The Te Atatū Marae Coalition is welcoming an agreement which could mean a new community-based marae will built in the suburb bringing to fruition a near 60-year-long dream.
Auckland Council leased a specially allocated plot of the Harbourview-Orangihina Reserve to the coalition for the next 34 years, with the chance to renew afterward.
It contains 2.5 hectares of land with breathtaking views of the Waitematā Harbour and city skyline.
Founding member of the Te Atatū Marae Coalition (TAMC) Mihikore Te Huia said it’s the "first step of a new beginning".
"When we first arrived in Te Atatū, Hoani Waititi was meant to be built somewhere on the peninsula… over the years, of course, it’s gone up to Parrs Park and we’ve always regarded that marae as tuakana, while we were thinking of this marae."
The TAMC has operated as a charitable trust since 2000, tasked with visualising the dream to build a marae in the area. Although the council had always supported the idea, Te Huia said it had been a difficult feat to acquire the land needed for the complex.
"We were gifted 2.5 hectares in 2005, it was put into the Waitākere Unitary Plan… so they set aside a portion of land for a marae.
"The hold-up has been gaining the lease to put the marae on [the land]."
TAMC Chairman Raymond Hall said there were complex issues involving the land, as well as council restructures had made proceedings difficult.
"We just have to go through the process, like any other community to get the outcome that we’re looking for."
Now that coalition has been granted the lease, Hall says its attention would turn to finalising plans and securing funding.
"Once we have that in place then we can start to work on our staged approach to the development of the marae."
In a statement, Henderson-Massey Local Board chair Chris Carter said he was personally moved by the landmark decision to grant the lease.
"The Te Atatū Marae will play an important role in preserving and promoting Māori culture and language to all within our community. And it’ll become a destination where traditional knowledge and practices can be taught and for visitors to engage with Māori culture, which is the cornerstone of our national identity."
The complex is set to feature both a marae along with a wharekai and kaumātua flats. The construction of the marae has been approved by mana whenua Te Kawerau ā Maki.
Glossary
kaumātua - elderly
mana whenua - territorial rights, authority over land
tuakana - older sibling
wharekai - dining hall
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