Prize-winners at Te Tairāwhiti Secondary Schools & Wharekura Regional Kapa Haka Competition: Parearau Rogers Brooking (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou, left), Tikirau Taiapa (TKKM o Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti), Etai Gilbert (TKKM o Hawaiki Hou) and Malea Proctor (TKKM o Nga Uri o Māui).
Prize-winners at Te Tairāwhiti Secondary Schools & Wharekura Regional Kapa Haka Competition: Parearau Rogers Brooking (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou, left), Tikirau Taiapa (TKKM o Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti), Etai Gilbert (TKKM o Hawaiki Hou) and Malea Proctor (TKKM o Nga Uri o Māui).
The talent displayed by Tairāwhiti’s rangatahi in a regional competition has shown that kapa haka’s legacy is “alive and thriving”, according to one school staff member.
Turanga Wahine Turanga Tane, a mixed kapa haka group from Gisborne Girls’ and Boys’ High Schools, won the Te Tairāwhiti Area Secondary Schools &Wharekura Regional Kapa Haka Competition.
The group took out first place across several key categories, earning them the top spot for 2025.
Close on their heels was Te Kura ā Iwi o Manutuke, who secured second place overall, impressing the judges and audiences with their powerful performances.
Both groups will go on to represent the region at the national kapa haka competition in Tauranga next year.
In a display of cultural pride, precision and passion, students from across the district lit up the stage at the Gisborne Events Centre on June 17.
“The 2025 competition highlighted the extraordinary talent of Te Tairāwhiti’s rangatahi,” said Gisborne Boys’ High School assistant principal, Maria Jefferson.
“It also underscores the vital role kapa kaka plays in maintaining and celebrating te ao Māori.
“The legacy of kapa haka is alive and thriving in the hearts of Te Tairāwhiti’s next generation.”
Turanga Wahine Turanga Tane, the mixed kapa haka group from Gisborne Girls' and Boys' High schools are joined by their tutors Lorraine Brown, Paige Brown, Wi Pere Mita, David Jones and guitarist Jenny Coleman after winning the Tairāwhiti Area Schools & Wharekura Regional Kapa Haka Competition.
Results:
Sir Turi Carroll - Junior English - Prepared Final Score
1st: Tikirau Taiapa (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kawakawa Mai Tawhiti)
2nd: Eve Houkamau (Gisborne Girls’ High School)
3rd: Te Kahu Sergent (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Waiū o Ngāti Porou)
Te Rawhiti Ihaka - Junior Māori - Prepared Final Score
1st: Malea Proctor (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Uri ō Māui)
2nd: Te Urumingi Ria (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Horouta Wānanga)
3rd: Taiao i-Motuhake Matahiki (Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hawaiki Hou)
Korimako - Senior English - Prepared and Impromptu Final Score
