Event to keep Maori culture alive
Hundreds of children are gearing up for events designed to help keep Maori culture alive in South Canterbury.
Korohi o Te Pepi will take place at the Arowhenua Marae and will feature children under five years of age performing waiata, dance and ‘‘actions songs’’ - a combination of arts and dance, project manager Felicity McMillan said.
‘‘Getting children involved with Maori culture from a young age is vital for upholding and maintaining Maori traditions,’’ McMillan said.
‘‘It’s extremely important that our tamariki learn our Maori culture ... with- out them, it would die.’’
All songs will be performed in the Maori language in the dialect of the local Maori tribe, the Ngaitaha, McMillan said.
One hundred to 150 children would be involved, she said.
A second event, Ka Toi Maori Aoraki Flava, would run at the Theatre Royal in Timaru on August 18, and 500 primary and secondary school students will perform, she McMillan said.
Ti Kouka Kindergarten head teacher for rima tamariki Caylee Bell said 27 kindergarten children would perform six waiata at Korohi o Te Pepi, and most of the waiata have hand actions which went with them.
‘‘The children have been working on this for quite some time, probably around about six weeks.’’
The kindergarten had taken part in the festival each year for the three years it had been running, she said.
‘‘They really love it, obviously we’re doing te reo waiata within our programme all the time anyway.
‘‘But they really love the whole performance aspect of it, knowing that they’re going to be on stage and performing for their whanau.’’
She said 11 other early childhood education centres from around South Canterbury would be taking part.
Korohi o Te Pepi starts at 9.30am on Friday at Arowhenua Marae.
Waimate Shears gets heaters
Supporters of Waimate Shears’ first event at their new facility will not go cold. On Monday Waimate Shears received a donation of two gas and two diesel heaters from Waimate ITM staff. The heater will be used at the new pavilion at the Waimate A & P Showgrounds. ‘‘They will be used with the first event, a Rotary fundraiser - Argentinian BBQ and auction, this Saturday,’’ Waimate Shears chief executive Eileen Smith said.
Waitaki Easter trading
Waitaki MP and Small Business Minister Jacqui Dean is calling on the Waitaki District Council to communicate with the community and make a decision about whether retailers can open their doors at Easter. ‘‘It’s taken the council considerable time to tackle this issue, while other areas around the region have already established a policy. About a third of councils across the country, including eight in the South Island, have introduced policies allowing retailers to open - if they choose.’’ Dean said she had campaigned for more than a decade to have the law changed around Easter Sunday trading and would like to see business owners around the Waitaki afforded the option next year.
No dismissal
A South Canterbury woman who threw her work keys at her employer and left her workplace because she was upset at being accused of smoking cannabis was not unjustifiably dismissed, the Employment Relations Authority has found. The judgement from authority member James Crichton was released on July 10. Crichton said it appeared the employee abandoned her employment, at General Back-Up Company Ltd in Waimate. Her employer confronted her in May, saying he had had complaints from other employees who said she smelled of cannabis. ‘‘[She] acknowledged becoming hostile when [he] raised the cannabis allegations and confirmed that she had used a number of uncharitable expressions during the discussion. That evidence is, with [her employer’s] recollection of how these events played out,’’ Crichton said.
Nose to tail crash
Washdyke firefighters, police and a St John ambulance crew attended a ‘‘minor’’ crash involving a truck and car which ‘‘nose to tailed’’ on Hilton Highway in Timaru about 4.50pm. A St John spokesman said one woman, aged in her forties, was taken to Timaru Hospital’s emergency department with minor injuries.