Background

At the beginning of March 2019, Les Geraghty, a Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise member, raised the idea of creating a place for people to gather to celebrate their ethnicity and culture regardless of where they come from in the world. The idea was based on other countries that provide similar locations for people to visit, some of which are called Welcome Walls.
Only a matter of a short few weeks later, New Zealand was rocked by the Christchurch Mosque shootings. People were shocked that this could happen in our country, a country that enjoyed a geographical remoteness compared to many other parts of the world. 
What we witnessed in Christchurch after the shootings was the need for people to gather to share their grief over this horrific event. The question was - How to create a place here in Tauranga that is there for everyone to share and that reflects our diverse community?
The event in Christchurch on March 15th, 2019 helped crystallize the ‘This Is Us ‘project. 
The club held a meeting soon after the terrorist attack to discuss a response that was positive, practical and would build community. Members talked about how the Welcome Wall in Paris was a gathering place where people could be together and support each other. Australia also has a Welcome Wall.
A small group of Rotary Club members set out to explore creating a place for Tauranga that could be that gathering place, to give Tauranga a beating heart where people could see and celebrate their own culture and those of others.
After discussion with Tauranga’s Community Development Advisor for Welcoming Communities Haidee Kalirai and Simone Anderson from The Incubator Creative Hub, the concept of how people had journeyed historically to arrive in Tauranga, from early Maori to the present day was formed. The project developed around a carved and painted waka which conveys how we all journey through time, building and evolving our community, and that together we can do better if we know where we all come from and where we would like to go.
The concept of ‘This is us - he waka eke noa’, - people pulling together, also coincidentally matches Rotary’s theme for 2019-2020, ‘Rotary connects the World’, with Matariki presenting a timely opportunity to launch the project.
Matariki was traditionally a time that brought communities together to share and to learn from each other which is our hope for ‘This is Us – he waka eke noa’. 
 
‘This Is Us’ Project

He Waka Eke Noa

Background
At the beginning of March 2019, Les Geraghty, a Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise member, raised the idea of creating a place for people to gather to celebrate their ethnicity and culture regardless of where they come from in the world. The idea was based on other countries that provide similar locations for people to visit, some of which are called Welcome Walls.
Only a matter of a short few weeks later, New Zealand was rocked by the Christchurch Mosque shootings. People were shocked that this could happen in our country, a country that enjoyed a geographical remoteness compared to many other parts of the world. 
What we witnessed in Christchurch after the shootings was the need for people to gather to share their grief over this horrific event. The question was - How to create a place here in Tauranga that is there for everyone to share and that reflects our diverse community?
The event in Christchurch on March 15th, 2019 helped crystallize the ‘This Is Us ‘project. 
The club held a meeting soon after the terrorist attack to discuss a response that was positive, practical and would build community. Members talked about how the Welcome Wall in Paris was a gathering place where people could be together and support each other. Australia also has a Welcome Wall.
A small group of Rotary Club members set out to explore creating a place for Tauranga that could be that gathering place, to give Tauranga a beating heart where people could see and celebrate their own culture and those of others.
After discussion with Tauranga’s Community Development Advisor for Welcoming Communities Haidee Kalirai and Simone Anderson from The Incubator Creative Hub, the concept of how people had journeyed historically to arrive in Tauranga, from early Maori to the present day was formed. The project developed around a carved and painted waka which conveys how we all journey through time, building and evolving our community, and that together we can do better if we know where we all come from and where we would like to go.
The concept of ‘This is us - he waka eke noa’, - people pulling together, also coincidentally matches Rotary’s theme for 2019-2020, ‘Rotary connects the World’, with Matariki presenting a timely opportunity to launch the project.
Matariki was traditionally a time that brought communities together to share and to learn from each other which is our hope for ‘This is Us – he waka eke noa’. 
 

‘This is Us’ – He Waka Eke Noa (a canoe we are all in without exception)

The Journey

A Tauranga Sunrise Rotary Club initiative to create unity of understanding. 
 Three times over 15 months our community nationally and locally has been hit by events that disrupt and distress our sense of belonging, connection to each other, and what we stand for:
•    Attack on the Christchurch Mosque
•    Coronavirus impacting and isolating the world
•    George Floyd - Black lives matter movement  
In very different ways all three call for a response from a service organization whose vision for 2020 is ‘People unite and take action to create lasting change…...’in our communities and in ourselves’.
To do that, to unite, first we need to understand and know who we are, what ‘This is Us’ looks, sounds and feels like, to hear the stories and voices of as diverse a range of people in our community as possible, to develop a common language of understanding . 
Art, and the arts, make up a universal language that can help bring people together. ‘This is Us’ is more than a creative project and art exhibition – it is about going on a journey that encourages storytelling, connection and unity.  It offers a platform for our diverse cultural communities to share their stories, values and to learn about each other.
 
‘This Is Us’ Project – three parts  
    Launch of the project, by the Tauranga Sunrise Rotary Club President and the unveiling of a waka designed for ‘This is Us’.
    Storytelling and design workshops where participants will share stories of how they (or their ancestors) came to New Zealand and their vision for Tauranga, and produce a decorated hoe (paddle), to complete the waka.
    An art exhibition, hosted by Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, held at The Incubator (at the Historic Village) in late August, which will feature the decorated hoe along with video and still images of the participants sharing their stories. The exhibition will be also be available to view online.
 
  
 
Michelle Estall – Waka Artwork
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Launch: 
‘This is Us’ was launched as part of the Matariki celebrations at the Historic Village on June 27th 2020, where a custom built and designed, 8 metre long, ‘waka’ (an art piece, not a sailing vessel) was unveiled. The waka has been painted to reflect the values of the project and awaits the addition of community produced, decorated hoe (paddles) to complete the piece for public exhibition.
Workshops: 
The community will be invited to participate in a series of workshops where they will design and decorate a hoe. At the workshops they will hear about the history and cultural significance of the wetlands opposite the Historic Village (Kopurererua) and be encouraged to share their stories and vision for Tauranga. They will be supported to design and decorate a hoe that will be displayed in an art exhibition.
 Art Exhibition:
The exhibition will be held at The Incubator in late August. It will feature up to 30 completed hoe, video clips of participants sharing their ‘stories’, photographic images of participants with their hoe, and an opportunity for audience interaction by sharing snippets of their own ‘stories’ on the mini hoe provided. The exhibition will also coincide with the launch of a 7m woven harakeke whale by artist Elizabeth Haider.
Key outcomes: 
·    Spread knowledge and understanding of the role of Tangata Whenua in the establishment of Tauranga Moana, and the contributions of all arrivals here.
·    Encourage understanding and knowledge of diverse cultural communities invited to share stories, values and learn about each other.
·    Encourage connection, understanding and unity between Tauranga communities
·    A repository of video clips, and photographic images of stories from different and diverse communities in the Tauranga community.
·    An art exhibition - where the audiences can view diverse culturally inspired artwork as well as share some of their own stories.
·    Raised awareness of Rotary’s role in bringing together diverse communities.
·    A body of work, available to and through Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise to inform the future creation of a 'gathering place that physically represents the voices of the community. 
·    The waka, which will remain on display at The Historic Village during the project, was designed by Quinton Bidois and painted by Michelle Estall, both local artists.
·    While the culmination of the project would be the August art exhibition, the purpose is to encourage connection, understanding and unity through the sharing of stories about the peopling of the Bay of Plenty - beginning with the stories of earliest Maori settlers through to hearing from some of our newest immigrants.
·    The waka represents not only the first journey over water by Kupe, but a journey that each immigrant has made when moving to New Zealand.
·    ‘This is Us – he waka eke noa’ additionally provides a way for people to reconnect after the isolation caused by COVID-19. Collecting stories, knowing others, and working together also resonates with people’s desire to counter racism and misunderstandings based on mistrust.
The Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise is immensely proud to be the instigator and supporter of this Project. The Rotary theme for the 2019-2020 year ‘Rotary Connects the World’. What better way than to celebrate this theme, than with the ‘This Is Us’ Project.
Special Thanks to the following Key Supporters:
Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise Team
Pauline Cowens
Les Geraghty
Pat Taylor
Project Partner 
The Incubator Creative Hub - Director Simone Anderson
Implementation Team
Waka Designer and carver – Quinton Bidois (local artist)
Waka Artwork – Michelle Estall (local artist)
Welcoming Communities Community Development Advisor – Haidee Kalirai
Supercut Projects – Sonya Korohina
Loop Creative – Marama Mateparae and Heidi Douglas
Project Advisory Group members 
Sponsors
Creative New Zealand
Tauranga City Council
BOP Community Trust
Creative Bay of Plenty
Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise
 
Attendees from Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise