Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Covid-19 coronavirus: Whanganui marae close up, lockdown

Laurel Stowell
By Laurel Stowell
Reporter·Whanganui Chronicle·
25 Mar, 2020 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Putiki Marae hosts many occasions but has had to cancel all bookings due to Covid-19. Photo / Laurel Stowell

Putiki Marae hosts many occasions but has had to cancel all bookings due to Covid-19. Photo / Laurel Stowell

Whanganui's two urban marae are in lockdown, with all bookings cancelled.

Putiki Marae trustees met on March 23, chairman Hone Tamehana said. They considered the Covid-19 restrictions and closed the marae immediately, until further notice.

"Health and safety have to be paramount."

Overheads and bills will be paid but no one will be there. Tamehana and his wife have made up packs of sanitising equipment and other necessities, and taken them to about 30 residents of the marae's kaumātua flats.

Most have family or caregivers to support them, but the packs will "give them a bit of incentive to pick themselves up", Tamehana said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"From a community perspective, at Putiki we are doing our little bit. I just hope that other communities can do something similar."

Questions will be asked, he said, especially about how to hold tangihanga.

"I'm saying that every man's kainga is his marae."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Putiki Marae hosts many occasions but has had to cancel all bookings due to Covid-19. Photo / Laurel Stowell
Putiki Marae hosts many occasions but has had to cancel all bookings due to Covid-19. Photo / Laurel Stowell

READ MORE:
• Marae restored after six months
• Agreement in principle signed on lower Whanganui land claims
• Social programme for Whanganui kaumātua contributes to whānau wellness

He acknowledged the pandemic is a completely new situation.

"We are learning as we are navigating this, at the same time."

Virtual meetings and teleconferences could substitute for face- to-face meetings, but some of those involved won't have the technical skills.

Discover more

New CEO 'proud and humbled by the role'

28 Feb 04:00 PM
Kahu

Josephine Hariata Takarangi-Firmin a tireless worker for health, Iwi

09 Mar 04:00 PM

Waka ama: Hundreds attend Raukotahi Marae Challenge on Whanganui River

08 Mar 04:33 AM

All bookings cancelled at Raetihi Marae

20 Mar 04:00 PM

"I will probably spend more time making private calls, person-to-person calls."

VirusFacts2
VirusFacts2

Putiki people have also had an abrupt suspension of waka ama training. Two teams had qualified and were training for the 2020 IVF World Elite and Club Sprint Championships in Hawaii in August. The event has been cancelled and many of the team members are older.

"Our last paddle was on Saturday. There's no more training and the club closes down."

It's the same story at Te Ao Hou Marae in Aramoho. All bookings are cancelled for the next three months, chairman Geoffrey Hipango said.

They include tangihanga and a national permaculture conference.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hipango will be keeping an eye on welfare in three adjoining houses and the kaumātua flats. He said people can take heart by attending online karakia, available to everyone, on Che Wilson's Facebook page Che's Channel - Te Paepae Waho.

ALERT_STAGES
ALERT_STAGES
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Ngāti Ruanui files urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim over mining project

02 Jul 10:42 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Why Whanganui is in for a warmer than normal winter

02 Jul 09:14 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

02 Jul 06:00 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Ngāti Ruanui files urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim over mining project

Ngāti Ruanui files urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim over mining project

02 Jul 10:42 PM

The claim alleges breaches of Treaty principles in fast-track approvals process.

Why Whanganui is in for a warmer than normal winter

Why Whanganui is in for a warmer than normal winter

02 Jul 09:14 PM
How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

How a white picket fence symbolises a significant Whanganui family

02 Jul 06:00 PM
Rangitīkei fencer regains Golden Pliers title

Rangitīkei fencer regains Golden Pliers title

02 Jul 06:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP