“Kauaka e kōrero mō te awa engari kōrero ki te awa”
“Do not talk about the river; talk to the river”
It was a happy occasion though touched with a little sadness for our most recent Te Tai Hauaauru Hui in Whanganui. This was our first hui without our hoa, colleague, Queenie, stalwart, advocate… Sheeanda.
It was fabulous to have a few members from Te Upoko o te Ika join us this time round. This was an opportunity for us to come together to korero about Hui a Tau 2026, and see how we can awhi our main organisers Jasmin Ratana and Sandy Nepia, keep an eye out on the website as the full programme has been finalised, but keep in mind some changes may occur as well. We talked through some logistics and couple more items to be added to the busy programme. Don’t forget to register whanau as we would love to see you all. Just a reminder if you are flying in, Whanganui does have an airport but there are limited airlines and flights available, I would suggest either flying into Palmerston North, it about 1 hr 30mins to the marae from there or flying into Wellington its about 3 hrs 30 mins from there. If the weather is behaving itself there is also the chance to take a dip in the awa for those keen.
We were given an amazing taster tour of Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery, updates on the bid for WLIC 2029, to potentially be held in Aotearoa.
The chance to come together kanohi ki te kanohi is a real privilege, this is our time to reconnect, rejuvenate and re-energise before returning to our various mahi. Tino nui shout out to Sandy and Jas for once again hosting us and making us feel welcomed and comfortable in their spaces. To finish a tino nui shout out to Te Rōpū Whakahau for the funding through the rohe grants to support us in coming together as well.
We look forward to seeing you in November for Hui a Tau 2026
‘Ki te Awa Tupua’
