Tauranga Moana is currently grappling with a tragedy that has seen devastating landslides at Mauao and Welcome Bay, as emergency services race to find missing persons.
Compounding the disaster, Whareroa Marae has been severely impacted by flooding, forcing the community to confront both immediate clean-up and long-term concerns.
Kaumātua Manea Ngatai of Ngāi Te Rangi, whose flat and marae are now underwater, reflecting the wider community’s struggle against the severe weather’s aftermath.
“At about 3 o’clock this morning, we noticed and it woke me up and we’re concerned. We could hear the rain really coming down at the time and then next minute we had water coming through our whare,” says Manea.
“It wasn’t until we got up this morning and realised how bad it is around our marae here,” he says.
“We were lucky only two of the kaumātua flats were really affected and water got into them but the other three are well and okay.”
However, this is not the first time the marae has faced such an event; it’s the second time in the past 14 years that the marae has been flooded and impacted by severe weather conditions.
The repeated flooding of Whareroa Marae has led the community to seriously consider a permanent solution to protect their cultural and residential sites. Mr. Ngatai revealed a proactive plan underway
“I want to relocate our marae and our kaumātua flats, even our kōhanga reo to higher ground and we have got an area that the council is looking at that we can relocate to. Until that happens, well we’re sort of waiting to see what’s going to happen there,” says Manea.
The Mayor of Tauranga Moana, Mahé Drysdale, acknowledged the deep impact on the community. “I just want to acknowledge the tragic event that has happened, to say that we are supporting all the families here,” Mayor Drysdale says.
“We also ask the community to please allow the emergency services who are all doing a fantastic job to do their job and not interrupt that,” he says.
Superintendent Tim Anderson confirmed that local police have a close relationship with iwi, saying, “Local iwi have been here this morning and have blessed the scene and we’re working closely with iwi and it’s fair to say this community is very tight knit which includes all the hapū and iwi here and we’re in direct communications with them and appreciate their support.”
As search and rescue efforts continue on the maunga, the Whareroa Marae community faces a long and difficult clean-up. The challenge of balancing immediate crisis response with the necessary planning for future resilience now sits heavily on the shoulders of the community, as they look to higher ground for their beloved marae and residences.