A new housing project at Waimahana Marae near Taupō will breathe new life into the central North Island iwi of Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa with an injection of almost $12.5 million to build 27 homes on ancestral land.

Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson said the project would bring whānau back to their tūrangawaewae, reinvigorate Waimahana Marae and ensure intergenerational living thrives into the future.

Jackson was joined by Labour Party colleague Tamati Coffey and Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa iwi members at the opening of the papakāinga development project on Saturday, when they also unveiled a plaque dedicated to tamariki who died during the influenza pandemic in 1918.

The ceremony marked the start of construction for the first part of the papakāinga project, that once completed will see 27 rental homes built between Reporoa and Taupō.

The Government has invested $12.35 million into the project through its Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga joint funding initiative between Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry for Housing and Urban Development that aims to increase Māori housing supply across the country.

Waimahana Marae chairman Erureti Rakena said the marae was reopened in 2019 after lying silent and almost abandoned for 40 years and welcomed the funding announcement of $3.7m to build seven collectively owned rental homes on their land.

The project has been split into three parts and will be managed by Tauhara North Kāinga Ltd.

The second and third projects will see a further 20 rental homes built for kaumātua across the four Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa marae in the rohe.

“The marae has been sitting silent for 40 years but it was always a dream of out tūpuna [ancestors] to bring the whānau back to the marae.

“In the early 1900s there was a papakāinga there but due to the deaths of those babies in the [influenza] pandemic our people felt the marae had been cursed.”

Rakena said the Waimahana whānau had put in a lot of work in the last five years to get to this point and were also grateful to the Newton whānau and the Tauhara North Trust who have been supporters of the project.

Renowned carver Jim Schuster helped with the restoration of the marae’s carvings and people from a Rotorua-based rehabilitation clinic had helped to clean the marae and do some heavy lifting when required.

“It was always the focus when we reformed the trust to get our tūpuna restored and move from there.

“We are obviously very happy, and now the first thing is to bring the kaumātua back and the children will follow.”

Jackson said at Waitangi last year, the Government made a commitment to increase support for Māori housing across the country.

“As we draw near to Waitangi Day, it’s fitting to celebrate this much needed papakāinga development.

“I congratulate the whānau for reaching this important milestone in their housing journey.

“I know the vision behind this papakāinga is to ensure intergenerational living thrives, where whānau are living in warm, safe and affordable homes.”

Jackson said Covid-19 was a sad reminder for many Māori communities of the devastation caused by the influenza pandemic and about the importance of protecting whānau and whakapapa.

“We can learn from our past, draw strength from it and look forward to a brighter future.

“The next generation of tamariki will live in warm, safe and healthy homes thanks to the vision and hard work of their whānau,” he said.

Credit: Stuff.co.nz