Introducing Jacqui D’Ath

Tihei Mauri Ora

Ko Tararua tōku maunga

Ko Ohau tōku awa

Ko Tainui tōku waka

Ko Kikopiri tōku marae

Ko Kikopiri tōku hapū

Ko Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga tōku iwi

Ko Jacqui ahau

Tihei Mauri Ora

Jacqui D’Ath - I have been a parent at Raphael House for 22 years - my boys Alexander and Gabriel started their education here, my eldest daughter Julianna graduated from Class 12 and my youngest Scarlett is in Class 7. I am one of the parents who started a whānau Māori rōpū a number of years ago and have participated in various related kaupapa at the kura over the years.

I have always loved the sound of te reo Māori – I am grateful for the school that I attended which included waiata Māori in the music teaching and learnings. And singing waiata is still my favourite way of connecting with te reo Māori.

When I was six years old, I sailed to England with my mother and about 40 other teachers and their whānau-families. A Kapa Haka group was formed, and we performed for everyone on the ship before docking in Southampton. Sweet childhood memories from a time that I wasn’t really aware of my Māori ancestry. 

When I was at university, I was lucky enough to spend time on a marae in te Urewera – again the sound of the language washing over me while people spoke and sang was wonderful, but didn’t lead to me taking steps to learn to speak myself.

Many years later, and in the last couple of years, I have tried to learn online which I found really challenging and I didn’t complete the course. What did happen however, was that early in the course I needed to work through my pepeha which I did with a whanaunga – giving me the confidence to use it. Connecting through this way led me to attend the Waitangi Tribunal hearing for our whānau which led to me connecting to my marae via social media and becoming aware of things happening there.

Since then, Scarlett and I have been welcomed onto the marae for the first time and more recently we spent a weekend learning about taonga puoro, visiting our awa and roto, sleeping in the whare and sharing stories with others there. So much richness from a course that I didn’t finish successfully. 

So, it’s journey that winds, stops and starts again. The steps I take don’t always work the way I thought they would, but they always bring something wonderful – most of all especially the people that I have connected with.

Ngā mihi

Jacqui