BLESSING: PJ Devonshire, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, blesses the pou. PHOTO/ANDREW BONALLACK
BLESSING: PJ Devonshire, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, blesses the pou. PHOTO/ANDREW BONALLACK
A small contingent of Masterton district councillors, council officers and Mayor Lyn Patterson negotiated the paddocks and early-morning dew to undertake a blessing of the 15m pou at Masterton's northern and southern entrances.
Reaching both sets of pou proved problematic, with the northern pou in a paddock surrounded by electricfences, and the southern pou only accessible via an industrial site.
Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa chief executive PJ Devonshire and cultural adviser for Rangitane o Wairarapa Mike Kawana carried out the blessing, inviting the party to place hands on the pou before leaving.
Kaumatua PJ Devonshire stands in front of Masterton's entranceway pou, at the northern entrance (the third pou is out of shot).
