Whanganui 16-year-old wins regional speech competition

Christie Wallace won the senior Māori section of the Aotea Region's Ngā Manu Kōrero secondary school speech competition in Waitara. Photo / Bevan Conley

Speaking te reo Māori and being proud to be Māori may have helped Christie Wallace win this region's Pei Te Hurinui Jones Trophy.

The 16-year-old Whanganui schoolgirl was the overall winner of the senior Māori section of this region's national secondary school speech competition. She competed against speakers from across Whanganui and Taranaki in Waitara on June 21.

Sophia 'Unga-Cribb, from Whanganui High School, won the junior English section of the competition.

Christie's first speech was an impromptu one, and her topic was Tōku tino taonga - something very precious to me.

"I did it about our language," she said.

It got the top mark from judges, which meant the room was packed for her prepared speech later. That was written by her mentor, Ellie Smith, the winner of the same trophy in 2017. The speech used quotations from Hemi Henare and Te Paea Arapata.

The topic Christie chose was Tōku ao Māori ka tata ngaro nei - what is in danger of being lost from my Māori world.

"There's a lot of things that go into our Māori world. I narrowed it down to language and land. Our fight for our language is over and now we need to turn to our whenua and start fighting for that."

Christie surprised herself by feeling confident as she gave the speech.

"I'm not always the most confident speaker, but that day I was."

Speaking te reo comes naturally to her, after her years at Te Puawai o te Aroha Te Kohanga Reo, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi and Te Kura o Ratana. She started at Cullinane College in Year 9, and is in its kapa haka group.

Her next challenge is the national Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition in Gisborne in September, and Ellie will help her with that too. They plan to begin focusing on it this month.

At school Christie has been taking accounting, and she wants to study at Victoria University and become an accountant.

"I just really love the classes and the work we do. I also have cousins that are accountants and they say that I should go for it. It's really cool, the work they do."

Christie is Te Awa Tupua and Te Atihaunui a Pāpārangi on her dad's side, and Ngāti Apa and Ratana on her mum's side.

As well as her academic focus, she's on Whanganui District Council's youth committee.