Kia ora koutou,
Today is the first time for us to step over into the world of Blogging!
As this can be new to many including the office, we would appreciate your feedback.
Winter can be a quiet period for the marae, that gives way for us to get stuck into lots of maintenance. Over the last two weeks the office crew have had a scheduled spring (winter) clean out. It was all hands on deck when it came to giving the Hui room beside the office special attention and I can confirm it is looking pretty spesh!
Don't forget if you are wanting one of our exclusive Te Runanga o Otakou hoodies, all sizes $50 each. You must register as Hapu member first. This is a great initiative to get you and your whanau registered with Otakou. For further enquiries, please contact the office.
Our handymen, Pete and Jon with the help of the PD boys have installed steps down the side of Hakuiao, a work in progress. We appreciate the continued effort of the boys when they come.
WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING AT OTAKOU MARAE
Taieri Beach School Marae visit
The entire school; Students, Principle and teachers. It was a pleasure to manaaki Taieri Beach School.
On Thursday 21st June we had a visit from Taieri Beach School, there are only 7 students that attend this school. They're visit was far too short but very sweet, we had the best time with them, hopefully we can share a photo of them in the near future but for now we can share some of their personal messages that they have sent to the office, we hope to see them again very soon!...Here is a couple of the messages we recieved;
1) Dear Taikawa, Sha, Michelle, Natalie and Anne, My name is Ethan and I am the youngest pupil at Taieri Beach School. I am five. I would like to say Thank-you for having us on your Marae yesterday. I liked playing the pu game with T.K and Sha. I had fun
Your sincerely
Ethan
2) Dear Otakou Marae staff, Thank you for letting us come over to the Marae, it was very fun and exciting. I liked learning the locations of different Maraes. I loved the cakes, they were very tasty. The scones were the most tasty, Thank-you Anne. I liked the warm welcome song too. I like learning the history about your Maori culture.
From LOUIE.
3) Dear Otakou Marae staff, Thank you for letting us eat the scones, they were the best ever they are SUPER GOOD YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM .I really liked learning the history of your Marae, oh I loved the game pu. Thank you T.K for helping learn how to say Ahitereiria. Thank you T.K, Sha, Michelle, Natalie and Anne
From Harry
WHANAU IN THE URUPA
Today we had a visit from Tawhiri Karetai who has come down to prepare his mother's grave for her unveiling on the 30th June 2018, arohanui to the whanau.
To see up and coming events please see our
EVENTS PAGE.
TAUTOKO
THE OTAKOU RUNANGA MAORI WARDENS
ARE RECRUITING!
If you think you might have the skills and attributes to be a Māori Warden I would love to have a korero with you.
I am looking for you if you enjoy supporting people, have a love for the community they live in, have some spare time to give and have a reasonable fitness level as we patrol a lot meaning there is a bit of walking.
For our younger ones the training, experience and credibility you gain from doing this voluntary mahi sets you in very good stead if you are looking at increasing your employability rating. It is particularly attractive if you are considering a career in the NZ Police.
If you have a criminal conviction I encourage you to still contact me to see if it will be a barrier as you may be surprised what is still acceptable.
TE REO MĀORI EVENING SCREENING
- MĀRAMA Ā-WHETŪ: LIGHT OF THE STARS
AT OTAGO MUSEUM
Planetarium show
Discover the stories of Aotearoa New Zealand’s night skies in this special te reo Māori screening.
Mārama ā-Whetū: Light of the Stars relates the story of the Polynesian explorers who navigated across the ocean to Aotearoa, and highlights New Zealand’s most significant astronomical features. This screening will be followed by a live exploration of the Dunedin night sky in our 360° planetarium, guided by a Tūhura science communicator in both te reo Māori and English.
Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.
Child (3-18 years): $10 Adult: $15
7pm, Sunday 22 July
Perpetual Guardian Planetarium
Bayfield High School’s Matariki Celebration Fundraiser
All are welcome to this student friendly film festival.
We open the invite to the community and contributing schools in the area.
The Matariki short film festival is at
The Guthrie Pavilion Thursday 28th June 6-8pm
$5 with cheese rolls and refreshments included.
SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION
2018 YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN
Kia ora
The Annual Yellow-eyed Penguin Symposium is on again for 2018. Please note our change in venue this year to accommodate a larger audience.
Date: Saturday 4th August
Time: 9am - 4pm
Venue: Archway 2 Lecture Theatre
Archway Building on the corner of Union Street East and Leith Walk (look for the YEPT flags along the way!)
University of Otago, Dunedin (map can be found here)
During the day there will be time for all groups who wish to have an opportunity to report on what they have done for yellow-eyed penguins / hoiho during the past year. Please indicate on the registration form if your group would like to report and who will be speaking on behalf of your group. We will try our best to accommodate all requests to present.
The morning session will focus on season reports for monitoring, research, habitat and survey work undertaken over the past year, from community groups in Otago, Stewart Island / Rakiura and Codfish Island / Whenua Hou, Banks Peninsula / Te Pataka o Rakaihautu and the Sub-antarctic Islands.
The afternoon session will allow for longer presentations on relevant issues.
Morning tea and lunch will be provided as in previous years. Registration is staying at $30 per person and the symposium price is budgeted to cover costs only - there is no intention to make a profit.
Registration information
To register, please complete this form indicating your contact details and method of payment. If paying by direct credit, include your name and YEP SYMPOSIUM as the reference. Please note, we can only confirm your registration once you have forwarded your registration fee or made other arrangements for payment, due to catering requirements.
Please forward this to others in your networks that may be interested in attending.
We look forward to seeing you at the symposium.
Kind regards
Sue Murray
Bruce McKinlay
General Manager
Technical Advisor
Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust
Department of Conservation
P: +64 3 479 0011
