Ki Te Waipounamu, he tuatahitanga i te hītori o te taone iti o Reefton ki te raumahara i ngā ika a whiro o te ope tauā Rua Tekau mā Waru. Ka mutu i whai wāhi ngā hapū o Ngāi Tahu ki ngā whakahaere maumahara i ngā kawa me ngā tikanga Māori mō te wā tuatahi.
He tākoha atu tākoha mai i ngā ahurea me ngā taonga. He tuatahitanga nei i Reefton
“Kua haere mai nei mātou whakatīnana i tērā o ōna wawatā, otirā te wawata o te iwi kia haere mai hei kanohi kitea, otirā, hoki ngā mahara ki a rātou mā i mate atu, i hoki mai,” i kī atu a Te Rua Mason (Poutini Ngāi Tahu).
I karanga atu ki ngā hapū o te wā kāinga ki te whakahaere i te maumahara i Te Rua Tekau mā Waru.
Ko tā te Perehitini o Ngā Mōrehu ā-Tu o te taone, he mea nui ki a rātou te raumahara i ngā ika a whiro o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao.
“The 28th Māori Battalion was a significant part of New Zealand history, both military and national history and that nothing like this has been done by our area before,” i mea atu a Groves.
“So from there we decided that that we should do a commemoration service for them and if we were going to do it it has to be done the right way within Māori protocols.”
He tokoiti te ope Rua Tekau mā Waru e ora tonu ana. Engari, hei tā ngā hōia o mua ka ora tonu i a rātou i te pae o maumahara.
“Ka koa taku ki te rongo atu ki a ia mō te kaupapa hei maumaharatanga o rātou ngā mema o te Rua Tekau mā Waru,” i mea atu a te kaumātua o Te Kāhui Morehu ā-Tū o Aotearoa,a Miki Apiti.
“I roto i ngā pā, ngā taone paku rawa atu tēnei i a Reefton, ka maumahara rātou ngā kōrero ngā hītori e pā ana ki ngā hōia,” i kōrero atu a Rutene-Kanara, kaituhi, a Tā Wira Gardiner.
Ko ngā rā o nehe, hei whakakitenga mō ngā uri whakaheke.
Wheoi kua whakamana i te whanaungatanga ināianei, he mea ora tonu nei i Te Mōrehu ā Tū o Reefton hei ngā rā e haere ake nei.