Tapu to be lifted by Maori Queen
More than 1000 people will attend the official opening of the dining hall at the Rehua marae in Springfield Road today. Guests at the opening will include the Maori Queen (Dame Te Ata-1-Rangikaahu), the Minister of Maori Affairs (Mr Couch), and the member of Parliament for Northern Maori (Mr M. Rata). Mos< tribes in New Zealand would be represented at the opening, said the interim chairman of the Rehua Marae Trust (the Rev. W. E. Falkingham). Mr Falkingham said the official opening of the dining hall meant the completion of the whole marae, and so it would be an important occasion for
local Maori people. The Rehua marae was the only Maori reserve in Christchurch.
The dining hall, which was worth $lOO,OOO, had taken 18 months to build. It was sponsored by the Rehua Old Boys’ Association and supported by the elders of the local Ngai-tahu tribe, said Mr Falkingham.
The dining hall, which would also function as a community room and meeting place, would be called Hemo, after the wife of the chief ancestor of the Ngai-tahr tribe. Hemo was depicted as the central figure in carvings in the dining hall, he said. The official opening of
the hall will begin at 10 a.m. today.
Dame Te A‘.a-I-Rangikaahu. who lifted the tapu from the marae’s meeting house when it was opened in 1960, would lift the tapu from the hail, said Mr Falkingham. Mr Riki Ellison, of Taumutu. would open the new building and the president of the Methodis-f Church in New Zealand (the Rev. I. Ramage) would dedicate it. Maori cultural groups would perform traditional action songs and hakas throughout the ceremony, he said. A big marquee would provide meals for the guests.
Tomorrow at 10 a.m. a thank s-giving service would be held, at which Maori clergy from various churches would participate. The Durham Street Methodist Church choir would sing at the service, said Mr Falkingham. Mr Falkingham ' said that some of the guests would sleep in the marae’s meeting house. Others would be accommodated at the Catholic Maori Centre and the Anglican Maori Centre.
Tapu to be lifted by Maori Queen
Press, 16 February 1980, Page 22
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