Kurangaituku proudly soars over Auckland parade rivals

The Rotorua Chamber of Pride float, led by Tamati Coffey, pictured, has been named the best float at last week's Auckland Pride Parade. Photo / Envisage Images

Months of hard work has paid off for a Rotorua group after being named the best float at this year's Auckland Pride Parade.

Rotorua Chamber of Pride beat 56 other floats that took part in Saturday's annual parade down Ponsonby Rd. It is the biggest event in the country for the Rainbow Community (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender).

The group of more than 30 locals used the Te Arawa legend Kurangaituku to portray this year's parade theme of Gods and Monsters. Rotorua Chamber of Pride spokesman Tamati Coffey said a lot of work went behind the 90 minutes of [parade] action on Ponsonby Rd.

"There were three months of meetings and organisation and dancing - with a few dramas in there too. The big day was pretty stressful for everyone, but the choreography, costuming, sound, lighting and the hard work everyone put in meant we made a huge impact on the night and we can't wait to think up something bigger for next time."

Auckland Pride Parade director Richard Taki said it was an extremely hard decision for the judges to make with the calibre of this year's floats the best they have seen.

"It was a panel of judges and we couldn't actually decide. We had to open it up to our senior management team and Rotorua had the most votes," Mr Taki said.

"Tamati Coffey's entry showed a true community spirit by bringing together GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) people of different ages from Rotorua. They brought us the story of local legend Kurangaituku - the birdwoman, re-imagining her as a victim needing to be freed from her historical stigma. The look and feel of the float was uplifting, especially when the wings expanded," Mr Taki said.

Rotorua Chamber of Pride was the first provincial float to win the top award since the parade was established three years ago. The group won a cash prize of $500.

Runner-up floats were First Scene, Family Bar, Air New Zealand and Westpac.