Hawke’s Bay Waitangi Day celebrations a huge success

Taikura Kapa Haka performance. Photo / Supplied

Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) event manager Te Rangi Huata was pleased to see a wave of more than 10,000 people converge throughout the day on the Hawke’s Bay Mitre 10 Sports Park to celebrate Waitangi Day.

With the cancellation of last year’s event due to Covid-19 restrictions and the recent torrential rain in other parts of the country causing extreme flooding and the cancellations of major events, NKII organisers remained positive this event would not only go ahead but would bring our whānau together for a big day out for all communities to celebrate togetherness, unity and fun in the sun.

The famous Mahons rides featuring the Hurricane, ferris wheel, Rocking Tug Board, Ghost House and Cup’n’Saucer rides, and all the Madd Fun bouncy castles were free for everyone who took up the challenge to stand in line for a ride.

“It was very hot waiting in line, but I was so happy to go on the rides for free,” Rongo Ngawaka said.

“I loved being able to take my time and get around with my walker while the mokos ran to their favourite rides to line up,” Rowena Tuimaseve said.

There were 42 vendors selling a variety of things such as pounamu, shoes, clothing, hats, carvings and crafts, and stalls promoting their services, including Te Whatu Ora, Health Hawke’s Bay, Corrections, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, EIT, and NZ Police to name a few.

“Thank you for the opportunity for us to be part of the Waitangi Day event, it was a great turnout and we enjoyed it very much,” Rita Ale, of Corrections, said.

Enjoying Waitangi Day are JB Smith (left), Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, CHB Mayor Alex Walker, MP Meka Whaitiri, HBRC chairwoman Hinewai Ormsby, and Napier city councillor Chad Tareha. Photo / Supplied

A major difference this year for Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) was finding 100 per cent of the funds to host this event. In September, the NKII Management team was informed that due to a downturn in financial circumstances of the previous two years, NKII would need to take a 60 per cent cut in its dividend payment as the 100 per cent shareholder from the Kahungunu Asset Holding Company.

NKII directors immediately implemented major budget cuts to accommodate their new situation.

For our smart services team, we had to cut out 100 per cent of our budget, affecting our benefits to members including all sponsorships, scholarships and all events.

The filtering of this new budget information came as a surprise to about 500 people on Waitangi Day, who had come with their iwi membership cards to get their $5 food voucher.

It was difficult having to turn large families away.

For the past 20 years, the iwi has hosted Waitangi Day for all our communities. We are grateful to our partners who came on board to help us to host this family celebration — The Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Hastings District Council, Te Puni Kōkiri, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, One Foundation, the Lion Foundation, Pub Charities, Napier City Council, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, and Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga.