The Concept

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 688, 27 May 1997, Page 9

The Concept

The 1990 Commemoration of the Treaty of Waitangi was the source of the first Sing Aotearoa Festival, held at Ohakune during Labour Weekend 1990, preceded by regional festivals on the same theme. The intention to hold a multi-cultural festival of choral music eame from the New Zealand Choral Federation; the successful implementation of this idea can be attributed to many fortuitous circumstances - the enthusiasm of Graham Hoffman of New Zealand Choral Federation, the vision of Paraire Huata of the 1990 Commission Office, the wise and gentle counsel of Kelly Harris, highly respected in Maori choral music, the input of Greg Tata, and the many dedicated workers they gathered around them, forming the first Sing Aotearoa Council. The choice of Ohakune as location came from the South Ruapehu District's desire to diversify from its role as a Winter Ski Resort into spring and summer activity. Ohakune was seen symbolically as a journeying and meeting point - the Maori and European journeys, the journey of the Treaty, the meeting point of the sections of Main Trunk Railway. Its location on the border of Tongariro National Park was also symbolic, the powerful presence of the mountains being a reminder of the magnanimous gift of the mountain land to the Crown by local Maori.