Pā Harakeke o Waiōrea – Official Opening

On the 9th of March, the kura officially opened our pā Harakeke, NgaUri o Pakoti (the descendants of Pakoti). Pakoti’s offspring according to Maori tradition was harakeke (flax).  This opening and naming brought to fruition the vision of one of our students, Arahi Sionetali Rattray.  As a weaver, she wanted the kura to grow their own harakeke that was suitable for weaving in order to grow this skill amongst our students. So last year, the rōpū kaitiaki set out to gather gifted harakeke from other pā in Auckland: Rangimarie pa at UNITEC, Oruamo in Glenfield, the Auckland Botanical Gardens and the Eric Armishaw Park.  At the end of 2021, we planted 35 plants and eight different varieties that all have different strengths and uses.  For example, Arawa has long tall leaves which are good for making piupiu and another Tapamangu is good for making muka (harakeke cord).