New mill house given Maori blessing

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 373, 12 February 1991, Page 2

New mill house given Maori blessing

From page 1 son, mill manager; and members of the amenities building committee, assembled to the south of the new building and the blessing party grouped in front of it before walking around the perimeter of the building as part of the ceremony. Forming up in front of the building again Mr Mareikura asked "Ko wai te ingoa o te whare?" ( what is the name of this house), to which Mr Anderson replied "Te Kaianga". "Mo wai te whare nei?" (who is the house for?) asked Mr Mareikura. "Mo nga uri Whaka tupu," (for the generations to come), was the

answer. The Puhi (a young person) then came forward and opened the building and, once inside, the group walked around the inside of the building. After the ceremony Mr Mareikura thanked the company for the opportunity to bless not only the new building but the whole mill site. He said it was long overdue, but that it was never too late to carry out such a task. Speeches from mill manager Dave Anderson, amenities building committee chairman Bill Scobie and others followed. Mr Anderson congratulated the mill committee on achieving so

much with the money allocated by the mill's owners. He said the contribution from Perfect

Match, the Hong Kong based company that owns the mill, was an indication that the

change of ownership of the mill had ended and was also to thank the mill workers.