Saturday, 6 February 2021, 6:50 pm
An
estimated 500 people from throughout Murihiku, Ōtākou and
around Aotearoa have today commemorated Waitangi Day at Te
Rau Aroha Marae in Awarua Bluff.
Manuhiri –
including Deputy Chief of Navy Commodore Melissa Ross (on
behalf of the Governor General), Minister of Housing Hon
Megan Woods, Minister of Agriculture Hon Damien O’Connor,
mayors, and other community leaders – were welcomed on to
the marae, which hosts the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival every
third year. Te Rau Aroha Marae holds historical significance
as it was one of three places Ngāi Tahu tūpuna signed the
Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.
Awarua Rūnaka hosted this year s Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff.
Tā Tipene O Regan is calling on Southlanders to start thinking nationally for the benefit of Murihiku. Speaking on the subject of regenerating the region as part of the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival on Saturday, O’Regan said Southlanders, and New Zealand as a whole, were facing a once-in-many-generations opportunity to reset the way it handled energy. He was referring to the future of the Manapōuri Hydro Station when the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter at Tiwai Point – the biggest user of its power – inevitably stopped manufacturing activities.
Human skull uncovered during family beach walk in Southland
18 Jan, 2021 07:39 PM
3 minutes to read
Alan Clark, of Greenhills, points to the pile of rocks which now covers the spot where he came across a cranium. Photo / Jenet Gellatly
Otago Daily Times
A Greenhills man was taken aback when he discovered a human skull while out walking with his family at Omaui Beach.
It was meant to be a quiet Boxing Day ramble for Alan Clark, his daughters and spouses who were visiting between Christmas and New Year.
A beachcomber for many years, Clark said although he had walked along the stretch of rocky coastline from the beach towards the former signal station pilot s house near the entrance to New River Estuary regularly, he had felt drawn to the spot where he discovered the cranium exposed to the elements on an eroded bank.
Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Helen Wilson with the first and last Korowai (traditional Māori cloak) she weaved, Wilson has been teaching wānanga at Te Rau Aroha Marae.
Traditional Māori weaving of korowai (traditional Māori cloak) has been increasing popularity in Southland. Ngāi Tahu kamātua Tā Tipene O’Regan said there had been amazing resurgence in the skills of weaving based in Awarua/Bluff. In the past few years, there are more korowai being woven and decorated per year than any 30 year phase of his life, he said. Since 2019, Helen Wilson has been holding wānanga classes once a month at Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff.