Te Hiku community comes together at Matariki to honour road death victims

The 13 lives lost on Far North roads since last Matariki were honoured in a special Matariki Remembrance Ceremony held by Far North Reap in Kaitāia on Thursday.

Far North road safety advocates, community providers and the public have come together to honour the 13 people who died in fatal crashes on the district’s roads since last Matariki.

Far North Reap’s road safety team held its inaugural Matariki Remembrance Ceremony on Thursday, starting with a dawn ceremony and karakia at Kaitāia’s South Road pou, followed by a ‘hīkoi under the stars’ around the Te Ahu Loop.

The Matariki Road Safety Expo was held afterwards at the Te Ahu Main Hall.

Far North Reap’s road safety team deliver projects, learning support, events, courses, driving schooling and overall co-ordination of road safety education in the Far North District.

Road safety educator Poumau Papali’i-Smith said he and colleague Janelle Laurence felt holding a road safety awareness event aligned perfectly with this time of year.

“Matariki is about remembering those who have passed, celebrating the present and looking to the future, and those messages also resonate with road safety,” Smith said.

Far North Reap road safety educator Poumau Papali'i- Smith says Matariki is a good time to reflect and learn from the people who died on the roads and how we can look after ourselves better as a community.

“We can’t honour those lives lost more than by learning from them, and Matariki provides a platform for us to come together and do that.”

Kotahitanga [unity/solidarity] was another key theme of the day, which Smith said was represented by the different services that came to support the holistic approach to driver and community wellbeing.

Ngāti Kahu Social and Health Services youth services team lead Kylie Kara said her team came to awhi [support] Far North Reap and to work together to achieve better outcomes for all.

“We are here to support this kaupapa and to help educate whānau around safe driving practices and being road-smart,” Kara said.

Ngāti Kahu Health and Social Services team lead for youth services, Kylie Kara.

“We deal a lot with whānau dealing with grief and loss [after an accident], and it has a ripple effect not just on them, but the hapū, iwi and community in general.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child, so aligning like this shows it takes the whole community to save our children and our whānau.”

According to Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, the most up-to-date crash information data shows a total of 43 people died on Northland roads between July 1, 2022 and July 20, 2023.

Seventeen of those were in the Far North district, seven in the Kaipara District and 19 in the Whangārei District.

The largest contributing factor in all fatal crashes was alcohol/or drugs, followed by the vehicles’ positions on the road and inappropriate speed.

A range of services turned out in the spirit of kotahitangi [unity] to help spread the message of road safety.

Ensuring adequate seat belt usage was another thing Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer Ross Beddows said was a simple but life-saving behaviour.

“Northland’s road toll is as high as it’s ever been, and we’re still seeing far too many people not wearing seatbelts,” Beddows said.

“Of all the fatal accidents we’ve been to in the last 24 months, a high percentage have been because of no seatbelts, and where they very likely would have survived if they had one on.

Kaitāia Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief fire officer Ross Beddows and station officer Kori Yates.

“If you get thrown out of a car, your chances of survival aren’t high. I’ve never seen anyone thrown out of a car who had a seatbelt on.”

A Waka Kotahi spokesperson agreed too many people were being killed and seriously hurt on New Zealand’s roads and that tragically, many of these deaths and serious injuries were preventable.

Often, they said, these accidents were the result of simple mistakes.

“It’s important we all play our part to prevent people being killed as well as reduce unnecessary harm on our roads,” the spokesperson said.

“To keep everyone safe, we need everyone making safe choices, in safe vehicles, on safe roads and travelling at safe speeds.

“When you’re driving, it’s important to make safe choices to help keep yourself and others safe. This includes following the speed limit, driving to the conditions, not driving while impaired or distracted and wearing seatbelts.”