Harakeke at Harwicke – Waiata and weaving to acknowledge Waitangi Day 2025
Kara Edwards and Rachael Forsyth are the Murihiku ki te Tonga (MKTT) Expedition Team embarked on the Heritage Adventurer for the February-March voyage into the Southern Ocean visiting the NZ Subantartic Islands, Macquarie Island and also Antarctica.
MKTT is a first nations led research, science and innovation programme aimed at building intergenerational capability and capacity, ensuring Ngāi Tahu rights and interests are protected in the Southern Ocean, and also developing programmes and projects which support regenerative economic opportunities. MKTT is also looking to develop a rangatahi programme to enable young Ngāi Tahu members to connect with the Southern Ocean and in particular the New Zealand Subantarctic Islands of Tine Heke, Maukahuka, and Ihupuku).
On 5 February, as a part of the ship’s programme, the Ngai Tahu MKTT Team were given permission by the Department of Conservation to collect harakeke (New Zealand flax – Phormium tenax) in the vicinity of Hardwicke on Enderby Island to enable a morning of waiata and weaving instruction for a number of the ship’s passengers on 6 February, to commemorate Waitangi Day onboard the vessel.
“This is an opportunity for us to share some of our cultural context and values with the ship mostly international passengers and crew, as we do our part to acknowledge Te Tiriti and what that means to Ngāi Tahu, and Iwi more generally,” says Kara Edwards, the MKTT Expedition Leader.
The team will be deployed in the Southern Ocean over the rest of February- conducting a range of activities and projects to support the MKTT work programme.
Posted: 7 February 2025