Tauranga Moana's Waitangi Day dawn service was held at Hopukiore (Mount Drury). Photo / Bijou Johnson
Dawn broke over Hopukiore (Mt Drury) as more than 200 people gathered to mark Waitangi Day.
Tauranga Moana’s Waitangi Day dawn service has been held at Hopukiore for more than a decade, and this year’s service had special meaning.
Two tragedies rocked the Bay of Plenty community just over two weeks ago, the Mauao and Welcome Bay landslides.
After Tauranga’s wettest day on record, a large landslide came down from Mauao into the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on January 22 at 9.30am.
Six people were buried underneath the rubble.
The victims were Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15, and Max Furse-Kee, 15.
Earlier the same morning, a landslide killed a grandmother and her 10-year-old grandson on Welcome Bay Rd, Pāpāmoa.
They were Austen Keith Richardson and his grandmother, 71-year-old Yao Fang.
Eight lives were lost in total, and 40 slips have damaged Mauao.
Service organisers said Waitangi Day events would centre on reflection, unity and support for affected whānau, and offer a chance for communities to “come together” following the tragedies.
The service began at 6.30am with a whakatau (welcome) from tangata whenua, before a morning karakia.
Te Pou Ahurea Josh Te Kani was the MC for the service.
Haka and kapa haka were performed, and several local kaumātua, civic leaders and rangatahi gave speeches.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said he wanted to acknowledge the tragic events that occurred on Mauao and in Pāpāmoa.
“These tragedies weigh heavily on our hearts.”
The victims of the landslides were honoured multiple times during the service, with many dignitaries speaking about how the community had united throughout this time.
Tauranga City Council head of community hubs, arts, heritage and events Gareth Wallis told the Bay of Plenty Times the city was “united in grief”, coming to terms with the loss of life following the landslides.
“Our thoughts remain firmly with the families who have lost loved ones, and with everyone affected.”
Speakers explored the meaning of Te Tiriti, the importance of honouring its spirit, and a shared vision for a thriving, Tiriti-based Tauranga Moana.
Abundant Life Church pastor Leanne Rolleston spoke at the service about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“We live out its meaning through our actions,” she said.
“We are one body with many parts.”
She described how the Bay of Plenty community had come together since the landslides as “partnership lived out”.
Today was Tracey Stoneham and her daughter Mereana Rameka’s first Waitangi Day dawn service.
“We came along because of recent events. I wanted to be beside the mountain and remember the lives that were lost,” Stoneham said.
“They talked about the kotahitanga in the speeches today and the spirit of community that has been shown the last couple of weeks, and it was really felt today.
“That’s what I was after, so I was really happy I came.”
Casma Moore said she attended the Waitangi Day dawn service every year.
She was from Ngāti Kahungunu but had been living in Tauranga Moana for about 20 years.
“I think unity was a big part of today, and it always will be,” she said.
Moore appreciated how all speakers mentioned the landslides, and that their kōrero encouraged the public to stop listening to online discourse.
“Everyone’s working together to reach a good outcome.”
Scottish woman Faye Robbins was travelling in New Zealand with her children Rose and Theo.
They decided to attend the service and learn more about the history of Waitangi Day.
Faye wanted her children to “have a bit of cultural understanding for the land they’re travelling around”.
Te Pio Kaw has attended every Hopukiore and Mauao service and also attended services at Waitangi when he lived there.
“People just mobilise themselves,” he said.
“It’s an awesome feeling when people are united on one kaupapa, but it needs to be a kaupapa that’s 24/7, 365 days a year.”
National MP Sam Uffindell, Labour MP Jan Tinetti and Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer were also in attendance, alongside Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairwoman Matemoana McDonald and chairs representing Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga.
The service concluded around 8.30am with a closing karakia and himene (hymns), and a Rātana band played Return Home before the crowd dispersed.
Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.