Community spirit strong in Tararua

Truancy officer Michael Taiiti delivers Easter eggs for Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmaki nui-a-Rua on Sunday. Photo / Sue Emeny

While Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmaki nui-a-Rua was the driving force behind the delivery of 33,000 Easter eggs on Sunday, it was a real community effort, according to chairman Hayden Hape.

Community groups such as St Vinnies, Woodville Pantry and Tararua Youth Services all helped Ngāti Kahungunu essential workers deliver the special Easter treats.

"This wasn't about chocolate, we wanted to build community spirit and to reward our younger generation for the great job they are doing by staying in their bubble," Hape said.

"For some of our children the best part of their day is going to school and for some of our kids this could have been the first time they have been given an Easter egg."

Hape had hoped to have the eggs supplied by The Warehouse Dannevirke but this wasn't possible as the store was in lockdown.

"So we had to go the Warehouse Group in Auckland. They had allocated surplus eggs to organisations such as Women's Refuge so we outlined the work we do in our community."

Hape said the Warehouse Group responded the following day and said it would provide 33,000 eggs in recognition of the work Ngāti Kahungunu carries out.

Ngāti Kahungunu's area covers from Wairoa to Wairarapa so the eggs were trucked to Hawke's Bay and then transported to various districts with Tararua receiving two truck and trailer loads.

Shires Fruit and Vege Market provided warehouse space so that the eggs could be packed up and sent out to the different communities within the district.

But the eggs almost didn't arrive in time for Easter.

"The hardest part was getting the eggs from Auckland to Hawke's Bay.

"We were told that logistically they wouldn't get here until later this week," Hape said.

"I contacted local transport company owner Alan Castles who put me in touch with his son-in-law Torrin Day. Through his contacts in the logistics field he was able to get the eggs delivered to Hawke's Bay by KPH Transport.

"If there was no Torrin, there would have been no eggs. He was amazing."

Once the eggs had arrived in Hawke's Bay Simon Buckeridge stepped in and transported them to Dannevirke.

"Simon was also amazing. He donated his time so this basically ended up costing us nothing, although we did have to pay $300 to call out a forklift driver to load the trucks in Auckland, but that was fair enough."

Hape said at the end of the day things will happen if you are doing something for the right reasons and if you talk to the right people.

Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis was part of the delivery team, dropping off Easter Eggs and hot-cross buns in Woodville and Pahiatua for the Tararua Community Services Trust to deliver.

She also helped out in Eketahuna.

"Like many other people I was so caught up in the Covid-19 crisis that I forgot about Easter and hadn't bought any eggs. By the time a lot of people thought about it you couldn't buy any," Collis said.

She said people greatly appreciated receiving the eggs.

"It meant a lot to some of the families. This crisis has certainly brought out the very best in people. Everybody is looking out for one another."

She said those making the deliveries had to adhere to all the protocols that are in place during the lockdown and that meant not contact delivery.

"There is genuine fear out there for many people. People are genuinely scared about Covid -19."