Following in Big John’s footsteps

HOPE TO GUIDE: Manuel Jose whanau management committee appointed James Barnes as its new chairperson. He aims to continue the legacy of those who have gone before him. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Representatives of the Manuel Jose whanau, one of the largest families in New Zealand, met earlier this month to regroup after the passing of their chairperson “Big John” Manuel.

Thirty whanau members attended the hui, with another 30 livestreaming from around New Zealand and Australia.

The main purpose of the hui was to appoint a new chairperson after the recent passing of “Big John” Manuel and confirm existing positions and appoint members to new positions.

James Barnes was appointed new chairperson of the management committee.

He was deputy chairperson from 2008 and acting chair from 2015 due to various illnesses Mr Manuel suffered over the past few years, so the appointment did not feel any different from what he had been doing for the past five years.

“My role as chairperson is to understand the aspirations of the whanau and to guide those aspirations toward outcomes that will maintain the wellbeing of the whanau. The mana of the whanau resides with the people, not the chairperson.” Mr Barnes said.

“My leadership style will follow the leadership philosophy established by previous chairpersons, particularly the last two whom I observed up close and personal — Doug Katae and John Manuel.

“Each chairperson leaves a legacy for the benefit of the whanau. The first chairman, Lou Tangaere, gave us the first-ever Jose reunion in 1981, and along with Bob and Viviane McConnel, produced Olive Branches — a whakapapa of Manuel Jose descendance.

“Doug Katae's legacy was to take a group of New Zealand Jose whanau to Spain to meet our Spanish Jose whanau in Valverde del Majano, the birthplace of Manuel Jose.

“John Manuel's legacy was to host a visit to New Zealand by a group of Spanish whanau and to sign a Sister City agreement between Gisborne City Council, Valverde del Majano City Council and the Manuel Jose whanau.

“This was the first time a non-government entity, let alone a whanau, was a signatory to such an agreement”.

Mr Barnes has presented a vision for the whanau to consider going forward. He has identified three priorities that the whanau have accepted.

The first is a continuation of a whakapapa project to update Olive Branches, which started under Big John's chairmanship, and to encourage others who need to research claims that they whakapapa to Manuel Jose to do so.

In 1981 the whanau numbered 16,000 registered members. Since then at least three generations have been born and it is estimated once the whakapapa project is completed the whanau population could swell to 30,000 to 40,000 members.

The second priority is to improve whanau connectiveness within New Zealand and around the world. Regional whanau representatives are being selected to be part of the central management committee to improve communication with whanau throughout New Zealand.

This will extend to whanau clusters in Australia and other parts of the world.

An “ambassador at large” has been appointed to maintain communication with these whanau members, particularly those living in Spain. The use of live streaming technology will facilitate greater participation in whanau meetings for those who can't attend in person.

The third priority is to establish a succession plan to encourage greater participation of young people in the affairs of the whanau, particularly encouraging them to increase the capability of the whanau to use media technology and come up with projects they are interested in pursuing.