Tō mātou whare: Tākao whānau

Darney Tākao lives in Bishopdale, Nelson, with his wife Edwina (Weenie) and youngest daughter Niyah. Darney’s whakapapa connection to Wakatū is through Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama and Te Ātiawa. His tūpuna are Rīwai Ngāpaki, Rangihokoaia, Te Wahapiro Paremata, Hara te Hiu and Whangaingahau. He works for APM Workcare, supporting people into employment.

TŌ MĀTOU WHARE

TĀKAO WHĀNAU

We moved back to Whakatū just over a year ago after living the past seven years in Australia. We wanted to reconnect with our children and grandchildren and with the whenua. Our youngest daughter Niyah spent most of her life in Australia. Tikanga Māori wasn’t part of her life over there. Now she is back, she is hungry for it – kapa haka, te reo Māori, all of it. I’ve always tried to keep connected with Wakatū. Before we went to Australia, I’d go to AGMs, but didn’t have a lot of involvement beyond that. Since we’ve returned, our whānau connection with Wakatū is a lot stronger. My son Hōani works for Wakatū, and other whānau have been involved through programmes like ahi kaa, tupuranga and the taiohi wānanga. We rent this house. When we came home, the rental market was pretty competitive, and we hustled hard to get this place. We’d lived in the area before and liked the community here. Our home is private, sunny and has an interesting view out towards the hills and back over the city. There’s plenty of room for us, as well as our son Shavez who works on the boats and stays with us every six weeks or so. This deck is great for entertaining. When all the children and grandchildren come around, we get tables and chairs out and set it up café-style. It’s a wonderful space to spend time with whānau.

Left to right: Niyah Tākao, Shushila MacSwain, Kāhlō MacSwain (on Shushila's lap), Darney Tākao, Weenie Tākao, Mākoi Tākao and Amalia Esposito (on Mākoi’s lap). Photo: Virginia Woolf