Nau mai Town - Tāhuna

Kia kaha te reo Māori!

Celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori as we come together to honour and embrace te reo Māori through speaking, listening and reading. No matter where you are on your reo journey, every kupu (word) spoken contributes to keeping te reo Māori alive and strong.

This year's theme for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Week) is Reo Māori Tāone (Māori Towns). Tāhuna, or Glenorchy, is a small town at the head of Wakatipu-Wai-Māori (Lake Wakatipu) and boasts world-class views in every direction. Next week, Year 10 and 13 students will be passing through this tāone on their way to the Māori Leadership Camp, held at Paradise Station.

Nau mai Town

Did you know that Tāhuna is the Kāi Tahu name for the Queenstown waterfront and Glenorchy? Tāhuna means gravel or sandy beach, and the two major awa (rivers) in this takiwā (area) are big, beautiful, braided rivers flowing from Kā Tiritiri o Te Moana (Southern Alps) into the roto (lake). Te Awa Whakatipu (Dart River) and Puahere (Rees River) are the Kāi Tahu names for these awa. Glenorchy is a historic settlement at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu, shaped by Māori trails, the gold rush, and pioneering pastoral life. Māori used the mountain pathways (Tarahaka Whakatipu/Harris Saddle) around the Dart and Rees valleys to hunt, gather resources (mahika kai), and collect pounamu (greenstone) from the Dart and Routeburn (Te Kōmama) rivers.

Nō reira, ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au (I am the river and the river is me).