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Kia eke ai tōna whānau, tōna hapū me tōna iwi ki te tarouma o Takurua te pūtake e wāwāhi ngaru teitei tonu ai te wairua kaha o Kerri Anne Hancock. Ko ia te tauwharenga mō te tarati o Te Rotoiti 15.
Tētehi o ngā tarati ahuwhenua momona katoa o Aotearoa. Nā tana tūnga mahi e tika ai tāna tuku kaha kia rangatira ai tēnei moemoeā ōna. Nāna te ara kōpiupiu hoki, nō te rua mano mā rima te tau e noho ākona ana ki a Tai Taitoko i te tarati Maori whaihoki e noho tahi ana me te whānau i te kooti whenua Maori ki Te Waiariki nei."
Kua hua mai te pōhewatanga nōku kia hoki mai ahau ki te awhina me te whakarongo ki ngā whakahau ā te iwi, mātua i taku tūnga nei i te tarati o Te Rotoiti 15.
I ngā tau kotahi tekau mā whitu kua pahemo, kua uru atu ahau hai pou whakarite mā ngā take e pā ana ki te tiriti o Waitangi mā te Karauna me tōku iwi mō Ngāti Whakaue, whaihoki kai te hautu tonu ahau i taku ake kamupene mātanga. Nā ēnei mahi katoa, kua mārama ahau me pēwhea e whakatutuki ai i aku mahi hai manu tūtei mā te tarati – engari tonu e hoa mā, he rā hou, he ākoranga hou".
I whakatūngia te tarati o Te Rotoiti 15 i te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e whitu tekau mā tahi te tau. He mea whakakōtahi i ngā poraka Maori e whitu. Ko ngā whenua ēnei nō Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Rongomai me ētehi hapū hoki o Ngāti Pikiao tāpiringia hoki ētehi atu whenua whiti nā te Karauna.
Ko mātou ngā tarati te hunga tiaki i ngā heketā e waru mano e whā rau mā ngā tangata kotahi tekau mā ono mano. Ko te kitenga whakamua kia hihiri te ōhanga, te oranga me te pukumahi i runga i te ngākau ngātahi.
E toru tekau mā whitu te rahi o Kerri Anne (nee Rogers) he ākona tawhito nā Hato Mikaere me te kura o Hoani Paora. Ko ētehi o ōna pānga whakapapa ki a Ngāti Rangiwewehi ki a Ngāti Tarawhai me Ngāti Whakaue hoki. Tokotoru a rāua ko tona hoa rangatira a Michael Hancock, he Ngai Te Arawa, he Ngai Te Rangi me NgāPuhi, tamariki Ko Maraea te mātāmua, e waru tōna rahi, ko Justin te pūmanawa, e ono tōna rahi, ā, ko Te Waere te whakapakanga, e toru noa te rahi. He tāhū paetahi mahi a Toi Maori me te mātai hinengaro i Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau engari anō kāore he mutunga o tana akoako.
"Ko te ūpoko o te ururoa, me e whai mana nei taku tūnga mahi ki te whakahuri, ki te waha i ngā kare-ā-roto e rangatira ai taku whānau, taku hapū me taku iwi, he tika rā. He kitenga nāku me e mahi ana mā te iwi ka ara anō ai he huarahi māku e whakawhanake aku hononga ki te whenua, ki te taiao otīā taku whānau whānui".
He ākona reo ia pēnei i te nuinga o tōna whakatupuranga nā te whare wānanga. Nā te mea ko te reo Maori tona reo tuarua kua mōhio a Kerri me noho mātua te reo ki āna tamariki, kia takahia e rātou ngā tapuwae o tō rātou Matua tāne e noho Maori ana i te ao mātauranga, nā reira a rātou tamariki e rūmakingia ana ki te reo i te kāinga.
"A mahi nei, nōku te maringi nui kua whai wāhi ai ahau ki te kaupapa Rotorua Reorua me te kaupapa Aotearoa Reorua, otīā me te whakahaere tētehi akoranga reorua ā pākihi i taku tūnga Tauwharenga nei mā te tarati o Te Rotoiti 15".
"Ko te pae tawhiti tāku e matapoporengia nei kia Maori kau tō tātou reo, e pakē kau ana ngā waha o ngā tamariki me ngā mokopuna he ahakoa ki whea haere ai rātou i te motu nei, ka rua, kia eke anō ai te mana o te reo kia noho taurite ai ki te reo Pākehā."
Ko tana titiro mā tana tūnga taratī nei, kia whakamihingia e ia te kaha o ngā whānau o ngā hapū me ngā iwi ki te whakakōtahi ngā whenua Maori e whai kaha ai tātou ināianei e whai tūranga mana ai tātou i ēnei rangi tonu, hai waka kotahi.
"Ko ngā pou tumuwhakarae tawhito nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e whitu tekau mā tahi moroki noa nei, he rahi noa atu te hunga tangata kua tuku aroha mai ki tō tātou whenua e tiketike ai te kōrūrū o tō tatou whare, anei e whēterotero ana".
He mārama kehokeho noa tana titiro pae tawhiti.
Ko ngā tamariki me ngā mokopuna te āpōpō. "Ko ngā whakatau ka puta mai me whakatau-mokopuna kē te whakaaro me manawa uho tātou ki te tuku ki te whakaputa i ngā whakataunga toa hai painga mō tātou mō te iwi".
Kia hoki mai ki tāna ake mahi, hai tā Kerri Anne, he wahine rite kaha nei ki te pepeha e mea ana ko te amorangi ki mua, engari a Kerri koia te hāpai ō ki muri.
"He tino waimarie i whakawhiwhia ai ahau ki te taonga Emerging Leaders i te tau e rua mano kotahi tekau mā iwa i te Westpac Rotorua Business Awards. I te tau e rua mano e rua tekau mā tahi ka whakawhiwhia te taratī o Te Rotoiti 15 ki te Tompkins Wake Bi-Lingual Business Award, kātahi ka eke ai rātou hai pouwhakataetae whakamutunga i te wahanga Not for Profit hoki.
—Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia
Kerri Anne Hancock is driven by the desire to champion change for her whānau, hapū and iwi.
As Tauwharenga (General Manager) of Rotoiti 15 Trust, one of the largest ahuwhenua Trusts in Aotearoa, she is in a prime position to make that happen.
She has been on this pathway since 2005, learning the ropes from Tai Taitoko at the Maori Trustee and spent some time with the whānau of the Maori Land Court - Waiariki.
"As you can imagine it's beautiful to be able to come full circle and serve our people in my role at the Rotoiti 15 Trust.
"Over the last 17 years I have also spent time working in Treaty Settlement Negotiations for the Crown as well as for my iwi Ngāti Whakaue and running my own consultancy company — all which taught me what I need to know to fulfil my role for the trust – but believe me, I am learning more every day."
Rotoiti 15 Trust was formed in 1971 following the amalgamation of several land blocks derived from Ngāti Tarawhai, Ngāti Rongomai and some Ngāti Pikiao hapū lands, as well as land received from an exchange with the Crown.
Today the Trustees care for 8400ha on behalf of more than 16,000 shareholders and their beneficiaries.
The vision is: 'Kia hihiri te ōhanga, te oranga me te pukumahi i runga i te ngākau ngātahi' – "Working together to protect and grow the well-being of our people, environment and culture".
Kerri Anne (nee Rogers) 37, attended St Michaels School and John Paul College. She has hononga to Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Ngāti Tarawhai as well as Whakaue.
She and husband Michael Hancock (Te Arawa, Ngaiterangi, Ngāpuhi) have three children, Maraea, 8, Justin, 6, and Te Waere, 3. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Māori and Psychology from the University of Auckland and there has been constant training throughout her journey.
"My driver has always been whether the tūranga I hold allow for me to champion change for my whānau, hapū and iwi more so than the specific job titles. I've always found that serving in iwi roles has created pathways for me to grow my connections to my whenua, taiao and wider whānau."
Kerri Anne began learning te reo at university as many of her generation did. As a second-language learner, it is important to Kerri Anne that their tamariki have te reo Māori as their first language and follow their Pāpā's footsteps in Māori medium education and are immersed in te reo within their home.
"On a professional level I have been honoured to work on important kaupapa such as Rotorua Reorua and Aotearoa Reorua as well as running a bi-lingual business in my role as the GM for Rotoiti 15 Trust.
"I look forward to the day that our tamariki mokopuna can see hear feel and converse in te reo in public spaces where our reo is raised in status alongside te reo Pākeha."
From a Trust perspective, Kerri Anne salutes as incredible the actions of the whānau, hapū and iwi in amalgamating the whenua to protect it and leverage the strength of the collective.
"From the original trustees in 1971 to today, so many of our whānau have contributed their aroha for the whenua to building the Trust to be where it is today."
Her vision for the future is clearcut.For Kerri Anne, our tamariki Mokopuna are our ultimate succession plan.
"All decisions we make are Mokopuna Decisions – intergenerational decisions that allow us to make courageous decisions for our people."
Of her own career, Kerri Anne says she is more of a worker in the background than front of house.
"I was lucky enough to receive an Emerging Leaders award in 2019 with the Westpac Rotorua Business Awards. In 2021, the Rotoiti 15 Trust received the Tompkins Wake Bi-lingual Business Award and was a finalist in the Not-for-Profit section as well.
'[We are] just as staunch and ferocious in saying we hold sovereignty over our own.'