Rā Mutunga was held on 8 February 2025 at the Urenui Community Centre. There was a strong turnout and positive reception. A total of 94 whānau attended, including trustees from the Urenui Pā Trust, staff and Kaitiaki from Te Runanga o Ngāti Mutunga (TRoNM).
Rā Mutunga provides an opportunity for our whānau to hear about the success and achievements of the previous year and to ask questions about any of the kaupapa or approaches that are being undertaken by the Urenui Pā and TRoNM.
The front foyer was set up to welcome whānau, with tables for registration, promotion of Ka Uruora, a showcase of the Taiao teams mahi, and a Te Papa Tongarewa Museum display of 9 million year old fossils found in the Ngāti Mutunga rohe.
The first part of the morning saw the Urenui Pā Trust present their annual report and finances. The Chair, Johnson Raumati, led this part of the AGM with support from some of the Trustees. There was also an election for a new Trustee, and this position was secured by Isaiah Wallace. This now brings the Trustees up to their full compliment of 8 Trustees. There was a lot of interest in the Whakapakari te Kāinga kaupapa for the Pā and this was supported by a site tour and kōrero after the hākari.
The second part of the morning saw the TRoNM Board present their annual report and finances. The Chair, Jamie Tuuta, led the remainder of the AGM, with support from Mitchell Ritai, Anne-Maree McKay, Gina Blackburn and Hinerangi Raumati-Tu’ua. There has been a significant amount of mahi and kaupapa that have been delivered in the previous year, and this was an opportunity to share these successes with the whānau. For those who were unable to attend, the annual report provides a great insight into what was covered during the day and this can be read by following this link –https://www.flipsnack.com/tronm/ngati-mutunga-annual-report-2024_web-final-vp0gnkuo7k/full-view.html
There was also a presentation from Te Papa Tongarewa Museum team who provided an overview of the fossils that were found in the Ngāti Mutunga rohe. The fossil below on the right of the image shows a partial skull of an extinct species of dolphin that was found.
Whereas the fossil below on the top left of the image shows a skull of a moa that was found.
These fossils have been removed from individual private collections into te Te Papa public collection and will be stored at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum.
In addition, we also received a video presentation from Freedom Cooper-Pakinga, reflecting on her experiences and key learnings from the Aspiring Leaders Forum 2024.
An amazing hākari was provided by the Urenui Hotel, featuring a buffet that included taewa and kamokamo grown and harvested through our māra wānanga, Tātai Tangata ki Te Whenua.
After the hākari, whānau then visited the Pā for a Whakapakari te Kāinga project update from Brent Matuku and Rawiri McClutchie and an overview of the current designs, colour pallettes and cultural and artistic elements. Rodney Baker provided an update of the development of the Urupā and Audra Potaka provided an update on progress with Mahi Tamariki and the stages of preparation required for the restoration. The support from Rau Hoskins of Design Tribe and Dean Whiting of Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga have been invaluable in understanding the various stages required for Mahi Tamariki. This was followed by a brief viewing of the front of Te Aroha and a visit to the Urupā to see the development to date.
After the visit to the Pā, the whānau then visited the three new story board signs to unveil them. There were two story boards unveiled at Ōkoki reserve, with one that provides information on the battle of Motunui and the other that provides information on Te Rangihīroa. The third sign was unveiled at Wai-iti Reserve and this provides information on significant wāhi tapu on the northern boundary of the Ngāti Mutunga rohe.
Overall, Rā Mutunga was a great opportunity to be together as Ngāti Mutunga and to share kōrero, to participate in discussion and to visit places of importance for our whānau.