Toi te Moana, Toi te Reo Māori

An opening karakia over the dunes of Pāpāmoa signalled more than the start of another symposium. It marked a gathering of Tauranga’s reo champions — educators, artists and community leaders — united by one purpose: ensuring te reo Māori does not merely survive, but flourishes. Te Toi o Te Reo Māori, a Māori Language Week symposium held at Pāpāmoa Surf Life Saving Club on Sunday 20 September, drew speakers from across Tauranga Moana for a day of kōrero, inspiration and connection. The symposium opened with karakia and whakatau from Reweti Te Mete before Dr Rāpata Wiri (Ngāti Ruapani, Tūhoe, Te Arawa) took the floor. A scholar who has taught Māori language and culture in New Zealand, China, Japan and Hawai‘i for more than 25 years, Dr Wiri founded the online learning platform Reo Ora. His keynote set the direction for the day: te reo as a living inheritance that belongs in every home, classroom and workplace. He was followed by voices deeply woven into the Bay of Plenty. Aniwa Nicholas (Ngāti Ranginui), a raukura and national Kaiwhakangungu Te Reo Matatini, drew on television, kapa haka, storytelling and life in a Māori-speaking whānau to inspire those following in her path. Award-winning recording artist and community leader Ria Hall (Tauranga Moana) spoke before lunch. Across a 20-year career, her music has challenged historical narratives and strengthened cultural understanding. Her vision of a connected Tauranga, where everyone can dream big, resonated strongly with the rangatahi in the room. Her closing song, carried by the steady wash of Te Moana o Toi, felt like rongoā. After kai rānui, Ngairo Eruera (Ngāti Ranginui, Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa) — senior lecturer with Te Tohu Paetahi at the University of Waikato’s Tauranga campus and translator of the children’s book Koro Wētā — spoke about his lifelong commitment to revitalising te reo as a living language. The formal programme closed with thanks from principal sponsor ReoPol. Managing Director Dr Vincent Ieni Olsen-Reeder (Ngā Pōtiki a Tamapahore, Ngāti Pūkenga, Te Arawa) acknowledged Te Mātāwai and Reo Ora as co-sponsors. Guiding the day as kaiwhakataki was Reweti Te Mete (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga), tribal historian and General Manager of Te Whare Hauora o Ngāti Kahu. Known for his engaging oratory, he led proceedings with warmth and mana, connecting generations through whakapapa and humour. Events like Te Toi o Te Reo show that Māori Language Week is no longer only a moment of symbolic recognition. In Pāpāmoa, it has become a community institution — a day where native speakers and new learners, kaumātua and rangatahi, share more than whakapapa. They share a commitment: ko te reo te taonga, ko te reo te take.