Te Whanake - Our Blog
Supporting a whānau class celebration
The end of year hui for the Motueka High School Whanau Class was a great opportunity for NRAIT to show its commitment to supporting educational achievement among our people. The whanau class is made up of 60 students representing iwi and hapu from throughout Aotearoa and includes a number of NRAIT owners.
The hui was held at Te Awhina Marae, with NRAIT taking the opportunity to sponsor lunch and breakfast for the students and staff.
Motueka High School also counts a number of well-known NRAIT owners among its alumni, including our very own Miriana Stephens, who recently featured as guest speaker at the school’s senior prize-giving.
Ohu Maatu Art Competition - runner up
Congratulations to Lucia Banks for winning the runner up prize for the Ohu Maatu art competition we held over the weekend. Her painting showed us what she learnt from the morning korero in our tour of our homelands, toi whenua.
Lucia won a voucher to spend at Smiggle, so she can buy some cool new pens and stationery for school.
Here's Lucia at work.
Art goes under the hammer
Te Awhina Marae played host to a highly successful Matariki Degustation Dinner & Art Auction fund raiser on Saturday 29 June, showcasing and auctioning a selection of outstanding works from some of the Nelson region’s most renowned artists, sculptors and carvers, as well as some known nationally. The event raised an estimated $24,000 for the marae, a feat that could not have been achieved without the help and support of volunteers, sponsors, the artists, the whanau and the community.
Each of the 29 successive auctions was as exciting as the last with the high point being an exceptional piece by Rangi Kipa. His whale bone patu fundraised $3,800. All the pieces were very generously donated by the artists.
Ann Martin, Tumuaki at Te Awhina Marae, said that as well as being a very successful fund raiser for the marae, the auction was a great way to bring the community together. “It was great to see everyone having such a good time together, mixing and mingling and generally having a lovely evening.”
Special thanks go to head chef James Tait for his tireless effort.
