In the last week of term twenty students from OGHS and OBHS travelled to Whangarei in Northland to support their speakers in the Ngä Manu Kõrero Nationals. 

Hannah Matehaere won the regional Junior English section in June and stepped up another level in Whangarei, speaking to a large audience about the stories handed down to her by her grandparents. Te Ngaru Wehi from OBHS, brother of Matariki Wehi in Year 13, won the Senior te Reo Mäori section in June and spoke about the importance of preserving te Reo Mäori. Matariki was placed second in the regional section in 2014 and 2015.

The group was blown away both by the scale of the competition and the quality of all of the speakers at the competition. Each group gave a tautoko for their speaker and we were part of the Ötäkou/ Murihiku (Otago/ Southland) contingent, supporting the speakers from OGHS, OBHS, Kings High School and Logan Park High School. Although our speakers were not placed, they received many favourable accolades for their speeches and they were very competitive against many wharekura (Mäori immersion high schools).

Our hikoi to Northland also included a visit to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and we attended an awesome cultural performance, looked around the Waitangi Museum and Treaty Grounds, the Treaty House and the wharenui. We played some cricket and practised our waiata on the lawn in front of the Treaty House, drawing the attention of visiting English bus tourists, who were most impressed.

We also visited Whangarei Falls and stayed at Karetu Marae, a very old Northland marae in the countryside out of Kawakawa. It was a wonderful experience, which opened the students’ eyes and reminded us of the old eighties tourism campaign: “Don’t leave town till you’ve seen the country.”

A big thank you goes to Matua Mac Te Ngahue, Whaea Joe Hunter from OGHS and Matua Brent Matehaere from OBHS for their commitment and energy for the trip and to all the people at school and whanau who helped get the trip off the ground. Thanks also to the people of Karetu Marae who made us so welcome.

Below are links to the television interview with Hannah and the tautoko (support performances) for our speakers. 

https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/nga-manu-korero-2016-nationals/4297/interview-hannah-matehaere

https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/nga-manu-korero-2016-nationals/4298/otakou-murihiku-waiata-tautoko

https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/nga-manu-korero-2016-nationals/4245/otakou-murihiku-waiata-tautoko

https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-tv/nga-manu-korero-2016-nationals/4299/otakou-murihiku-waiata-tautoko