Friday (Thursday) 5: 23 June 2022

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to this week’s special Matariki edition of the Friday (Thursday) 5! Where we will celebrate all the wonderful Matariki celebrations we had at NRHCC this week!

1. The day started off with the Whakapapa Ngatiwhatua Hitori Hikoi, led by Tamati Patuwai. The team explored the CBD and heard the history of local iwi and learnt about significant sites of hapū within the CBD long ago before the concrete jungle was erected

2. Mihi Tibble then took some people through a maramataka workshop. The group learnt out the turning of the moon and how our ancestors used these rhythms to know when to fish, plant and harvest and how we need to take time out to unwind and clear the mind. Maramataka teaches people to take time out to rest, re-evaluate, meditate, and be still.

3. Our final workshop of the day led by Boyd Broughton was the mihimihi, karakia timita / whahmutunga which gave people the opportunity to learn their mihimihi and a karakia in te reo Māori

4. Our sites have also been celebrating Matariki, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ran a Matariki warrant of fitness event for the body where whānau’s hauora was looked after. Whānau were invited to get health checks done – breast screening, Hearing checks, ARDs Dental checks, Chiropractor Spinal checks, Plunket B4 School Checks, Flu and covid vaccinations, NIB Health Insurance information, other Social services and education services, Spec Savers eye checks, Rongoa and mirimiri, cance screening, mole mapping free haircuts and food.

5. Wednesday 22nd June the Matariki decorating competition finally came to a head! The Bledisloe house teams took the time to learn about Matariki and decorate their workspaces, a big thank you to Boyd Broughton for being our judge for the first Matariki decorating competition!

Honourable mentions went to; Testing team and the 9 stars of Matariki, Vaccination and their allegiance to the Blues, Whanau HQ and their dedicated corner, The Directors and Co for their Matariki Story time and the Māori team and their night sky theme.

Second place went to Comms for their Matariki tree filled with loved ones and memories

First place went to the PMO team for their starry stary night decorations and their depiction of the 9 sisters of Matariki

A huge shoutout to Lorraine Symons & Karl Snowden and others for organising the first NRHCC Matariki celebrations! This is a milestone as it is the first time Matariki has been recognised as a national holiday and was great to see all the teams getting involved and expanding their understanding of the importance of Matariki to Te Ao Māori. Matariki is a time to both reflect and look forward and to remember those who have gone before us, it was lovely to come together over kai and share this important milestone in Aotearoa’s history.

And finally, haere ra to Gillian Holmes from the Vaccination Team who will be leaving us next week! Thank you for all your mahi during your time at the NRHCC, we wish you all the best in your new role!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Ngā mihi,

The PMO Team