Chad Scrivener of Broadwood (left) takes an early lead in the Dollar Murray and Harold Leef Memorial Race. Scrivener eventually finished second. Photo / Peter de Graaf
As many as 2000 people descended on the isolated North Hokianga settlement of Pawarenga on Monday for a day of sporting challenges and catching up with whānau from the hapū Te Uri o Tai. The event, held every year on December 31, is also a successful fundraiser paying for the upkeep of Pawarenga's three marae. Photos by Peter de Graaf .
To read more about the United Marae Sports Day go to Hapū sees out 2018 with day of sporting challenges .
Chelsea MacAlister of Okaihau takes an early lead on Done Deal in the Pawarenga Cup, one of many beach horse races held during Monday's United Marae Sports Day. Photo / Peter de Graaf Chelsea MacAlister of Okaihau with Done Deal, owned by Drew Rihari, after winning the hotly contested Pawarenga Cup. Photo / Peter de Graaf Horses thunder down the beach in the Emma Hetaraka Memorial women's race. Photo / Peter de Graaf Chad Scrivener of Broadwood (left) takes an early lead in the Dollar Murray and Harold Leef Memorial Race. Scrivener eventually finished second. Photo / Peter de Graaf Chad Scrivener of Broadwood (left) takes an early lead in the Dollar Murray and Harold Leef Memorial Race. Scrivener eventually finished second. Photo / Peter de Graaf Big queues form as the hangi arrives at the sports grounds. Photo / Peter de Graaf Adele Brits and her horse Smokey from Rangiahua compete in the barrel race. Photo / Peter de Graaf Bronson Pirini of Pawarenga and his horse Manny compete in the barrel race. Photo / Peter de Graaf Hendrik Korewha of Rawene competes in the stockman's whip event. Photo / Peter de Graaf Hendrik Korewha of Rawene competes in the stockman's whip event. Photo / Peter de Graaf Okaihau rider Sammy Johnson might be 79 but he's still competitive in the stockman's whip event. Photo / Peter de Graaf Ready, set, go! The Iron Kids race gets underway. Photo / Peter de Graaf Twelve-year-old Tiaki Henry, of Whangārei, puts on a final burst of speed to claim first place in the Iron Kids race for 9-12 year olds. Photo / Peter de Graaf A typical sports day scene with St Gabriel's Catholic Church in the background. Photo / Peter de Graaf The popular Pawarenga T-shirts are the sports day's biggest fundraiser. Photo / Peter de Graaf Kaitaia's Rongo Bentson rarely misses a chance to take photos and catch up with old mates at the United Marae Sports Day. Photo / Peter de Graaf Jesse Whitehead, of Taranaki, emerges from the mud of Whangape Harbour to claim the Iron Man title for the fourth year in a row. Photo / Peter de Graaf Tangaroa Herbert, 14, from Pawarenga, emerges from the mud at the end of the gruelling Iron Man race. Photo / Peter de Graaf Fourteen-year-old Tangaroa Herbert, from Pawarenga, is a little muddy after the last leg of the Iron Man race took him through the Whangape Harbour mudflats. Photo / Peter de Graaf Pawarenga 14-year-old Pouaka Skinner and his horse Stunner won the grueling cross-country race in only his second year competing. Photo / Peter de Graaf Elsewhere flooding of the sports grounds might be seen as a problem; in Pawarenga it's an opportunity for a new kind of race. Photo / Peter de Graaf Competitors feel the pain in the women's tug 'o war. Photo / Peter de Graaf Competitors take the strain in the men's tug 'o war. Photo / Peter de Graaf Kaharau Pickering (right) feels the strain competing for the Tana Pickering team in the tug 'o war. Photo / Peter de Graaf