BOTH the old haukāinga and manuwhiri paepae shelters are being replaced, leading to the Pā closing for six to eight weeks.
TE KŪITI Pā has closed for around two months while its paepae shelters are rebuilt. It will reopen in January or February.
Pā trustee Puni Bell said the work would involve replacing shelters on both sides: the old manuwhiri shelters; removed some time ago, and the haukāinga side – the previous version had sometimes allowed water to drip on the people sitting at the back.
Both had also been too small to accommodate the large crowds often hosted by Ngāti Rora at the pā for significant kaupapa such as the annual Poukai. They only accommodated around 50-70 people.
The changes are part of an overall marae development plan, which will see further updates to the ablution block, an extension to wharekai seating capacity and a new commercial kitchen.
“I think sometimes when there was particularly big hui, the cooking area could be a bit cramped,” Puni said.
While the urupa would remain accessible, any tangi connected to Te Kūiti Pā over the closure period would take place at other nearby marae, likely Oparure Pā.
Trustee and pā caretaker Shannon Manawaiti said behind the scenes much would be going on while the pā was closed.
“It’s a good time to do maintenance, while we’ve got a bit of downtime.
“It’ll be a good chance to just catch up on a few things that we haven’t been able to do.”
He said the team would likely know in January when they could re-open, because although the work was expected to take 6-8 weeks, many other factors could impact on the project – such as the weather.
The project would be carried out by whānau-owned business, Hōkioi Builders with support from Manga Roach Contracting.
Co-owner of husband-and-wife builders Hōkioi, Natasha Willison-Reardon, who has close whakapapa connections to Te Kūiti Pā, told MFM radio, “It’s a blessing to have received the honour to work on this project.
“It’s extra special as it gives me and my whānau the opportunity to reconnect and give back to our mother’s side of the whakapapa,” she told the station.
In the new year, the first occasion at the pā would be its reopening, after the completion of the paepae shelters.
After that, Shannon said the next two major events at the pā would be the dawn service and breakfast on Anzac Day, plus the Poukai on the last Sunday in March, which in 2024 would be on Easter weekend.
Hopefully, the timing would mean even more whānau could attend because they had more time to travel.
King Country News also checked with Shannon about whether the pā team had heard anything from the New Zealand Transport Agency about repairing the slip on SH3, above the urupa.
Ultimately, the slip was caused by NZTA’s widening of the road, which encroached into the pā whenua, he said. It had affected water flows, causing pooling alongside the urupa.
Although there was no immediate danger to the urupa, it is expected remediation work will still be required in the new year.
“NZTA needs to come to the party here. They have caused the slip by creating the road.
“They widened the road … and actually created the problem, to be fair. That’s not really our problem, for us to pay for.
“When we did speak to NZTA, they had so much work on their hands in relation to other slips in our district, I suppose. They said they had to assess each of them.”
Shannon hopes the work is not placed on an “endless waiting list,” and is done in a timely manner.
Overall, the changes at the pā are about being ready to greet the future in the long term.
“We are in the process of developing for the next 50 years,” co-chair Leesah Murray told King Country News when the plans were first announced.
