Kua whakamanahia e te kāwanatanga he pūtea $8.6 miriona mō te kaupapa hanga marae o Ngāti Te Whiti, he huarahi e whakatauira ana i te kotahitanga me te whakamana i te mana o te hapū i Ngāmotu. Kua tata ki te rua rau tau e ngaro ana te marae, engari mā tēnei pūtea, ka taea te whakaoti i te hanganga whare me te whakarite wāhi mō te hapori.
E ai ki te Minita Whanake Māori, a Tama Potaka, ehara tēnei i te nama, engari he koha nō te kāwanatanga hei tautoko i tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira.
“Ko te pūrongo i tēnei wā kei te tautoko atu te kawanatanga i te 8.6miriona ki tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira mo Ngāti Te Whiti ehara i te loan nei, ehara i te lease nei engari he whakapau tuku koha pūtea ki te hapū me te iwi,” hei tā te Minita.
“Whakamīharo ana te kite atu i ngā mahi a Shelton, Pauline mā e tautau nei i te ahikā ki Moturoa, ki Ngāmotu, me te mōhio tata ki te rua rau tau e ngaro ana te marae ki tērā wāhi,” hei tāna anō.
E tino koa ana a Damon Ritai heamana tuarua o Te Kotahitanga o Te Ātiawa ki te pānui a te Minita mā te Kawanatanga e awhi i tō rātou mahere ki te hanga anō i tētehi marae mo Ngāti Te Whiti, mō Te Ātiawa me Taranaki Whānui.
“Ko te mea nui ki a au ko te te tino moemoeā o ngā kuia me ngā koroua kia whakatū tētehi whare, he whare mo Ngāti Te Whiti me te take anō rā nā rātou anō e takahi te ara no reira i runga i tērā kei te mihi ki a ratau, na ratau anō te kitenga, te hiahia, te moemoeā,” hei tā Damon.
“Ko te mea nui ki a au kia hoki mai ko nga taiohi, kia wanangahia naianei kia kaua e tatari mo te whakatuwheratia i to tatau nei whare,” hei tāna anō.
$8.6 Million Govt investment breathes new life into Ngāti Te Whiti Marae Project
After nearly two centuries without a physical marae, Ngāti Te Whiti is set to reclaim its place in the heart of Ngāmotu. With an $8.6 million grant from the government, the hapū will now be able to move forward with the full construction of their new marae complex, a move described as a “rebirth” that will provide a permanent cultural pou for future generations.
For Ngāti Te Whiti hapū spokesperson Shelton Healey, the funding marks a significant turning point in the long journey to restore the marae.
“I’m over the moon about the putea; it’s been a long time coming for our people, just humbled at the same time knowing what our people previously have gone through for us to arrive at this stage where we can finally complete the whole build,” Healey said.
“For our people, it’s a pou in the whenua, it brings us to life visually. We’ve always been there just without a whare; it’s been difficult times to gather as a people – we’re here, we’re about to regather and almost be reborn; it’s amazing,” he said.
“For our tamariki, it gives them a pou, a visual for themselves, an identity, whakawhanaungatanga, meet and greet their whanau, do the dishes – I can’t wait to witness that, it will be amazing”.
