Jobs bonanza from $6m marae upgrades
Work is under way on more than $6 million of upgrades for marae in the Whanganui and South Taranaki regions as part of a regional economic recovery drive.
Renovations at 26 marae are expected to create hundreds of jobs in the region. The programme is funded by the Provincial Growth Fund and is being rolled out by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Provincial Development Unit.
A team at Te Puni Ko¯kiri in Whanganui is overseeing the renovations programme for 64 marae in the wider Te Tai Hauaru area. Team member Jonelle Hiroti-Kinane says the programme is a response to the impact of Covid-19.
“It was an effort to re-deploy people into jobs and for other areas to be boosted within the economy, creating mahi for our local contractors and suppliers,” HirotiKinane said.
In the Ruapehu district, Ma¯ karanui Marae between Raetihi and Ohakune is one of a cluster of seven local marae benefitting from $1m under the scheme. It is the first of the marae cluster to start work.
Funds allocated to the Ka¯hui Maunga marae cluster project are being managed by Nga¯ti Rangi iwi trust Nga¯ Waihua o Paerangi.
Project manager for the Ka¯hui Maunga project, Chaana Morgan, says the major refit at Ma¯karanui is well under way and six other marae — Raetihi, Mangamingi, Tirorangi, Maungarongo, Raketapauma and Opaea — will start work as soon as contractors and materials are available. They have until December to finish their projects.
“It’s all based on supply and demand,” Morgan said. “With the need for housing, suppliers and contractors are in high demand. It’s just a matter of trying to get on the radar and on the calendar of those who can give that love to our marae and our people.”
Ma¯karanui Marae trustee Puawai Moore grew up at Ma¯karanui papaka¯inga (settlement), watching her parents, aunts and uncles fundraising doggedly to provide a meeting place on land set aside by her grandfather for the hapu¯ Nga¯ti Tamakana of Uenuku iwi.
“I grew up knowing my grandfather had given this land, which he had partitioned, to the people. It was for the people of Tamakana for a marae and a meeting place.
“In 1951 mum went to court and got this set aside as a reservation. A committee was set up and a lot of fundraising was started.
“They played euchre out at Raetihi,
In 1951 mum went to court and got this set aside as a reservation. A committee was set up and a lot of fundraising was started. Puawai Moore Ma¯ karanui Marae trustee
and at the rodeo and show Dad and Uncle Gunna would leave at about 4 o’clock in the morning on a horse and gig to put the ha¯ngi down. They did that for years and years and years. It was a lot of hard work for people who had nothing.”
The fundraising let the next generation build a whare. In the 25 years since, it’s been a gathering place for wha¯nau and hapu¯ connected with the land, and there are plans to develop the marae further. Ma¯karanui Marae trust chair Sheryl Connell said many members of the hapu¯ no longer live in the area but need a place to return to, as anticipated by the old people who set the land aside for that purpose.
“A lot of our wha¯nau come back here to reconnect themselves with their whakapapa, with their wha¯nau, with their hapu¯,” Connell said. “It’s important to have a tu¯ rangawaewae that they’re able to have a deep connection with.”
She said the whare was built as the first stage of the vision for a comprehensive marae development, but further fundraising was needed to achieve that vision. The 25-year-old building had taken a battering last winter, was leaking and needed to be re-clad and made warmer. The upgrade includes plumbing, carpentry, electrical, insulation, flooring and painting work. The renovations have brought work and business to the area, Connell said.
“Our renovation has created casual work opportunities for our people as well as utilising local businesses as our providers and tradespeople.”
She said local teenagers working on the site were building their skills base and learning aspects of construction, including how to demolish and dismantle parts of the building. It was hoped their experience would lead to interest in further trade training and education, and ongoing opportunities with their hapu¯ and iwi.