A chance meeting at a cafe led to a contract at Lynmore Rise for scaffolder.
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Click here for English translation He tūponotanga ohorere i tētehi wharekai-a-tāone i Lynmore Rise i waimarie ai a Te Whanoa Gilles. E toru tekau mā ono ngā tau o Te Whanoa inaianei.
He tamaiti Māori i tupu ake i waenganui pū o Ōhinemutu me Te Koutu ki te rori o Whittaker, engari nō te whenua o Ahitereiria tāna mōhiohio mahi kāmura.
"E rua tekau mā toru ōku tau ka wehe atu ki Ahitereiria ki te hauāuru ki reira mahi tīrewa ai. Ko te moni te take matua i haere pērā atu ai ahau me te tika hoki o te kōrero, momona aku pūkoro i te moni - nā wai rā ka whakawhiwhia ki taku tīwhikete tūturu whakaara tīrewa. He itiiti noa o te nama i te ao waihanga nā te mea ko te nuinga o ngā whakaakoranga kai te wāhi mahi ake".
He uri nō Ngāti Paemate e whai pānga hoki ai a Te Whanoa ki a Ngāti Kurukuru ki a Ngāti Pukaki me Ngāti Whakaue hoki, ā, ko Marie tōna wahine rangatira waihoki tokotoru a rāua tamariki, ko Te Takahi te mātāmua, he tamaiti tāne me ā rāua kōhine tokorua ko Mariana rāua ko Maia-Anne.
"Ki roto ahau te wairua toa ki tēnei mahi tīrewa, he kitenga nōku hoki i te toatanga o ētehi o ōku hoa i hoki rangatira mai i Ahitereiria, nā ō rātou mātauranga waihanga ka ngāwari noa te whakaaraara i tō rātou ake pākihi ki tēnei whenua, nā reira ka nanao atu ahau ki tētehi pouwhakarato ki āna kame tīrewa ki ahau, kua kaha hoki ahau ki te poipoi i te māuri o te whakawhanaketanga o taku mahi rangatira nei."
Ko Elite Access tana pākihi ake nei kai Owhatiura South 5 e mahi ana a Te Whanoa. Ka tae mai tēnei mahi ki a ia nāna e hui tahi ana me te tokorua o ngā mema o te kōmiti o Owhatiura South 5 a Rawiri Bhana me Manuariki Tini I te wharekai-ā-tāone ki te puku o te tāone matua o Rotorua.
Ka tūponohia a Manuariki rāua ko Ra i tētehi wāhi kai o te tāone, he tino hoa māua ko Ra i ngātahi te tupu mai māua. He mea ohorere tēnei huihui nōku, he mātaitai kaupapa mahi kē te take ahau i taua takiwā rā ka rokohanga ake te tokorua nei, ka kōrerohia tā rāua kaupapa – nā ka tū ōku taringa.
Kia oti kau i a mātou te tūāpapatanga o te mahi me te mahi nui ki Lynmore Rise kai te wātea noa ngā ringaringa ki te awhina i a rāua me ngā kaupapa huhua tahi".
Scaffolder Te Whanoa Gillies has the contract at Lynmore Rise.
Kātahi te ngākau whakaiti tō Te Whanoa i tana kake haere i te arawhata o te ao pākihi- tūturu te pepehā a ngā pakeke e mea nei ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini.
Kai te pae tata tonu nei ōna whakaaro e aro tika nei ki te oranga o āna tamariki – he ahakoa kua kāpuapuangia te wā nei e te mate urutā, he waimarie nōna kai te mahi tonu ia.
"He wā whakarehurehu nei engari kai te tataku kau te wairua mōrearea, nā reira ka piki ake te whakawhanaketanga o te pākihi me tā mātou tika hoki ki te arahi i tēnā whakawhanaketanga – e hoa e, e tumanako ana te ngākau kua puta te ihu i te korokoro o te hamuti kāua tātou e wareware arā anō te tini o te ao waihanga e whakapau toihau ana - kia whakaarohia rātou'.
A chance meeting at a cafe led to a contract at Lynmore Rise for scaffolder Te Whanoa Gillies.
Te Whanoa, 36, is a pa kid who grew up, literally between Ohinemutu and Koutu at Whittaker Rd, and learned his trade in Australia.
"I went to Western Australia when I was 23 and got a job scaffolding.
"I went there because I heard the money was good and it was, so I took it up as a trade.
"A job in the construction industry doesn't cost much in terms of training as you learn on site."
The uri of Ngati Paemate, Ngati Kurukuru, Ngati Pukaki and Ngati Whakaue is married to Marie, and they have three children, son TeTakahi and daughters Mariana and Maia-Anne.
"I went to Pukeroa Oruawhata Kohanga reo and then up to Rotorua Primary School, so I have always been very good at Te Reo.
"I know a bit about my whakapapa but there is always more to learn there."
When he returned home from Australia decided to try working for himself.
"I thought I could have a crack at it, as some of my mates who had also moved home from Australia had done so in other places around Aotearoa, so I got a hold of a supplier who would loan me some scaffold and I have tried to grow sustainably from there."
Te Whanoa now has his own business, Elite Access, and is working at the Owhatiura South 5 lifestyle village.
He came about the job when he met Owhatiura South 5 committee members Rawiri Bhana and Manuariki Tini in a cafe on Hinemoa Street in the Rotorua CBD.
"I have known Ra since I was a kid and I bumped into him and Manuariki at a cafe on Hinemoa St when I was scoping a job for a client, we discussed the project they were working on and yeah.
"Once we completed the pre qual stage and then completed jobs at Lynmore Rise, we are now able to do work for them on any of their sites and hope to continue working with them into the future."
Te Whanoa is modest about his success and says many people helped him along the way, too many to name in case he misses someone out.
He hasn't thought too far ahead so far as a succession plan is concerned but his thoughts are on how he can help his children.
Te Whanoa Gillies. Photo / Supplied
Although the covid pandemic has cast uncertainty on the economic climate Te Whanoa has plenty of work...
"Uncertain times but things don't look like slowing down, so we will continue to grow at a rate that we can manage and stay on top of.
