Waiting to go through the new waharoa at Cambridge Community Marae, from left Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan, founding trustee Kiri Gray, marae chair Tania Simpson and committee member Rowena Maxwell.
Founding trustee Kiri Gray and committee member Rowena Maxwell cut the ribbon to open the new waharoa at Ngā Hau e Whā Marae on Matariki day.
Behind them marae chair Tania Simpson quietly wiped away tears as the gateway to Cambridge Community Marae opened.
It had taken decades. Since 1966, the marae had been built on dreams, determination and aroha, overcoming years of obstacles. Now, at last, it had a waharoa — a symbolic entrance built with the same love, labour, and resilience that shaped the marae itself.
“Without her we would never have had this and that’s the truth,” Gray said of Simpson’s leadership and perseverance.
The marae has consistently lived up to its name Ngā Hau e Whā – the four winds – a reference to it being a place for everybody. That was obvious during the Covid pandemic when it served as a vaccination centre.
Simpson hopes the focus can now shift.
“I really hope that people can now talk about the waharoa and the structure. There’s been so much work gone into this. It’s a very emotional day,” she said.
The community was warmly invited, and more than 250 people responded.
Among those who attended were Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan, Māori ward councillor Dale-Maree Morgan and councillors Philip Coles, Mike Pettit and Clare St Pierre.
Funders, supporters, neighbours, committee members and Leamington Primary School kapa haka group also joined the 9.30am ceremony.
But for the marae whānau, the day began much earlier — just after 5am, when they lit the fire for the hāngī. By 7am, broken iron railway sleepers were in place, ready to support two large baskets of food.
The hāngī included one pig, three sheep, 25 chickens, 20kg potatoes, 10kg kūmara, six pumpkins and stuffing, all carefully placed in two baskets lined with cabbage leaves and wrapped in sacks.
Marae trustee Bert Tuhi, a butcher who once ran a hāngī business in South Africa, oversaw the preparation. He returned to Cambridge four years ago after 33 years in Durban, where he married Wendy Lynne and raised a daughter.
Often mistaken for a Boer or Afrikaner due to his height and colouring, Tuhi admitted he barely slept the night before due to nerves.
He need not have worried — the food was perfectly cooked, and no one went hungry after it was served just before midday – a testament to the care and preparation which went into the feast.
In her speech, O’Regan said the opening represented an opening of arms, a welcoming embrace and a powerful symbol of unity and belonging.
“(It is) a spiritual threshold – the place where we leave behind the everyday world and step into the sacred space of the marae.”
Ngā Hau e Whā is centrally positioned with the rohe of Ngāti Koroki Kahukura, Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Wairere though it is not an iwi marae. “This marae stands proudly supported by mana whenua and embraced by the wider community,” said O’Regan.
“It is a taonga – a treasure – for our community and our future generations.”
Construction of the marae began in 1995 with the wharekai (dining room) five years after the first sod was turned on the corner of Pope Terrace and Bracken Street in Leamington. A Te Kōhanga Reo building occupied space from 1991.
The wharenui – a transportable building – arrived in 2003 and the last significant work finished in 2008.
Simpson told The News there was more to do and this was shown by the aspirations’ board guests contributed to with suggestions for the future on sticky notes.
The marae’s journey continues — grounded in history, guided by community, and open to all who come through the waharoa.
