It takes an army of workers to ensure Koroneihana, the annual event that marks the coronation of Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, runs smoothly. Among them is national rugby league women’s star Harata Butler who has been a kaihāpai (helper) in Kimiora, the marae’s wharekai (dining hall), since she was a teenager.
The Warriors’ prop may be known for her skills on the rugby league field, and the moko kauae she proudly wears, but Koroneihana provided a fertile training ground for those foundational skills that have seen her succeed in life.
“I've learnt to be patient, I've learnt to persevere through, like, sore feet, quads. The quads are tight, the calves are burning, and you know you got to stand and you got to not show it, and you got to make sure that the person on the other side that they're feeling like they're being looked after.”
Butler has been working in the wharekai since she was a young girl, starting as a waitress and moving to new stations over the years.
“When we grow up, it's like 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' And for me, I'm living my dream as an NRLW player, but when it came to Koroneihana, my aspiration was to eventually make it to the serving bay!” she said.
An aspiration she now fulfils, welcoming visitors and ensuring everyone who walks through the door leaves with a full stomach.
“What I'm doing is a part of my whānau generation and that each year – regardless of commitments of kura, being a rugby league NRLW player – it's a priority to come back here.”
She said by returning to serve for Koroneihana, she wanted her son, and eventually his children, to understand the importance of strengthening the whānau, “as this will carry on longer than both myself and my son”.
As well as being a semi-professional athlete, Butler is a youth transition worker for Mana Services. To be able to fulfil her commitment to the Kiingitanga movement, she takes annual leave. She continues to uphold her obligation to the Warriors.
“I'll come here, I'll do breakfast, I'll do as much as I can lunchtime, and then I'll shoot up to training because the games continue. I've got a job to do for my team, but I've also got a job to do here, and if anything, I don't know how I do it but I make sure I do it.”
Over the course of the week, thousands of people will attend Koroneihana at Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia.
Week-long celebration marking the second anniversary of the Māori Queen's coronation brings thousands to Ngāruawāhia. (Source: 1News)
The wharekai can cater seven hundred people in one sitting but it requires volunteers to work together as a team, which is very similar to how a league club operates, said Butler.
“We've got a head coach, her name is Aunty Kawe, and like any coach she prescribes us with the plan of attack for the day. She has assistant coaches, just like the makeup of a rugby league team - everybody has their little departments. They all have their roles, their responsibilities.”
Roles include waitressing, serving out food, dishwashing and cooking. Even the much younger members of the iwi are expected to serve as ‘angels’, assisting adults who may need help with carrying bags or plates to their tables.
“It's definitely like a team. Teamwork makes the dream work! For us here in Kimiora, Aunty Kawe's our head coach, but we all know who the CEO is which is our lady, our queen.”
For Butler, this is the one week of the year where she looks forward to the early morning wake up calls because it gives her an opportunity to continue a legacy of manaakitanga.
“I don't need to snooze my alarm because I know this week is more than just me," she said.
"This week brings connection, this week brings celebration, this week brings kotahitanga, and what people experience here goes far beyond this week and to be able to know that I'm doing my little part, a part of this massive kaupapa, this movement, that makes me get up every morning this week with a massive smile,” she said.
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