A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A $9 million fund from the the Lottery Grants Board has been made available for community projects that align with the national commemoration of first meetings between Maori and Europeans, with the arrival in Gisborne of explorer James Cook in 1769.
National commemoration, Tuia - Encounters 250, will mark 250years since those first meetings.
“This fund will help people all over the country get involved to bring to life the Tuia experience trail of great events and the development of the legacy project,” say Tuia - Encounters 250 national co-ordinating committee co-chairmen Dame Jenny Shipley and Hoturoa Barclay Kerr in welcoming the fund.
“Exciting plans are under way and momentum is growing, particularly in the four locations of Gisborne Tairawhiti, the Bay of Islands, Coromandel and Marlborough where Europeans and Maori first met 250 years ago.”
They say the Tuia - Encounters 250 commemoration will give people the opportunity to learn more about people and events that shaped New Zealand, to share their stories of their voyaging heritage and their hopes for the future.
Events, activities and legacy projects that might be funded are:
Iwi/hapu-led research projects to promote greater understanding of Maori experience and cultural practices in or before 1769.Community event and legacy projects that acknowledge specific regional history connected to the first meetings between Maori and Europeans.Relevant arts and cultural projects and programmes.Ecological projects that can show significant community benefit.Events and projects that engage people in science, technology and documentation of Tuia–Encounters 250 events and legacy projects.
