For many rangatahi growing up across the ditch, the connection to Aotearoa can often feel distant. For 16-year-old Meremaraea Tairea-Katipa, who was born in Logan, Brisbane, the desire to embrace her Māori identity became an increasingly significant part of her life as she navigated high school.
“Since year 7, the start of high school, I’ve been wanting to do kapa haka, get into my culture and learn more about it, but there just wasn’t a lot of opportunities in Ahitereiria,” Meremaraea said.
Her mother, Wynette Tairea, agrees that the environment for Māori rangatahi abroad can be challenging. “Opportunities are rare in Australia, and Meremaraea learnt her culture and was comfortable being Māori. In Australia it’s hard for any indigenous,” Wynette said.
Meremaraea’s journey to reconnect reached a powerful crescendo earlier this month on the national secondary kapa haka stage. She was fortunate to be selected for Te Kura Matua o Wainuiomatā, performing in Tauranga alongside the country’s top school groups. For Meremaraea, competing proved to be a truly transformative experience.
“Performing on the secondary stage for the very first time was scary. I did find it overwhelming, but at the same time, I just thought: This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. This is what I’ve been waiting for,” she said.
Her mother has witnessed a profound change in her daughter’s confidence since this journey began. “As a kid she was shy, she wouldn’t talk to people and now since everything she just loves being on stage. Loves everything, like being comfortable to do interviews like this”.
Inspired by this reconnection, Meremaraea has made the life-changing decision to relocate to Aotearoa permanently. For her mother, the decision represents more than just a move; it is a homecoming. “She gets to go home and just be Māori, and just be her. It’s perfect”.
Reflecting on her future, Meremaraea is clear about what she seeks to gain: “I’ve discovered that I want to be more connected to my whenua, to my land, connected to myself, and I just want to learn everything about being Māori and what it means”.
Aukaha News brought you this story of another rangatahi from Australia connecting back to his culture last year:
https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2025/06/27/aussie-born-maori-reconnect-to-their-roots-through-kapa-haka
Te hokinga mai ki te ao Māori
He maha ngā rangatahi e hoki mai ana ki te kāinga ki te whai i tō rātou tuakiri Māori.
E ai ki a Isjara Waiwai, te pou tikanga o Te Kura Matua o Wainuiomata, he mea nui tēnei hokinga mai.
“He āhuatanga ātaahua ka tuku āhei kia rātou ki te hoki mai ki konei ki te ako, ki te rongo i ngā āhuatanga i te ātaahua o te ao Māori. Nō reira he mea pai ki au,” hei tā Isjara.
Ko te ao Māori he ao hou ki te hunga i tipu ake ki tāwāhi, engari he wāhi e tuwhera ana kia kite rātou i tō rātou ake mana.
“He ao anō te ao Māori kia rātou na te mea kaare rātou e whai waahi tō rātou Māoritanga kia rātou e tipu ana. Nō reira, ka tino tūwhera te iwi ngaro. Kia tūwhera ngā whatu,” hei tāna anō.