Editorial: Tell them the real stories of our town

Craig Cooper, editor, Northern Advocate.

There's not a heck of a lot on offer that gives visitors a taste of Whangarei's Maori culture.

One of the pioneers of Maori tourism in Whangarei is Pupurangi Hire and Tour, offering guided walking and waka ama tours.

They are based at the Town Basin - that's where the name Pupurangi comes from, the Town Basin's original name is Te Ahipupurangi.

Ihenga, from the Te Arawa tribe, came to Whangarei and cooked the kauri snail in the area. Ahi is "to cook". Pupurangi is the kauri snail.

The Te Arawa/Whangarei connection also leads to stories about Gilbert Mair - another well-known Whangarei surname.

Gilbert Mair jnr was born in Whangarei and was accorded rangatira status by Te Arawa. Why is fascinating - a great story.

And upstream of Te Ahipupurangi, a new tourism venture is cooking.

The tourism project pilot is driven by Glenbervie's Pehiaweri Marae, and involves cultural performances at the Whangarei Falls.

What is exciting about the project is that it differs from cultural experiences that visitors and tourists experience elsewhere, on "mainstream" cultural tourism routes like Rotorua.

Joby Hopa is leading the pilot which has been a topic that the whanau of the marae have been keen on for the past eight years.

Mr Hopa will be sharing the history of the whenua (land) and the awa (Hatea River) during a guided tour and evening cultural performance at the Whangarei Falls.

Whangarei MP Shane Reti learned of the proposal and local agencies such as Northland Inc, Creative Northland, Whangarei District Council and NorthTec are on board.

It's ironic that Whangarei has an Austrian who never lived in this town to thank for an art centre likely to finally attract sufficient tourists for related industries to flourish.

But when they get here, let's show them the real Whangarei - not the haka and hangi of Rotorua, but the real stories about real people and places.