ehua marae completed after 27 years

Press, 18 February 1980, Page 2

ehu a marae completed after 27 years

Hoffer a wait of more than ®r?years, toe Rehua marae BJas completed at the week-E|’d-'when a dining hall was ffiljMtied adjoining, the meetgpibuse. fflF'Maori tradition . requires &Very meeting house to have gfefoing hall before its spirit llwulfilled- After two years |l»vs{eady work, money raisT .fa, materials given, and J .volunteer ' labour, . the Old pgjoys of the - neighbouring ■Hila, Hostel succeeded in that tradition. l5OO Maori people ■W. Qver N ew Zealand g»erg ed on. the Rehua ®»e on. Saturday'to attend ■Effijc'ceremonv opening the MErae's new dining hall. MOhe meeting house is jF/Wque. because of its carved iMwls that represent more EjMrt 70 ancestors of every MEfj-’ in New Zealand. The p’jiehua Hoste!,., adjacent to IHtonarae, has been home to MBgrt’ than 2400' < Maori trade IlSftiees from all over New B»fend since it was opened HE1952.. MlLTribal groups, began arriv|Bfp~at the marae' from' 9.30 K’&’ton Saturday and uricludB'w representatives of North ■ffiKland, the East Coast ol BtW’North Island, the Ratant B'Church. Dunedin, and In ■Scargill. Traditional Maori ■ vrtlcorr.es were extended tt B&'- visitors and to th< ■fiftor ■ of Christchurch (Mt ■SfeG.. Hav), the Minister o: Mjinri' Affairs (Mr Couch) t the member of Parlia ■Hit for Northern Maor BKKjM. Rata). Couch had more thai official interest in th< li&ening of the dining hall a: family was associate! Igpgtli the building and th ■naming • of the meetin; ifthduse. wfeThe Maori Queen • (Dam Wffi Ata-I-Rangikaahu) and 2 e',ci fl rs of the Waikato trib llftyere the last group to ar finj/e. Dame Te Ata proceede the dining hall and wit Kto-elder of the Christchurc

Ngaitahu tribe (Mr Ricky Ellison), she lifted the tapu on the new dining hall. A prayer of dedication .was led by the president of |the- Methodist Church "of ‘New Zealand (the Rev. lan Ramage) and after cultural i items the official party of ' |2OO had dinner in the new i dining . hall. About 1300 I dined in two marquee tents. Mr Hay "said the Methodfist Church’s contribution to : Canterbury’s relationship j with its Maoris was a fine lexample of practical Chrisitianity. . i “I hope tire community’s i response will be as great when the Christchurch urban I marae project at Cuthberts Green gets moving. The Rehua marae demonstrates that neighbours have little to worry about when a marae is built,” he said. A combined Maori and pai keha service of thanksgiving ; was held at the marae on Sundaj’ led by the Methodist i Maori Minister for the South Island (the Rev W. Tahere). ■ Also partieinating were mini isters of the Roman Catho- ■ lie, Ratana, and Presbyterian i Churches. " - Thanks-were expressed by i Mr M. Kaa, of the Rehua - marae Old Boys. Mr Kaa i was chairman of the prganj ising committee for the erecj tion of the dining hall and ■ organised the opening, funcf tion. , The superintendent of the - Christchurch Methodist Ceni tra! Mission (the Rev. W. E. Falkingham) thanked the i Rehua Hoste! .Old-Boys, for j the work thev had put. into s the dining hall; the- carvers; ijand others who had ebntribeiuted to its construction. Mr ! ’ Falkingham has been associlated with the Rehua Hostel, e! marae. and meetmg house 51 since the late 19505; e. An address was also given -ibv the Tumaki of the Maori dj division of the Methodist h: Church (the Rev. R. Rahlkene).