Caravan park idea for Chch marae

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 7

Caravan park idea for Chch marae

By

JANE ENGLAND,

Maori affairs reporter

The Nga Hau E Wha marae in Christchurch could incorporate a caravan park developing Maori trade in tourism if proposals in a new marae management plan are realised.

The plan outlines a bright future for the marae, which was embroiled in a bitter management dispute between August, 1987, and July, 1988.

The author of the report outlining the plan is the deputy secretary of the Maori Affairs Department, Mr Neville Baker.

The department took over management of the marae after a court order in June folded the former management. Mr Baker said it was a credit to the people involved in the dispute that they had put "old wounds” behind them.

"Some people are still

critical but they must remember that there would have been a lot more of our young out on the streets if they had not been in the marae working,” he said. The marae had been established to offer a variety of cultural programmes for young Maori people based in Christchurch. Language, carving and weaving programmes have been endorsed by the department and the manager liaising with the marae, Mr Wiremu Gillies. However, national investigations by Mr Gillies, a Ngai Tahu elder and

former adviser to the Education Department, have highlighted other possibilities. “We envisage that it could become the cultural centre of Christchurch,” said Mr Baker. The marae could assist schools with Maori language and culture and a caravan park could attract tourists to part of the complex. Although further studies would need to be made, Mr Baker said, the process could be relatively easy. The Government has poured more than $6 million into the marae, which sits on land don-

ated by the Christchurch City Council. “It has to be managed properly.” Mr Baker said the work undertaken by the former chairman of the marae board of trustees, Mr Hori Brennan, would be recognised and it was possible that he would be one of the members of a new board. The board would coordinate projects and develop a long-term management structure. The Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Wetere, yesterday endorsed the plan for the marae, which he said would be an important asset to Christchurch.