Students from dozens of schools will participate in learning navigation, sailing and more across the seven-day experience. Photo / Supplied
Students from dozens of schools will participate in learning navigation, sailing and more across the seven-day experience. Photo / Supplied
The 30th anniversary of Te Aurere waka hourua will be celebrated on Saturday.
It will be 30 years to the day that Te Aurere sailed to Rarotonga for her maiden voyage, which incidentally helped activate the revitalisation of waka hourua in Aotearoa.
This anniversary coincides with Te Hau Kōmaru National Waka Hourua Festival in Kāwhia which starts on Saturday and will play host to more than 2000 participants from across Aotearoa.
Te Hau Kōmaru National Waka Hourua Board co-chair Hoturoa Kerr says the festival is a day of great celebration.
"The waka is a symbol of mana and it allows us to retrace the footsteps of our tūpuna and rekindle the mātauranga left behind by those who have passed on," Kerr says.
Stanley Conrad and crew ready to board the Haunui. Photo / Supplied
"What we hope to see from this festival is rangatahi who are engaged with the waka, reminded of their tūpuna, and overall having a great time learning about the history of our people."
Up to 30 schools with more than 1500 students will participate in learning navigation, sailing, astronomy, waka building and much more across the seven-day experience.
Stanley Conrad, the first captain of Te Aurere waka, remembers the initial launch of 30 years ago.
He says it makes him proud to see so many waka today and he acknowledges the kaupapa has come a long way since 1992.
"With so many rangatahi who have a keen interest in the kaupapa, I'm hopeful for the survival of this mātauranga as we continue to honour our tūpuna and their achievements," Conrad says.
The festival will also bring opportunities to grow the kaupapa through the succession of key roles, such as the kaihautū or captain. There will be multiple captains in training on each waka, developing their skills to become certified kaihautū of waka hourua.
Waka ama is growing in popularity among young people. Photo / Supplied
Trainee captain of Te Tairāwhiti waka, Kahurangi Ngata, 21, says since he started in waka kaupapa four years ago, opportunities have opened up for him.
"What is awesome is that I have learnt mātauranga from my tūpuna which connects me more to my roots," Ngata says.
He also acknowledges Conrad for sharing his wisdom on captaining waka, which has allowed Ngata to be in the position he is in today.
The inaugural Te Hau Kōmaru festival, which took place in Tauranga Harbour in May last year, saw 3000 participants make their way through the event and most left with a new and invigorated mindset towards the idea of waka hourua.
Four large-scale waka hourua are now residing in Te Waitere, Tahaaroa, as they prepare for their arrival into the Kāwhia Harbour to celebrate waka hourua with the community.
