Brightwell whānau gather for the opening of Te Wharewaka o Mareikura (from left): Quinn-Heiata Swann, Murray Brightwell, Lili Swann, Ngarangi Pomana, Raipoia Brightwell and Matahi Brightwell. Photo / John Gillies
New Zealand’s oldest waka ama club has the country’s newest wharewaka.
Mareikura Waka Ama Club past and present members – and supporters – gathered at Anzac Park on Saturday to celebrate the achievement of a long-held ambition.
Their wharewaka (canoe, or waka, house) was opened after decades of planning and campaigning for covered storage for their craft and equipment.
Matahi Brightwell founded what was then known as Mareikura Canoe Club in Gisborne in 1985, and travelled the country reintroducing canoe culture to Māori communities.
His outreach was key to the foundation of the burgeoning sport of waka ama racing – sprint and long distance – in New Zealand.
The beneficiaries of that pioneering work by Brightwell and a handful of others now compete on the world stage, under the Aotearoa NZ banner. Their exploits often rival those of the giants of the sport – Tahiti and Hawaii.
Mareikura celebrations on Saturday started at 5am with dawn karakia at Anzac Park, followed by breakfast and a “cuppa”, a community welcome, and a “paddle-past” on the Waimata River by waka crews in remembrance of past club members.
In the evening, club members and guests gathered for a function celebrating 40 years of Mareikura waka ama history.
Speakers at the community welcome were:
Stoltz said club representatives had talked to the district council 15 years ago to try to get the community to rally around something that was “such a taonga”.
“This is not just a building where the waka will sit,” she said.
“It is where our kids learn to look after each other, their equipment and their bodies as well.”
Benita Cairns said kaupapa Māori were under-represented in funding from the Lotteries Community Facilities Committee, so it was wonderful to be able to support Mareikura Waka Ama Club in its vision of kotahitanga, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga (togetherness, respect/hospitality and kinship).
She acknowledged the dedication and perseverance of volunteers who guided projects like this from an identified need, to completion.
Doug Jones said the wharewaka proposal came before Trust Tairāwhiti nearly five years ago as part of the Tairāwhiti sports facilities business case.
Initially, $500,000 was allocated, but Cyclone Gabrielle flooding caused a rethink. The project was rescoped, redesigned and relocated to higher ground nearby.
Trust Tairāwhiti also increased its contribution to $1.3 million.
Waka ama leaders had created an environment that aligned with the desired outcomes of trust funding.
Multiple clubs in the region competed in their quest for excellence, Jones said.
Connections formed, which supported the staging of significant regional and national events.
Projects such as the wharewaka happened only through partnership among the funders, because they hadn’t enough money individually to do all they wanted.
Audine Grace-Kutia had been a driving force in the Trust Tairāwhiti effort in support of the project.
Jones said the wharewaka stood as a testament to club members’ dedication, community spirit and belief in the future of their sport.
Olliver Smith said he liked the quote; “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste”.
The pressure that came about when resources were tight and uncertain could lead to creative solutions.
He was living in Porirua when he met Matahi Brightwell in 2005, and was terrified of him. But what Brightwell and his whānau taught the youngsters there was more than strokes and technique.
It was a pathway out and a sense of belonging for many who had nowhere else to go.
“That opportunity changes lives,” Smith said.
He hoped the wharewaka would be filled with laughter and tough lessons, so that when the next crisis came they would remember how to turn it into an opportunity.
Shane Kingsbeer said it was 13 years since he and Brightwell had discussed wharewaka plans over a cup of coffee.
At that time, Brightwell had been working towards a project for 10 years.
The original plan was for a simple wooden structure, but after Cyclone Gabrielle, the site was changed to a more elevated location and the building was designed to be more robust.
Phil Matthews said his company had the fun part of the project: “We got to build it”.
A big part of the project was underground.
“You get the foundations right, everything else will go well.”
On the surface was a 200 millimetre concrete slab.
Under that was a stainless steel plate resting on top of 345 piles, each 600mm in diameter and driven 1.6 metres into the ground.
He predicted improved sports facilities would lead to positive social and cultural change.
“An old saying goes, ‘Kids in sport keep out of court’,” Matthews said.
“That’s what we’ll see down here.”
He called for action on under-cover sports facilities, and more waka buildings.
“The more sporting facilities we have in this region, the more kids we’ll be keeping out of court,” he said.
“We’ve employed another apprentice out of this project. Without it, we would have been unable to do that.”
Matahi Brightwell said this time 40 years ago he had been in the Southern Ocean on the traditionally built double-hulled voyaging vessel Hawaikinui, surfing down waves as big as the trees on the banks of the Waimata River.
He, his father-in-law Francis Cowan, and a small crew sailed from the Society Islands to New Zealand in late 1985 to prove that Māori could have made the trip using traditional methods.
“I have mowed these lawns for 36 years,” Brightwell said, referring to the grass growing among the waka.
He would tow the mower from home at 25km/h, which minimised petrol use but held up traffic.
“I made my first application (for funding) in 1988, and I’ve been fighting every year.”
He paid tribute to his wife Raipoia.
“Without my wife, I would be nothing.”
Raipoia Brightwell thanked the club committee members for their work.
“I have been a committee member – I know what it’s like – but this committee took it across the line,” she said.
Billy Maxwell said Joelene Takai and Kiriana Smith had driven the project progress, with support from committee colleagues Carolyn Hodgkinson and Te Rina Timutimu.
“Joelene was definitely the main driver,” Maxwell said.
“She sought the funding initially and made it her mission to get the shed built. At our first meeting with the mayor and councillors, Joelene was the one who said, ‘We have come here to let you know we are going to build a facility at Anzac Park. We are not asking for permission, we are here to inform you.’
“Kiriana Smith is our treasurer and she played an integral part with the finances. The rest of us on the committee did whatever it took to fill in where we were needed.
“We are so happy to get it to where it is today.
“We thank the committees who started it, and all our funders.
“It’s been a long, hard journey.”