In late September a group of ten students travelled to New Plymouth with Whaea Joe Hunter and Mrs Davidson to support Hannah Matehaere who was competing in the Nga Manu Korero Maori Speaking National Competition.

It was a great achievement for Hannah to compete on the national stage at this competition for the second year in a row, having won the Sir Tui Caroll Junior English Regional Final.

After an extremely early getaway from Dunedin airport, we were fortunate to be hosted at the beautiful Kairau Marae near Waitara and were lucky to have fine weather and stunning views of Mount Taranaki. We were guided around the battle sites from the New Zealand Wars around Waitara and were fortunate to visit the very special place of Pukerangiora Pa, where several redoubts and trenches from the war were still in evidence. We also looked at Owae Marae in Waitara and visited the very impressive Puke Ariki Museum.

The competition ran over three days and we supported other Otago-Southland speakers during this time as well as Hannah on Friday. Hannah spoke warmly and sincerely on the topic ‘Without foresight or vision the people will be lost.’ Hannah represented us proudly, as did the girls who went with her.

We also visited the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, Pukekura Park and the Len Lye Gallery. It was a rich cultural, geographic and historical trip for everyone who went. Many thanks to our guides, whanau and hosts who made the trip special.