Turiroa chairman Daren King (seated) signing the Turiroa agreement, with directors (from left) Benita Tahuri, Irah Heyder, Tina Wilcox and Dean Whaanga. Photo: SUPPLIED
Iwi and hapū in Wairoa are celebrating the first return of whenua to their hands.
The former school site will be used to help the town recover from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The transfer of the old Turiroa school is the first of 29 properties purchased by Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa Trust from the crown as part of their treaty settlement. The former country school will be transferred to three kāhui - Ngā Tokorima ā Hinemanuhiri, Te Hononga o ngā Awa, and Te Wairoa Tapokorau Whānui.
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa chief executive Lewis Ratapu said in the long term, the hapū want to keep the former school as an educational facility. The plans are to run a horticultural training facility on site for the young people of Wairoa.
Flooding in Wairoa after the river burst its banks due to heavy rain from Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: Wairoa District Council's Emergency Controller
In the short term, it will be used as accommodation for up to 19 skilled workers helping with the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Last year the trust received a grant from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to help with recovery from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. The grant will contribute to the conversion of the former school site into short-term accommodation.
"We are just stoked to have this first one across the line. Its been a lot of work and it has been a real partnership with government agencies as well, I think they can see the payback over time in terms of helping us establishing our new horticultural ventures in Wairoa," Ratapu said.
"Because the longer term plan is to have a horticultural plan in Wairoa because we just can't rely on sheep and beef in the community otherwise we will be a ghost town if the freezing works close down."
In the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, Wairoa has often been overlooked, but comparative to the population, there has always been a dire need for homes in the town, he said.
Photo: Nathan McKinnon
Some whānau are still displaced since the cyclone and others living back in damaged homes, he said.
"When the flood took out 20 percent of the homes in existence people just uplifted and shifted to their whānau on the other side of the river, so we've had a problem with overcrowding for a while. We've managed to land temporary homes ourselves about 72 now in Wairoa which has given some relief to overcrowding."
Tātau Tātau o Te Wairoa has plans to build 53 homes so the workers being housed at the school site will be needed to get those built, Ratapu said.
For the moment, Ratapu said the iwi and hapū are reflecting on the significance of the return of the land and they are feeling excited for what is planned for the site.
Many locals had whānau who attended the school before it closed, he said.
"A lot of our great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents went to this school ... particularly if you were around Huramua, Turiroa or Ruataniwha, some would just cross the river.
"It's actually got a funny little part to it because it runs down to the river, so I know my great-great-grandfather, he used to jump on a boat and he would row across to go to school."