Governor-General to visit Tairāwhiti, investitures part of trip

Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro and husband Dr Richard Davies are touring flood-affected parts of Tairawhiti and Hawke's Bay from today. Part of their five-day tour will feature investiture ceremonies in Tolaga Bay and Ruatōria.

Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and her husband Dr Richard Davies today began a five-day visit to Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay communities affected by extreme weather events in 2023.

They are visiting schools, marae and community facilities, will preside at two investiture ceremonies and will also host a reception for first responders, volunteers and organisations involved in the response and ongoing recovery efforts in Hawke’s Bay communities.

Their visit started this morning at Waipatu Marae in Hastings.

Tomorrow they travel to Wairoa to visit Takitimu Marae and several households affected by flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle.

They will meet Wairoa district councillors and members of the council’s senior leadership team to discuss the impact of the cyclone on Wairoa.

Then it will be on to Nuhaka School, where Dame Cindy will address an assembly and visit classrooms devastated by the floods.

Friday will see the pair at Te Karaka, where they will meet local man Claude Ruru, hear about his experiences during Gabrielle and view his house, which has been raised 1.5 metres to protect it from future flooding events.

From there, they will go to the site of a temporary village where Te Karaka residents have been housed in relocatable houses while their own places are being raised, repaired and refurbished.

After that they head to the Mahaki Tiaki Tangata evacuation site on Kanakanaia Rd, where Dame Cindy will meet community representatives behind the establishment of a new evacuation centre to provide a safe space for Te Karaka residents during future extreme weather events.

Then it’s on to Rangatira Marae to see first-hand the severe impact of flooding on the wharenui.

Next on the agenda is a visit to a facility in Aerodrome Rd by the airport, where relocatable housing is being built for whānau displaced from their homes.

They then go into Gisborne city to view Fergusson Drive properties impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.

On Friday afternoon they travel to Te Whare Hauora o Te Aitanga a Hauiti in Tolaga Bay to meet staff and members of the Ūawa/Tolaga Bay community.

At 5pm, Dame Cindy will present Ūawa man Eruera Kaiwai with his 2024 New Year’s Honours List Queen’s Service Medal for service to the community.

The visit concludes on Saturday, starting with a visit to Te Puia Springs Hospital to meet staff and patients.

Later that day they will be at Uepohatu Marae in Ruatōria, where Dame Cindy will preside at the knighthood investiture ceremony of former Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou chair Selwyn Parata for service to Māori.