Cyclone Gabrielle: ‘A horse and a rope and away we go’: Wairoa tamariki go max horsepower during gas shortage

Clever tamariki in Wairoa turned to the power of horses last weekend, showcasing a genius way to help get people in need where they need to go without gas.

In a video uploaded to TikTok by Wairoa resident Jose Ma Paku Manuel, a young boy in a wheelchair was towed along by a horse, making their way to the local hōhipera.

Manuel said the idea to make the TikTok came from tamariki in the video and their kaiako.

“Our boy in the wheelchair not long ago had surgery on his knee,” he said.

“With no service in town, we thought how are we going to get him to hospital if he needs to go for a check-up?”

With limited gas in Te Wairoa due to the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle, Manuel and the kids utilised their horses.

“Why don’t we just use what we have? A horse and a rope and away we go.”

No power, no fuel - no problem in Wairoa. Photo / Supplied

As well as using horsepower to conserve gas, residents have also been working in many other ways to help the community rebuild.

Manuel said the local wharekura kids had been hard at mahi helping clean the Takitimu marae and whare reo Māori Te Ataarangi.

The kids had been utilising Manuel’s horses and a single white truck to help with recovery efforts that had luckily been filled up on Monday night.

Emergency manager Lisa Glass commended the people of Wairoa on Monday for their incredible community spirit and perseverance after being essentially cut off from the rest of Aotearoa.

“Honestly, they were a delight,” said Glass.

“The mayor kept telling them all this bad news and there they are, asking intelligent questions. I hate the word humbling, but it really was — like holey moley you guys could teach us a thing or two.”