Wairoa road worker’s lollipop man antics at stop/go point delight

An ‘only in Aotearoa’ moment melding Māori tradition and modern traffic management has gone viral online.

Wairoa road worker Meihana Kotuhi posted a video of himself performing a wero [customary challenge] - his stop/go sign taking the place of a taiaha - as he managed traffic in rural Hawke’s Bay on Thursday, all as a colleague giggled and called him a “dork” throughout the 36-second clip.

“Bloody good day to make people smile … love it,” Kotuhi (Ngāti Kahungunu) wrote alongside the footage on video sharing platform TikTok.

Within a day, it has been loved more than 43,000 times, shared almost 5000 times and received more than 600 comments.

“Gotta have some fun at mahi”, wrote one.

The footage also won praise on Reddit’s New Zealand subreddit, with at least one viewer questioning their life choices.

“Having the time of his life while I’m sitting at my desk staring at two computer screens wondering where it all went wrong.”

A couple of posters took a dim view of Kotuhi’s actions, with one saying “some of us have got s**t to do lol”, but the Quality Roading and Services worker told the Herald those on the road “were pretty thrilled” by his performance.

“Put a smile on their faces.”

It’s been a tough time for Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti residents since Cyclone Gabrielle smashed through both regions in February, killing 11 and leaving a massive clean-up and repair job for homes, businesses, services and infrastructure - including roads.

Damage to State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa after Cyclone Gabrielle in February. Photo / NZDF

In Kotuhi’s video, shot “at our worksite out Ohuka” - about 40 kilometres north of Wairoa - the road worker is shown bringing a John Deere tractor to a stop.

The driver was a colleague, which prompted his performance, Kotuhi said.

“It was one of our own workers, so why not have a laugh?”