Ngā Mate o ēnei Marama
Since our last pānui Rehua Marae has hosted two tangihanga.
Poihaere Eru (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāi Tūhoe)
Peter Arthur Te Paa (Te Rarawa) – a Rehua old boy.
No reira, moe mai kōrua, i roto i ou kōrua moengaroa.
Message from Chair
Kia ora koutou whānau ma,
Since our last newsletter we have had the opportunity to farewell our Operations Manager Maria Tait and welcome our new Marae Manager, Raylee Price. We are also in the process of appointing a new Marae Administrator and two new Trustees to the board. Since its inception Rehua Marae has always been in the heart of Ōtautahi and as our city continues to be rebuilt, Rehua will continue to fulfill its cultural obligations to the community. Our Kahui Kaumātua and Rehua community have been actively involved in developing the Strategic Vision for Rehua. This commitment is at the heart of their vision for the marae.
We are still awaiting the final determination of our post-earthquake engineering reports. We hope to have this process with our insurance company completed by the end of the year. The Board and Management will then be in a position to determine the future development possibilities for the Rehua Marae complex. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our October AGM. This will be a great chance for you to hear the Board reports, say goodbye to our outgoing board members, and meet the incoming Trustees.
Naku noa,
Dora Roimata Langsbury
Haere ra Maria Tait
About 100 whānau, friends and colleagues gathered at the marae on Friday 7 September to farewell and acknowledge Maria for her two years of service and dedication as operations manager.
It was a wonderful occasion that started with a karakia in the wharenui and then moved into the dining hall for kai and speeches. The kai was delicious, as you would expect with Maria being involved, and trays of delectable delights consistently made their way out of the kitchen.
Dora spoke on behalf of the board and thanked Maria for her work to uphold the mana and tikanga of the marae and her dedication to manaakitanga and whanaungatanga to all those that visit and use the marae. Many stood to honour this wahine toa including her brother Tutehounuku “Nuk” Korako.
On behalf of the Rehua community the Trustees would like to again acknowledge Maria and all she has done for the marae and its people.
Nei anō te mihi kau atu ki a koe, mōu i whakapau werawera mō tēnei marae, ā, mō te hapori whānui. Kei te mihi.
Nau mai Raylee Price
Raylee Price (Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Waitaha, Ngāti Mamoe and Ngāi Tahu) is happy to be home amongst her whānau and taking on the role of Rehua Marae Manager.
It was hard for her to consider leaving Te Awamutu to return to Christchurch, but with encouragement from her husband Robert (Bob) and whānau down here, in the end Raylee says it was the right thing to do.
“I love Christchurch. All my whānau are here and like my husband said, there was a feeling there was unfinished business here for me, both in terms of whānau and professionally.”
From 2004 to 2008 she lived here while leading a team to set up the first Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in Ōtautahi and Te Waipounamu. In 2008 she returned to Te Awamutu, her home for 20 years, and continued working for Te Wānanga and then moved to Telecom, before taking up her new role.
Raylee and Bob, who have a small Bed and Breakfast business, raised their four children Joann, Tema, Sian and Maddock in both Pukemiro and Te Awamutu. Raylee has strong whakapapa connections to both Te Taumutu and Ōtākou rūnanga, through her father Te Reimana Tuatini, son of Mekura (Kuini) Taiaroa. She was raised in Raetihi and near the Whanganui river.
Even though Raylee was raised in the North Island, she has fond memories of both her aunties Ruruhira Williams (Aunty Lou) and Ruku Arahanga’s involvement with Rehua Marae.
Raylee completed a Bachelor of Education at Massey University in 2001 and has four papers towards an MBA. “I was considering going back to university to finish my MBA, but then this job came up and so it will have to wait for a while,” she says.
Raylee is taking her time to get “her feet under the table” and get a feel of how things operate at the marae and as well as getting to know the staff and tenants. “I’m reflective about what the future holds – the marae needs to continue to honour everyone concerned. I am strong on resources and finances and having the support of the Kahui Kaumātua is important. We need business development, but also to retain the tikanga and kawa of the marae – it’s about finding a balance.”
Strategic Plan
The Board has signed off on “Rahere Rautaki” 2012-2022 – the Rehua Marae strategic plan. This will be presented at the AGM in October. The board has been refining the document following our planning hui in July, and once again wants to thank everyone for the input and guidance they have offered in the process so far. The next step with be for the manager to develop an operational plan that will fulfill on the aspirations contained in the plan.
Rehua Maintenance committee
It has been over two years since the 7.1 magnitude earth quake struck on 4 September 2010, and like so many others we are still working through insurance matters and dealing with things like the scope of works. It is important that we take our time and with the assistance of the legal team from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, we have engaged an independent engineer too carry out more detailed inspections and offer us another opinion. We will keep you up to date on progress.
In respect of the Kaumātua Flats, we have received an insurance payment in relation to the damages. This money will be used for repairs which are all cosmetic. Myself, and our caretaker Harry, have undertaken some work in one of the flats having repainted the interior, put in new carpet, drapes, net curtains and venetian blinds, which was well overdue.
We have also engaged a plumber to do some outstanding maintenance work around the marae which will include replacing a number of leaking taps, ball cocks and repairs to showers. We will also replace 20 metres of copper spouting that was stolen off the wharenui. The Police are investigating for insurance purposes and if anyone has any information about this matter please phone the marae.
We plan to have a working-bee and BBQ when it gets a bit warmer. There’s a lot of tidying up to do, tree pruning, painting, cleaning out spouting, down pipes and drains etc. We’ll make sure you receive plenty of notice and hopefully we’ll see you all there.
Nō reira, mā te atua i manaaki i a tatou katoa.
Bill Bush
Funding Committee
The funding Committee has successfully applied for funds from the Christchurch City Council’s Creative Communities that will be used to assist with paying marae operations salaries.
What’s Been Happening at Rehua
Maria’s Farewell
Raylee’s Welcome
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa
Tauira from Te Ara Reo Māori Level 2 run by Te Wānanga O Aotearoa held a noho marae for 86 students to learn tikanga and kawa o te marae on 15 -17 September.
Harry and the Rehua Moua
If you’ve been to Rehua lately you may have noticed that the lawns are looking pretty flash! (Not that they don’t usually!) Keeping them in order has been made a lot easier and a lot cheaper through the purchase of a ride-on lawn mower. In the past it would take hours and hours for Harry to push a small version round the marae, so up until recently we have paid a contractor to take care of them. This has been quite expensive, so after some research and sharp negotiating from Bill, the board okayed the purchase of the new mower so Harry can take care of the lawns himself without the hours of back-breaking work. We will quickly recoup the purchase price with the savings we will make, and Rehua will continue to look fabulous.
And sorry whānau, the moua is under extremely tight 24/7 security (there’s a padlock on the gate) and unfortunately it can’t be borrowed at the weekend!
Events Calendar
Te Whatumanawa Māoritanga o Rehua Trust Board
The Rehua community are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting and usual board meetings at Rehua Marae. The Board will welcome two new Trustees and acknowledge departing Trustees.
AGM
Venue: Rehua Marae
Date: Monday 29 October
Time: 6pm.
Board Meeting
Venue: Rehua Marae
Date: Monday 26 November
Time: 6pm.
Board Meeting
Venue: Rehua Marae
Date: Monday 17 December
Time: 6pm.
Waiata, Tikanga and Taonga Puoro Hui
Venue: Rehua Marae
Date: Sunday 30 September (and every last Sunday of the month)
Time: 12pm – 1.30pm
Contact: For further information contact Whare Tamanui: Whare.Tamanui@barnardos.org.nz or hereoma@gmail.com
Ratana Church Service
Venue: Rehua Marae wharenui
Date: Sunday 21 October (and every third Sunday of the month)
Time: 11am
Contact: For further information contact Whare Tamanui: Whare.Tamanui@barnardos.org.nz or hereoma@gmail.com
USO Bike Ride 2012
The USO (“Understanding – Strengthening – Overcoming”) Bike Ride is an event to raise cancer awareness for Pacific and Māori communities by cycling the length of New Zealand. It starts on October 13 at Cape Farewell and ends at Bluff on October 26. Eleven Pacific and Māori men are involved and they will be stopping in at Rehua Marae on Tuesday 23 October. They plan to arrive at the marae at 3pm and will be staying with us for the night before they head off to Timaru the next day.
That night they will be at the marae until 6pm and then they are holding a community hui. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information check out: www.afolattalofa.co.nz or tune in to CODE on Māori TV on October 11.
Marae Bookings
Rehua Marae is the perfect venue for wānanga, hui, weddings, birthdays and celebrations for whānau, community or corporate events.
For all bookings and enquiries contact the marae or call in to the office:
Phone: 03 355 5615
Fax: 03 355 4964
Email: admin@rehuamarae.org.nz
Rehua old boys, girls and whānau
Rehua Marae is building a database of names and addresses and invites all old boys and girls and whānau to contact us with your details. Your information will remain confidential and will allow Rehua to stay in touch with you and let the community know what’s happening at the marae.
If you know any old boys or whānau that would like to be involved and informed please encourage them to contact us, or better still let us know and we can contact them.
Please contact Dora Langsbury:
Mobile: 027 228 7968
Home: 03 377 4588
Email: dora.roimata.langsbury@gmail.com