Aotearoa's first waka ama club building on solid base'Waka ama is in a really good space'.The first waka ama club in Aotearoa is looking to build on the knowledge base of its founder and expand its reach among the people of Tairawhiti.Matahi Brightwell formed the Mareikura Canoe Club (now the Mareikura Waka Ama Club) after he and his wife Raipoia came to Gisborne in response to a request from his carving teachers Rua Kaika and Kohe Webster that Matahi bring canoe culture back to the region.In 1985, Brightwell and his father-in-law Francis Cowan, along with a small crew, sailed the double-hulled voyaging canoe Hawaikinui from the Society Islands to New Zealand.Brightwell had cut the trees, shaped the hulls and made the carvings for the craft.Raised in Masterton, he had learned — largely on marae over an 11-year period — of the traditions associated with carving, canoe-building, tattooing, history and genealogy.Tired of hearing that Maori did not have the technology to sail from east Polynesia to New Zealand, he set out to build a traditional craft and prove it could be done. He travelled to Tahiti to finish his project.Francis Cowan had been building a double-hulled canoe in Tahiti in the 1960s but lost it in a shed fire. He heard about the young Maori carver’s vessel, and they joined forces, completing it in Tahiti and setting sail from an island in the Society group.Buffeted down the coast from their planned landfall in Auckland, they accepted a fishing-boat tow for the last few miles into Wharekahika (Hicks Bay), but otherwise the voyage was unaided.Francis Cowan navigated by the stars and, in a 200-page manual, Brightwell recorded how he did it.Cowan’s daughter Raipoia and Matahi Brightwell had married in 1981, and Raipoia was part of the land support team for the Hawaikinui voyage.Matahi and Raipoia settled in Gisborne, the tribal area of Matahi’s mother, Hinerangi Whakataka. Matahi did a significant amount of the carving, conceptualised the project and oversaw the youth contribution to the construction of a waka taua (war canoe), Te Aio o Nukutaimemeha.He also founded the Mareikura Canoe Club, a venture in which he had the help and support of Raipoia. She has continued to play an integral part in administration, coaching and paddling.In addition, Matahi travelled the country reintroducing waka ama to Maori communities. In this, his part in the Hawaikinui voyage helped establish his credentials. From small beginnings, waka ama has become the growth team sport among Maori, in particular, but also among increasing numbers of Pacific Islanders and Pakeha.That pioneering work in the 1980s, ’90s and early 2000s has paid long-term dividends in the past few years. Youngsters taught the skills and discipline of waka ama paddling have reached adulthood, made their way in life and returned to the club — often with sons, daughters, nephews or nieces — and are giving back through coaching or club administration. A few have got back in the waka.The trend showed up in the strength of the club’s presence at the national sprint championships on Lake Karapiro in January.About 20 Mareikura teams were entered in grades ranging from Taitama and Taitamahine (midget boys and girls) to master men and women.Raipoia Brightwell said that was the biggest entry the club had taken to the champs in recent years, and was the result of increases in membership and people willing to be coaches and managers.The club ran “have a go” sessions once a week to boost membership, and benefited from the return of former junior paddlers who were prepared to coach teams, which reduced the load on more senior club members.As well, the club had some notable podium success. Jarrod Hill won the J16 men’s W1 500-metre final and went up a grade to finish fifth in the J19 men’s 250m dash.Gizzy Gurlz won the plate final of the Taitamahine (midget girls) W6 250m.The Mareikura Kaleegaa and Hinetekapua crews combined to win silver in the intermediate girls’ W12 500m.Bronze-medal finishes went to the Mareikura J16 men’s crew Hiro in the W6 1000m; the combined Nga Tama Toa and Ease Up crews in the J19 men’s W12 500m; and Te Pikinga in the master women’s W12 500m and W6 1000m.Mareikura also had an input into the preparation of Horouta paddlers Akayshia Williams, premier women’s W1 250m and 500m gold medallist, and Aoatea Gardner, J16 women’s W1 500m silver medallist.Both had developed their paddling skills under the guidance of Matahi Brightwell, and — in addition to their Horouta team sessions — took part in Mareikura W1 training in the build-up to the sprint nationals.Raipoia Brightwell and Denise Tapp, both eligible to compete in the golden masters division (60 to 69) were in Te Pikinga W6 and W12 crews, paddling with and against master women aged 40 to 49.Becoming champions, doing what they loveOne of the coaches “roped in” to take a seat in the W12 Te Pikinga crew was Joelene Takai, but she was no greenhorn.She started paddling as a junior in the 1990s, won a lot of medals, and competed at world championships. But she qualifies that with the observation that the number of clubs competing in the early national championships could be counted on your fingers, and the champs were over in one or two days.“If you were under 20 you were a junior and if you were over that you were a senior,” Takai said.In contrast, nearly 3500 paddlers from 66 clubs attended the 32nd annual national waka ama sprint championships, held over seven days at Lake Karapiro in January.Takai left Gisborne in 2012 and returned (from Hamilton) in 2018.“I got back into waka ama because my nephews and nieces are in it. They’re in the teams I coach.”This year she coached the Mareikura intermediate girls and helped out with the J16 men. She is also on the club committee.“I love what the sport brings out in our rangatahi (young people),” Takai said.“Plus they get to become national champions and world champions just by doing things they love. It’s in our DNA.”On a practical level, committee members are confident the club is in a better position than ever to make progress in the provision of a storage shed for waka ama and other club equipment at Anzac Park.“Sport Gisborne Tairawhiti and Gisborne District Council have started the korero about the possibility of a water sports hub at Anzac Park,” Takai said.“We just want a storage shed.”They had been trying to get one for nearly 20 years, and now they had their “ducks lined up”.“Our plans are there, we’ve gone through the feasibility-report stage and we’re now in the process of applying to trusts and the like for funding,” she said.“We have money from 15 years ago building interest . . . from sausage sizzles and raffles. Back then we only wanted a tin shed. But we’ve expanded. All our resources are in people’s sheds; we only bring them out when they’re needed.”And the club had its own storehouse of knowledge in Matahi Brightwell, she said.While his influence had been primarily in the field of waka ama training, techniques and competition, he also had extensive knowledge of celestial navigation, carving, canoe construction and traditions relating to all these fields. That knowledge was a tremendous resource.“Maori were seagoing people, yet we spend most of our time on the river,” Takai said.“We can expand on that, and over the past two to three years we have thought about what we can offer our people. Waka ama is in a really good space; what else can we offer? It’s been quite a big journey for us. We think we’re ready for what it brings.”
Pre-season training delayed for long-awaited irrigationHopes are high for a high-quality playing surface at the Oval with major irrigation work under way.Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union chief executive Josh Willoughby said it would be great to see the grounds fully irrigated.It was an improvement the rugby fraternity had long wanted.The clubs based at the ground — Pirates, OBM and HSOB — were very supportive and the union was working with Gisborne District Council and its contractor, he said. Pre-season training cannot be held at the Oval and the premier club season will begin later than usual with the traditional Tiny White tournament being played on April 10.Two-time defending champions Waikohu are hosting the event at their Te Karaka ground.Playing at the Oval on April 17 was “a real possibility,” Mr Willoughby said. Council community assets and resources manager Laird Kennedy said the installation of automatic irrigation at all fields at The Oval was part of a wider sports park capital upgrade programme being undertaken around the district.“The work at The Oval is scheduled for completion at the end of March.“We've been engaging closely with sports codes and users to minimise disruption while this work is under way.“The contractor is Recreational Services and they were selected through a competitive tendering process.”Contractors were digging trenches and laying pipes at the Childers Road end of the Oval and between the two rugby grounds when the Herald visited.Three water tanks to feed the irrigation system have been placed on the fenceline bordering the former St Marys School site.The quality of the playing surface at the Oval has long been a concern and the surface was relaid as recently as 2010.Mr Willoughby said the Lee Brothers Shield competition would not be compromised by the later start.The premier competition still consisted of six teams and clubs had indicated they liked a 12-week competition with two full rounds and no disruptions before the play-offs.A three-round competition with only six teams would be tiresome, said Mr Willoughby.The union hoped, at some stage in the future, to return to an eight team premier competition.The only disruptions to the 2021 club season would be the Town vs Country match and Poverty Bay's long traditional Queens Birthday encounter with East Coast.Poverty Bay was due to host the Queen's Birthday Weekend fixture this year, but has agreed to play the match away as the East Coast union holds it centennial celebrations.None
East Coast shaken awake Hundreds head to higher ground in wake of earthquake treble.East Coast residents headed to higher ground twice this morning after severe earthquakes near Te Araroa and the Kermadec Islands resulted in tsunami warnings.The second warning, followed by a National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) mobile alert, warned of a possible “life-threatening” surge of debris-carrying water between Tolaga Bay and Matata. The first one, a possible one-to-three-metre tsunami, was due to arrive at Lottin Point at about 10am.The first of the three major quakes struck at 2.27am about 105km offshore of Te Araroa, causing “severe” shaking that was felt throughout much of New Zealand.A further 18 aftershocks of magnitude 4 or more were noted on the GeoNet website.A tsunami warning stretching from Tolaga Bay to Cape Runaway was put in place by the NMEA and sent out to those specific areas.The warning was officially lifted just after 5am.People in Te Araroa were quick to evacuate, along with those in Waiapu, Uawa, and Mahia. Many families in Wainui, Okitu and around the city also headed to higher ground, including Titirangi/Kaiti Hill and Wheatstone Road, with animals in tow.Te Araroa resident Binny Huriwai said the shake “scared the bejesus out of us”.Te Araroa chief fire officer Dick Cook said there did not appear to be any damage in the township.“Everyone in the township evacuated to Hospital Hill.”Mr Cook's wife, Aomihi, said some people up there were worried about a tsunami. “We were not sure what was going to happen.” Tokomaru Bay, Waipiro Bay and Tolaga Bay residents also headed for higher ground.“There was a massive crowd of people and vehicles up on the Tolaga Bay gorge hill,” said Tolaga Bay chief fire officer Ray Dever.“There would have been hundreds up there. It was great to see people use their initiative and get themselves to safety.”Tokomaru Bay fire chief James Forrester said the earthquake started quite slowly at first.“Then it got pretty heavy for a while. There was no way you could sleep through it — that's for sure.“The majority of beachfront residents in the Bay evacuated to Busby's Hill, which was really good.”In Gisborne city, fire crews relocated fire appliances to Lytton High and to Te Wharau School.“That's part of our contingency planning in the event of a tsunami threat like last night,” said Senior Station Officer Bernie Bull. “We had no quake-related calls.” Radio Ngati Porou chief executive Erana Reedy, who is based in Ruatoria, said she has been up since the early hours keeping an eye on social media to see how people were reacting. She received an email at 2.41am saying to evacuate to higher ground, and shortly afterwards got a Civil Defence management alert on her phone.“We got the wake-up call and then people started evacuating. I was scanning Facebook before I came into work. People were already posting about going to higher ground,” said Ms Reedy.“I was really impressed to see how everyone was motivated to get to higher ground. I commend the Te Araroa fire service for their help in evacuating people. They kept their fire engine lights on for everyone to be able to see and kept everyone calm.”'Worst one I've ever felt'The earthquake felt like a train, she said. “They usually just jolt and stop but this went on. It was long and strong, which meant we needed to get to higher ground.”Tolaga Bay Area School principal and Uawa deputy Civil Defence Emergency Management coordinator Nori Parata said they were evacuating to higher ground this morning after the magnitude 8 shake near the Kermadec Islands. Tolaga Bay Area School closed for the day, along with other schools along the Coast.They got the Civil Defence message on their phones about the possibility of a tsunami this morning at 3am following the 2.30am quake, and again at 9am following further severe quakes. “We all evacuated to higher ground. Many went to different marae around the area. The township self-evacuated before the messaging at 3am to do so. “We all knew it was long, strong and had to get gone.”A team, who included police went through the township telling people to evacuate to higher ground.People have checked on their neighbours and elderly to make sure they are aware. “The first evacuation this morning was a good practice run,” said Mrs Parata.“Of course there is room for improvement in responding to these events, but I am proud of the efforts the Uawa community has made. It is clear the message has got through.Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz was heartened to see so many people in the region knew what to do when the first earthquake struck.“Many got in their cars and self-evacuated without waiting for an official word. The ‘long or strong, be gone' message seems to have got through.”“The council takes its advice from the National Emergency Management Agency as the official source of information, and sometimes there is a delay as they do assessments and make those decisions, but we want people to move quickly,” said Mrs Stoltz.Some reported minor damage, with things falling from shelves in houses and items thrown off shelves at the Tokomaru Bay Four Square.“It was the worse one I've ever felt,” Tokomaru Bay Four Square owner Chris Beard said.“It was big, really big.”Earlier today NEMA has issued a marine and beach tsunami alert for Gisborne, with police advising people not to travel on State Highway 35. The the land-based tsunami warning for Tolaga Bay northwards was lifted just after midday. People can return home but still stay away from beaches and stay out of the water.None
Welcome to the New Ritz ClubWant to perform music from the soundtrack of your lives with like-minded musicians? Musicians Lynette Stankovich and “recidivist rocker” Wally Te Ua have launched a new music club for 60-somethings. Coined The New Ritz Club, by Wally, the club will initially open from noon to 2pm every Sunday at Elliott Travel. The Ritz cabaret in Gladstone Road, roughly above where Food for Thought stands now, was a popular venue after World War 2 and through the 1950s, says Wally.Wally's early musical roots lay in the Kiwi rock and roll culture of the 1950s. With visits from artists such as American harmonica player Larry Adler, rhythm and blues pianist Clarence “Frogman” Henry, the Quin Tikis, and locals Phil Ripia, Joe and Bob of Tolaga Bay, and the Electronic Rebels, Gisborne was rocking long before Rhythm and Vines, says Wally, who was part of local three-part harmony act, Blue Jeans.Described by Lynette as a recidivist rocker, Wally's repertoire ranges from golden oldies to the likes of songs by LAB and Six60.In the 1980s he and Lynette performed with their showband Beat Street. After moving to Sydney in 2002, the duo played at various Returned and Services League clubs (RSLs).None
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