Wainuiomata School marae

Tu Tangata, Issue 20, 1 October 1984, Page 21

Wainuiomata School marae

He iwi

Wainuiomata Intermediate School, Wellington, now has a marae. After using the ground floor of an open plan building for about three years Mr Philip Cope decided to make the presence of the marae more obvious. Mr Cope, teacher and tutor of the school culture group, Te Kahui Tamariki, says that they have been using the room for powhiri, culture practice, and over the years, have entertained many visitors there. All the tukutuku work was done by the children, with help from Mrs Maheno Pokai. In fact, the kowhaiwhai panels, and carving was done by the

children as well. It seems appropriate then, that the kawa is “children's kawa”. Mr Cope explained that this means the children have first priority on the marae. And he says that no tribe has any dominance over the operation of the marae. “Take for example the day of the opening,” he says, “the karanga was Ngapuhi, the whaikorero was Ngati Porou and the chant was Taranaki.” He assures that the children don’t find it confusing at all. “Maori is maori.” The main reason why the marae was established was to teach the children

self-confidence, self-esteem and making them feel important. Support from the local community is attributed to the success of the presence of the marae. “We haven’t applied for any financial assistance we’ve done our fundraising through our community. “The people here are marvellous. Kids were allowed to stay after school, voluntary labour came from all over the place, and the other marae committee were always there when we needed them. “We’re just a hapu of them (The Wainuiomata Community Marae).”