Our whenua and Marae are a unique and meaningful part of who we are as whānau of Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka / Unitec.
We’re lucky to have Te Noho Kotahitanga, our marae, as a place to call ‘home’ – it’s a place for all cultures to reside together as one at Unitec.
It’s been six weeks since we left our campuses and many of us are missing the people and the place we’re used to seeing every week. To reconnect with our beautiful space, check out the video below. It was filmed during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Ngākau Māhaki last year.
Ngākau Māhaki is our whare whakairo (carved meeting house) and is the centrepiece of Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae on our Mt Albert campus. As Tumu Glenn Mckay (Te Arawa) said, “As well as hosting our staff, students and visitors for pōwhiri and cultural awareness workshops, conferences and hui, it also serves as a hub for teaching and learning about te ao Māori (Māori world view).”
I cried as I drove into campus this morning for my flu vaccination. I didn’t realise how much I missed the whenua, our Marae, the buildings and everyone one of us who make up Unitec. Then watching the beautiful video, I cried a little more. I and many others do have a lot of aroha for our ‘home’! Thank you Unitec ♥️