HE HUI MO TATOU... 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NGARIMU VC INVESTITURE KICKS OFF THE 2013 NGATA LECTURES Sunday the 6th of October 2013 is a special day for Ngati Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. Not only does it mark the start of the 30th Ngata Lecture series, initiated by Sir Tamati Reedy back in 1983, it is exactly seventy years from the day, Hamuera and Maraea Ngarimu, the parents of the late 2nd Lieutenant Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu, received the Victoria Cross at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria, in front of a crowd of over 7000. “It is a very special day in Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui history. Moana Ngarimu grew up here in Ruatoria and every Māori knows who he is and the ultimate sacrifice made by him and the other pāpā who lost their lives during WW2. So it’s a day to remember them all,” said Chair of the Ngata Lectures, Selwyn Parata. “It’s also timely to acknowledge the role Sir Apirana Ngata played in creating the Māori Battalion and recruiting officers like Ngarimu to lead soldiers, his whanaunga, in to battle.” A special commemoration service led by Te Pihopa o Aotearoa, the Most Reverend Archbishop Paraone Turei, is being held at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria on 10.45am Sunday 6 October to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Ngarimu VC Investiture. The guest speakers for the day include C Company veteran and Chair of the Ngā Tāonga o Ngā Tamatoa Trust Nolan Raihania; the Hon. Pita Sharples, Minister of Māori Affairs and member of the Ngarimu VC & 28th Māori Battalion Scholarship Board and Dr Monty Soutar, the author of Ngā Tamatoa: The Price of Citizenship. The service and speeches will be followed by waiata and haka from Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Hokowhitu-ā-Tū and other Tairawhiti kapa haka. The Ngata Lectures were named after Sir Apirana Ngata, who started a series of lectures back in the 40’s as a means of retaining tribal history, whakapapa and tikanga. “The Lecture series is an opportunity for Ngāti Porou to return home, to attend the three-day event and the lectures and refill their batteries. Nō reira ko tāku ki ngā uri a Porourangi, tātou katoa huri rauna te motu, tēna haramai ki te whakanui i a Moana, haramai ki te whakanui i ngā kaupoi o C Company, haramai kia rumakihia koe i tō tātou Ngāti Poroutanga.” For all media inquiries contact: Erana Keelan-Reedy (021) 2848382, [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 03:43:39 +0000
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