Ahuwhenua Young Māori Grower Grace Rehu ‘fell in love’ with the kaupapa

Hawke’s Bay's Grace Rehu (Rangitāne, Taranaki) is the 2023 Ahuwhenua Young Māori Grower. Photo / Alphapix

Grace Rehu (Rangitāne, Taranaki) was named the 2023 Young Māori Grower at the Ahuwhenua Trophy Awards in Tauranga last weekend attended by more than 900 guests.

The 21-year-old, who is a leading hand for Turners and Growers in Puketapu, Hawke’s Bay, was a finalist alongside Alix Te Kere (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tu, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Maniapoto) a health and safety adviser at snack apple grower Rockit Management Services in Hastings, and Erica Henare (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Maniapoto) a pipfruit and kiwifruit manager at Kono NZ in Motueka.

This was the first time in the history of the competition that three wāhine Māori were selected as finalists. To mark the special occasion, each of the finalists received $5000 from Te Tumu Paeroa in addition to their other prizes.

Rehu said she could never have had this “amazing experience” without the support of the two other finalists by her side and admitted she was pushed into entering the competition without really knowing what was involved but “fell in love” with the kaupapa and kept going.

She is eager to inspire rangatahi to consider horticulture as a career and says it is more than just picking apples, “If I can do it, so can our future wāhine and tāne,” Rehu said when first named a finalist.

“All three finalists are amazing. The growth in them over the course of the judging programme was phenomenal. They were all taken out of their comfort zone over the course of the study tour, but all of them took in absolutely everything,” judge Aaron Hunt said.

The supreme award, the Ahuwhenua Trophy, was won by Wi Pere Trust based near Gisborne for the top Māori horticultural enterprise. It was a finalist with MIL (Māori Investments Limited) – Whiritoa Orchards based at Te Teko in the eastern Bay of Plenty and Ngāi Tukairangi Trust located on the Matapihi peninsula in Tauranga.

Wi Pere trustee Trudy Meredith said her legs were shaking when she went on stage to receive the trophy and added that her grandfather Wi Pere would have been amazed at their winning for the second year in a row.

“I thought we had gaps in our business where Ngāi Tukairangi and MIL - Whiritoa Orchards had many strengths, so everybody’s taken lessons back from each other,” she said.

In 2022 Wi Pere Trust was named the Ahuwhenua Trophy winner for the top sheep and beef farm.

Ahuwhenua Trophy chair Nukuhia Hadfield said it had been a difficult year for most growers and farmers in the primary sector and especially hard for all the finalists in the competition. Frosts, floods and other unseasonal conditions had created major problems for all the entrants, she said. But despite this adversity, all the finalists remained in the competition and put together “exceptionally good” field days to showcase their respective orchards.

“I would not liked to have been a judge in these circumstances, but certainly full praise to Wi Pere Trust for being judged the winner. I have seen their property and they are very worthy winners,” said Hadfield.

“But having said that, all the finalists have once again demonstrated the strength and excellence of Māori horticulture.”