Tū Māia 2025 - Tāmaki Makaurau Expectations
Published: 06/05/26
Our Tū Māia 2025 journey began in Kirikiriroa, where around 40 Oranga Tamariki kaimahi gathered for the very first noho wānanga of the year. With eagerness in their eyes and wairua in their stride, these tauira stepped into a space that would soon become more than a place of learning, it would become a place of connection, courage, and cultural grounding.
One of our tauira, Paulo Paulo, described himself as “a fresh student, willing to learn and soak it all in.” That sentiment echoed through the group, a collective openness and humility that set the tone for the days ahead.
“Ki te kotahi te kākaho ka whati, ki te kāpuia e kore e whati”
If a reed stands alone, it will break. But if it is gathered together, it will never break.
A proverb from King Tāwhiao, who was elected the second Māori King after his father’s death in 1860.
The strength and unity carried in this kōrero were reflected in the way our tauira came together – as strangers at first, and quickly as a whānau. There was laughter, connection, and a shared commitment to grow.
Paulo: In Māori culture, they'll throw you in the deep end and that's what I love and waiata is one of them.
But yea, when we gotta add actions man I got two left feet. I’m uncoordinated but waiata is legit something I love.
I'm a sponge. I'm here to soak it all in. Yeah, I, I came as a, as I am a fresh student willing to learn, and that's exactly what we're getting here.
Nathan: To be honest, when I saw the list of names of people that I was going to be doing the wānanga with, I was like, man, I don't know anybody. Don't know any of these names, haven't come across any of them. So, I was a little bit nervous.
So I think one of the main reasons that I wanted to jump on board with Tū Māia, I guess I realised that you can get stagnant in your role and that doesn't serve anybody any good.
James: Yeah, I'm James. I'm from Melbourne, Australia, and I've been a social worker for 10 years. When I said I was coming across from Australia, I said I was pretty fresh and pretty brand new to to Māori people and, and the language. And she said that this course was coming up and she had done it the year before and she said she loved it. And so, she knew that I wasn’t probably going to start work for a little while. So she thought this would be a good opportunity because there was nothing sort of comparable to this in my previous role in Victoria. Um, and I've learned quite a lot already. So much in the last day and 1/2.
Honor: You know, we've come knowing that we are at different levels, so our journeys are all different and yet we've still managed to become Kotahitanga, working together to make our journey even better for ourselves. Our Kaiako beautiful have a beautiful ahua about them, so they make you feel comfortable in that space. So no one is made to feel belittled or or feel shy about where they are in terms of their journey.
Holly: Throughout the course. I've already noticed that there's people at different stages of their journey through te reo, through their cultural understanding and as someone that's fairly new to this process, it's actually given me the opportunity to be able to speak to others and learn from others that know a little bit more than I do.
Honestly, I know we're only a day into it, but I would encourage as many people to get on a course like this.
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