Kia ora koutou,
Last week reminded me of the late Terry Pratchett who once said “If you do not know where you come from, then you don’t know where you are, and if you don’t know where you are, then you don’t know where you’re going. And if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably going wrong.” On Thursday, I attended an excellent discussion hui at the Millenium Gallery on the Kurahaupo settlement process. It helped me understand the importance of what has been done to achieve our Settlement, why this happened and what needs to happen. Keep an eye out for the next exhibition talk in a couple of weeks on the science and whakapapa of the original settlers of the Wairau.
On Friday, the Trust met to review our activities, where we are now, and how we are going to get to where we are going. These included Tōtaranui 250, strategy consultation, recruitment and the business financials. The Board also agreed to change the kete name Te Kohi Kai to Takahi Whenua, to better reflect our activities in this area. The Trust and businesses are doing well financially but it’s fair to say we need to tidy up some of our processes and communicate more on what’s happening.
The Board of Directors and Trustees met the following day to discuss the big picture and our business plan. This joint meeting is one of those rare occasions where all parts of the organisation got to meet. It was hence an ideal time for a trip to Te Pokohiwi to re-energise and focus on what our priorities should be. Going to Te Pokohiwi and hearing the stories of this ancestral landscape reminded me of the saying “man passes but the land endures”, and what our obligations are to future generations. I would like to acknowledge Dr Guy Gardiner and his whānau who helped transport our group using their mudboat.
Communication remains at the top of the agenda. It was recommended that we meet monthly to put to bed concerns and so that we can focus on the important issues at the AGM. With that, I would like to arrange to meet with Iwi on the last Friday of every month at 6pm at Ūkaipō to discuss any issues or ideas. The first meeting will be held on Friday, 27 July 2018. Please pass this pānui on to your whānau.
Electionz will be managing the Trustee Elections again this year. Trustee nominations will be open from 4-27 September 2018 and will be advertised closer to the date.
Recruitment is progressing this week with the start of the interviewing process for the three new roles we recently advertised.
A consultation plan for the draft strategy is being developed, more on this next week.
Just to keep the weekend busy, on Saturday we were informed that a sperm whale had washed up at the southern end of Kapara Te Hau (Marfell’s Beach). Mahi is taking place today to remove the jaw bone, and recover and bury the whale under agreed tikanga. Rangitāne o Wairau and Ngāti Kuri (Ngāi Tahu) are working with the Department of Conservation and we are hopeful this process will be completed by tomorrow.
I would like to end by thanking everyone who helped at yesterday’s Matariki Celebration, especially to those in the kitchen. We met the Navigators for the Tōtaranui 250 event and, despite the rain and poor visibility, the warmth and laughter at Ūkaipō made it a memorable event.
Mā te wā
Nick