Kei nga topito huri noa - tena koutou katoa
Me mihi ki te kuru tangiwai, me kii ko Chris Atutahi
me ana mahi nunui ma tatou o Wakatu.
Moe mai ra i nga rangi tuhaha.
Chris Atutahi
We are deeply saddened at the passing of Chris, who was involved in Wakatu as a former Associate Director, current Chair of the Whenua Sector Board, and Project Manager of the combined large natural claims group. He will be missed. Haere atu ra.
Wakatu House
A three story high poupou now adorns the foyer, together with a pakohe water feature, which completes the fit-out of Wakatu House. The poupou and other artwork were successfully unveiled recently at the official opening and celebration with whanau, local business leaders, politicians and dignitaries. Wakatu House is in Montgomery Square in the middle of town, and sets a new benchmark in design and architecture in the region.
Motueka water
A change of leadership within the Tasman District Council has seen Wakatu withdraw its legal action against the Council, and a satisfactory agreement has been reached.
The Council had applied for rights to secure water for Motueka and to pipe water to Mapua and new coastal new subdivisions, and Wakatu had objected to this use of the Motueka aquifer. The lawsuit stemmed from Council rejecting Wakatu’s application to irrigate horticultural land in and around Motueka, and the danger of Motueka lands being left without sufficient water. The negotiations focused on ensuring a sufficient water supply was allocated in the Tasman Resource Management Plan for Maori lands.
Accolades well deserved
The telling of the history of Te Tau Ihu has rewarded local authors and researchers, Hillary and John Mitchell. The local historians received the Montana New Zealand Book Awards Supreme Award for history with Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka Volume II, Te Ara Hou: The New Society.
The Montana New Zealand Book Awards are New Zealand’s premier awards for comtemporary writing.
The winning books are the judges’ picks for the very best of all those published in 2007. Te Ara Hou: The New Society is a comprehensive account of colon-isation up to the start of the twentieth century throughout Nelson and Marlborough. The book charts the effects of colonisation and European settlement on the tangata whenua and shows how Maori fared under european institutions such as the law and the political system.
The book retails at $95 however Wakatu is offering shareholders and whanau an opportunity to purchase at a discounted price of $60 + freight. Please phone 0800 864 894 for more information.
Watch this space!
Wakatu has been successful in attracting support to develop a Centre for Seafood and Aquaculture Innovation at Horoirangi, near Nelson.
The Centre will bring together key stakeholders and potential partners and investors in the initiative. The project is seen as exciting for the region but has potential as a wider regional initiative which will see the Centre play a major role in the seafood sector.
Funding has been received from Poutama Business Trust for the first stage of the project, and Jane Kennedy from Nelson has been engaged as Project Manager to move the project forward from concept to reality.
The new face of Tohu
The Tohu Group has had a make-over and restructure with a couple of key appointments made. Adrian Lockhart has come to us from the Hunter Valley, one of the most famous wine growing regions in Australia, and Adrian has been appointed CEO of Tohu.
He comes into the position with a background as a successful winemaker and a long list of achievements that include Young Australian winemaker of the year in 2001. He was also awarded the inaugural Maurice Lacroix Tomorrow’s Classics Award for Innovation in Winemaking, awarded to the best winemaker under 30 years of age.
Adrian has worked vintages in Western Australia, Victoria, The Hunter Valley, and has worked as a “Flying Winemaker” in both eastern and western Europe.
Mr Bruce Taylor (Winemaker from Villa Maria) is the second key appointment made, signifying our move away from Whitehaven.
A new contract winemaking facility on Rapaura Road, also known as Marlborough’s “Golden Mile”, provides the space for a cellar door and office base for Tohu.
New crops on the horizon
The Ngatahi Horticulture partnership has been thoroughly reviewed as the expected gains had not been realised.
Following the review, Ngatahi has leased its kiwifruit with a linked agreement in place to utilise Ngatahi’s coolstore. The partnership also has new joint venture agreements in place for hops and the development of new pipfruit varieties.
Scholars shine
Whanau have good reason to feel proud of the calibre of our scholarship recipients. After all, they are the future of the Incorporation. We would like to profile Timote Wipiiti-Benseman, who was one scholar who presented to owners at the SGM in Wellington.
Timote descends from Te Atiawa and Ngati Rarua. He is at Victoria University in Wellington studying for a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration. Timote first came to the attention of the Incorporation fours years ago when he attended the inaugural Taiaha Wananga in the Abel Tasman National Park. The kaumatua and tutors on the wananga recognised his leadership qualities amongst his peers and Timote was presented with a taiaha during the presentations that followed.
Timote has since continued on his journey with the Spirit of Adventure and the Duke of Edinburgh Award plus many other achievements. He also has aspirations of one day playing a lead role in Wakatu Incorporation.
Alumni program
The desire to see more of our own people working for Wakatu and its businesses is a key driver of the alumni program.
The program encompasses all personal development scholarship recipients, tertiary scholars and Associate Directors. Key objectives are for whanau to engage with the Incorporation on a regular basis, and to provide a pathway for them to progress through the scholarships.
Wakatu’s Manaaki Board is working on an education summit to bring people together under the alumni. The strategy will create opportunities for our own people to step into key positions within the Incorporation.
Personal development scholarships
This year we have focussed our putea on Spirit of Adventure and Kotiro Wananga scholarships, given the large number of applicants.
The Spirit of Adventure was increased from 5 scholarships in previous years to 9 this year.
The Kotiro Wananga also proved to be popular amongst our taiohi, with 27 applications being received, and we increased scholarships from 10 to 14 this year. The overall objective is to empower through education and a journey of personal discovery. The scholarship recipients embark on their own personal journeys by walking on ancestral lands and learning from our history. The wananga will be held during the October school holidays, and parents and whanau are invited to the graduation and hakari which will be held at Te Awhina Marae in Motueka.
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