Ngāti Rangi whānau perform a waiata during the opening ceremony for the new Ohakune subdivision.
Ngāti Rangi whānau have celebrated the opening of their new housing subdivision in Ohakune.
A whakanoa (lifting of tapū) took place early last Sunday.
During her address at the ceremony, Ngā Maihua o Paerangi Trust (formerly Ngāti Rangi Trust) chief executive Helen Leahy said the day had been a long time in the making.
“The concept was clear – whānau being able to thrive as communities of wellbeing on their own land."
Ten unique homes, each with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, were constructed over the past year in Ohakune township, across three sections purchased by Ngāti Rangi.
“We worked with a design company called Wai Whenua, and they have created some lovely panels on the door and lights ... It’s quite beautiful to see each of them having something unique,” Leahy said.
They span Kōwhai Crescent, Raupo Lane, Shannon St and Te Ara Rewa Lane – named this year, reflecting the rewarewa plant (honeysuckle).
“It’s significant for Ngāti Rangi because we haven’t had a lot of streets here where we’ve been able to name them”, Leahy said.
Kai was shared and whānau members discussed future kaupapa.
Ideas included setting up a reo-only speaking street in the village, creating a community garden, and street karakia.
All iwi members chosen to fill the homes passed free financial literacy courses and qualified for Te Uru Ahupūtea – courses offering support for whānau on how they can manage their finances.
Leahy said the residential tenancy was established with Ka Uruora, an iwi programme of services supporting whānau to improve financial wellbeing and achieve financial independence.
“We were keen to do it that way, because it means we can be there totally for the people, whereas Ka Uruora is for the houses, property and management as well,” she said.
Racheal Brown is moving into one of the homes with her mum and 6-year-old daughter.
“I did the Ka Uruora financial literacy course about five years ago ... I live by what they say even now,” Brown said.
“It’s helped me save big time.”
Brown said she was happy to move into what would be a very close community.
“I’ll have my sister down the road, I’ve got four cousins down the road, and then an aunty too.”
She was very proud of her hapū and iwi and what they had done for her and her whānau.
“This is a big thing. I’ve lived in a house where we’ve had ... eight adults and three kids, and we were in a two-bedroom house,” she said.
“This is, like, the dream.”
Leahy said a lack of emergency and social housing, being excluded from design settings and “exorbitant” rental prices led them to plan the initiative.
“Whānau are living in inadequate and insufficient housing; they are couch-surfing; they are living in cars. Their health suffers; respiratory health is of significant concern in this region,” she said.
“And hardest of all, some of our whānau have been forced to leave due to having nowhere to live.
“For the last five years, we have been developing He Pā Tū, He Pā ora mō te tangata – a Ngāti Rangi strategy focused around what we call Pā Ora – collective wellbeing."
Iwi representatives worked with Kainga Ora, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ruapehu District Council and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
Leahy said she had hoped it would be easy, but it wasn’t.
In February 2024, Kainga Ora withdrew from plans for 44 homes to be built in Teitei Drive.
This stifled the opportunity for social housing, worker accommodation and rentals, Leahy said.
The Government then set a target to reduce the number of emergency housing options by 75%, an area that Ngāti Rangi and whānau were closely involved in, she said.
“Access to warm, dry and affordable housing remained a significant issue for the rohe of Ruapehu.”
She believed these past issues made the event even more treasured.
“We truly believe that every home should be a shelter from storms.
“It should be a sanctuary of safety; a place to relax and unwind; to dream and plan for tomorrow; to build a nursery for children; a site to grow a garden; a haven for happiness,” Leahy said.
The project’s name comes from the Korokio stream that runs through the subdivision, a place where the tight native fern, waewaekahu, grows.
Korokio is a sash, usually made out of waewaekahu vines, worn as a sign of great respect for a person who has died who contributed significantly to the iwi or hapū.
Raupo Lane leads to a wetland where raupō, the native swamp plant, grows, along with native birds and fish.
The whenua the subdivision sits on is named after Rangataua, a demi-god and famous warrior who lived in the clouds. His weapons were rain, hail, snow and lightning. Te Mokai o Rangataua, a lenticular cloud formation also known as “Rangataua pet”, was his waka.
Ngāti Rangi would call upon Rangataua to fight for the tribe, an iwi representative said.
Amid the recent flooding and stormy conditions, particularly in the Ruapehu district, Leahy said the occasion reflected a new dawn.
“And as we landed at our last home, it was at that time that Koro showed himself, the sun rose and we came together in the 7am karakia we know so well.
“It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.”
It was reported last year the 10-home project was funded jointly by Te Kūmete o Paerangi and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
The Government grant contributed $2.93 million from He Kūkū Ki Te Kāinga fund – which aimed to grow Māori-led housing supply projects – and $1.52m from the Māori Infrastructure Fund.
Leahy thanked the parties and contractors involved in the project and Associate Minister for Housing Tama Potaka, who attended the opening.
Some whānau were expected to shift in this week, with all 10 homes expected to be completed in June.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Ngāti Whatua o Kaipara) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.