakapapa in our whānau. She was also a talented craftsperson, proficient in weaving, piupiu-making and taaniko; she was always creating something, or gardening or cooking.

My grandad was a hard worker with a quick sense of humour and a big heart. He involved all his moko in work – whether it was potato harvesting, picking pinecones and sorting the seeds. He also organised us to gather apples and pears from friends’ orchards to give away to families. I became a pro tea-maker for whānau and visitors who called in home most days. It was an automatic thing to do, without asking. Grandad also worked with those who needed to complete community service hours. He made real, life-long connections with people and taught me valuable life lessons simply through how he lived his own life.

With our roots in Whakatū, our whānau spent a lot of time nurturing and strengthening our Ngāti Kuia and Ngāti Koata ties and through my grandparents, I spent a lot of time involved in iwi life, and on marae around Te Tauihu. With us kids in tow, Grandad was involved in the building of both Whakatū Marae here in Whakatū and Te Hora Pā in Canvastown. Even at a young age, I was aware this marked a milestone era for Māori of Te Tauihu.

My sister Janis was also very influential in my cultural development. When I came back from the UK, she enrolled me at Nayland College where I became part of the Māori student hub, or ‘whānau room’, coordinated by Aunty Jane duFeu. I also joined the school kapa haka group, Te Whaioranga. I’ve kept up my involvement in kapa haka and other kaupapa Māori initiatives. Recently I joined the Te Tauihu Māori Cultural Council. We’re working on upcoming regional events and also preparing for 2025, when Te Tauihu will be hosting Te Matatini.

Nearly ten years ago some of us re-established the Whakatū Marae Waka Ama Club committee. Waka ama is important to me. Like kapa haka, it is more than recreational and helps to keep me culturally connected. I also love the challenge and the camaraderie that comes from competitive racing. Being part of a committed six-woman crew, we’ve gained experience individually and collectively in the past two years.

I’m blessed – I love my whānau and my mahi, but with a busy family life, time for myself is scarce. Being on the water is healing. I value the intrinsic connection with the moana and paddling means you can be in the moment – it is almost like meditation for me.

I’ve always been connected to Wakatū through my Grandmum, and through the community and the marae, but it wasn’t until I became a kaimahi here that I’ve gained a better appreciation of what Wakatū does as an organisation.

In terms of my role as property assistant, it’s a varied one, ranging from minute-taking at board meetings to health and safety for contractors. I’m involved in a lot of administration and support, as well as being part of the team looking at ways we can reduce waste at Wakatū House to help us reach our zero-waste goal by 2028. We’ve made some changes already, from a campaign to encourage people to use Keep Cups for their daily takeaway coffee, to changing to a more sustainable option for our photocopy paper. Working on these projects has led to me making some changes at home as well – I’m much more aware of the need to reduce and recycle these days.

I’ve always been connected to Wakatū through my grandmum, and through the community and the marae. My tūpuna Te Pou Hēmi (Ngāti Koata) was one of the original Owners but it wasn’t until I became a kaimahi here that I’ve gained a better appreciation of what Wakatū does as an organisation.

In my role, I’m learning new things every day – whether it’s about our commercial property portfolio or the sites that are of deep significance to our whānau. Many people don’t know that Wakatū is one of the largest private land owners in Te Tauihu, and we have a responsibility to look after sites of cultural significance. I feel what I do is an honour, and I love being part of the team caring for our whenua.

Working at Wakatū is more than just mahi for me. I’m learning more about our whānau and our connection to the land. In the Whenua team,we are all aware of the responsibility we have, not just for this generation but for the generations to come.

I love a lot of things about Wakatū but I am most proud of being an active part of the overarching vision and purpose, Te Pae Tawhiti. I have much respect for ngā pou e ono or uara that guide us in the way we want to achieve that vision. I see each of the six values - kaitiakitanga, whanaungatanga, rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, hihiritanga and pono - as important as the other and look forwardto playing my part in this journey.

People probably don’t think of what we do in terms of love, but I can say that there is a lot of aroha – love of the mahi we do, love of the people we do it for, and love of the whenua and moana.