On Friday 30 June the school co-hosted the Waitaha Regional Maori Speech Competitions, Ngā Manu Kōrero ki Waitaha. We did this alongside Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi, a school that CBHS has established a strong association with.

Manu Kōrero brought together over 50 speakers from 21 local and West Coast schools for a day of competition. This contest was initially established over 50 years ago by then Governor-General, Sir Bernard Ferguson, to foster among senior Maori pupils a greater command and fluency in English. It has since expanded to include Senior and Junior Te Reo and a Junior English section, with the emphasis now that schools must have an entrant in one of the Te Reo sections before they can enter the English ones.

Over 600 students, kaiāko (teachers), kaumātua and supporters gathered in the Big Gym for the pōwhiri at 8:00am on Friday. The stirring ceremony was concluded by some words of welcome from the Headmaster, Mr Hill, who gained much mana for the school, and applause for himself, for his mention of two of our early old boys, Riki Te Mairaki Taiaroa OBE (pupil 1882-84, NZ Native Rugby team to Great Britain in 1888-89) and Sir Maui Pomare CMG,KBE (pupil 1887-88, member of parliament, Minister of Health 1923-25 and the first ever President of the CBHS Old Boys’ Association).

The contest ran throughout the day with Te Whānau Tahi staff running the two venues for seniors and juniors, as well as feeding the judges, visiting adults and staff from both organising schools. CBHS staff also played a significant role in running the venues, organising schools to be in the right place at the right time, and providing links between judges and marks collators.

The day concluded with a Prize Giving where the work of all the contributors was acknowledged and winners announced. The enthusiasm with which these young people celebrate each other’s success through song and haka is a credit to all involved in maintaining the importance of language and culture for these young Māori men and women.

Our results:

• Senior Maori – Novae Toia-Rusten 3rd overall
  
• Senior English – Brigham Riwai-Couch 2nd overall
  
• Junior English – Louis Jack unplaced but contributed to aggregate tally.
  
• The winning school on aggregate points with speakers in all four categories was Te Whānau Tahi.
  
• The winning school with speakers in at least 3 categories was Christchurch Boys’ High School.
  
• A great effort by the two host schools.
  
• At the end of the evening, Riccarton High School accepted the challenge to host next year’s event.