St Paul's tour guides Lisa and Haimona Reweti with Boo the dog will share the beautiful gardens and morning tea at their home in Putiki during Heritage Month.
Photo / Liz Wylie
St Paul's tour guides Lisa and Haimona Reweti with Boo the dog will share the beautiful gardens and morning tea at their home in Putiki during Heritage Month.
Photo / Liz Wylie
Lisa Reweti can't recall her earliest memories of being inside the beautiful St Paul's Anglican Memorial Church at Pūtiki - it was an everyday part of her childhood.
"My grandmother was the Pou Wāhine - the female leader at the church so I spent a lot of time there withher when I was small.
"I knew it was beautiful and special but I never realised how unique it was until I was older."
Lisa will join her dad Haimona Reweti who is a regular guide at St Paul's to lead two special tours at the church during Whanganui Heritage Month in October.
With its unique Māori carvings and tukutuku (wall panels), St Paul's is recognised as one of the most beautifully and intricately decorated churches in Aotearoa and will officially become a Heritage New Zealand category 1listed site next month.
As public programmes presenter at Whanganui Regional Museum Lisa has been delighting visitors of all ages with her highly informative and interactive education sessions at the museum and in the community.
"I aim to engage audiences aged anywhere from 3 to 100 and I tailor the korero to suit the listeners."
While working as a guide at The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington five years ago, Lisa said she felt a strong urge to return home to Whanganui.
" I was showing some visitors the Whanganui waka Teremoe which was gifted to the Wellington Museum by the Hipango whanau in the 1930s.
"I thought to myself - 'I want to be talking about Whanganui taonga at home'."
Moving home to stay with her parents Haimona and Carolin at Pūtiki she began exploring work options and knew that she wanted to teach.
"I was delivering Māori education in Whanganui schools before I left to study in Wellington and I contacted Ash Patea who arranged some school bookings for me.
"At one of the sessions, I met museum education leader Margie Beautrais and Taonga Māori kaitiaki Āwhina Twomey.
"Margie told me there was a position coming up at the museum and advised me to apply."
Visitors will be treated to guided tours through the uniquely beautiful St Paul's Church at Putiki next month.
Photo / Lewis Gardner
As well as providing education at the museum, Lisa does outreach work with school groups at Bushy Park, the Sarjeant Gallery and writes Museum Notebook articles published in the Chronicle.
"There is a wonderful collaborative approach in Whanganui that doesn't happen in larger cities and we have so many taonga here that I love to share with people.
"I have been able to build on my knowledge base through my work at the museum.
"I have discovered that the figures on the carvings at Putiki are depicted with their toes and knees turned in which is something unique to this region and they were carved that way because of how they needed to balance while steering their waka in these waters.
"There is an endless fascination in discovering and sharing these bits of local knowledge."
Lisa looks forward to sharing guide duties with Haimona and after the tours, visitors will be invited back to the Reweti's home in Pūtiki Drive for a tour of the beautiful gardens planted by Carolin and to enjoy a homemade morning tea.
The first tour is on Saturday, October 3 and there will be a second tour on Saturday, October 31. Tickets are $10 from Whanganui Regional Museum. Phone 06 349 1110.
