Whangārei Planetarium offers close-up view of Matariki at dawn

Northlanders can get close up view of Matariki at the Whangārei Planetarium, at Kiwi North, Maunu, tomorrow morning. Photo / Supplied

People can get a close view of Matariki (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters star cluster) in Whangārei tomorrow, but they'll have to get up early.

Matariki Dawn is being held at Kiwi North Museum, Kiwi House & Heritage Park, SH14, Whangārei tomorrow from 6am.

Hosted by Planetarium North and Kiwi North, Matariki Dawn offers people the opportunity to watch Puanga and Matariki's travels across the sky.

There will be Planetarium tours every 10 minutes from 6 to 7am.

Last year's beautiful early morning welcome of Puanga and Matariki was so special at the Planetarium that they have decided to do it again.

Attendees can learn about the stars at the Planetarium and visit the Museum including the latest exhibition Growing Local in the Mim Ringer Gallery.

People can share a hot drink and barbecue breakfast, while watching the sunrise from the vantage spot overlooking the city and welcome the Maori New Year with a fire pit on the knoll. Koha is appreciated.

Matariki signals the Māori New Year. It is a time of renewal and celebration in New Zealand that begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters).

Matariki is a star cluster which appears in the night sky during mid-winter. According to the Maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), the reappearance of Matariki, brings the old lunar year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year. Hence, Matariki is associated with the Māori New Year.

Traditionally, festivities were conducted to celebrate Matariki, they followed the harvesting of crops when the pātakapātaka food storehouses were full, freeing up time for family and leisure.

These festivities included the lighting of ritual fires, the making of offerings, and celebrations of various kinds to farewell the dead, to honour ancestors, and to celebrate life.

Tohunga, spiritual experts, looked to the Matariki star cluster to find out how abundant the upcoming year's harvest would be. Bright, clear stars promised a warm and successful season. Hazy stars, however, warned of cold weather and poor crops.

Matariki festivities highlight the tangata whenua indigenous view of the world. They remind us of the cycle of life and natural ways of marking the passing of time.