2023

Mō te iwi Māori, i ahu mai ngā mahi a rēhia i te ao o Hineraumati, te atua wahine o te raumati, rāua ko Tamanuiterā, te rā, me ā rāua tamariki, arā, me Hinerēhia rāua ko Tānerore. E kīia ana ngā mahi kapahaka, ko ‘Ngā Mahi a te Rēhia’, arā, i ahu mai i a Hinerēhia. E tata rawa ana a Hinerēhia ki ngā mahi waiata, ko tana tungāne ko Tānerore e kīia ana nāna i ahu mai ai te haka.
For the Māori people, the origins of performing arts emanate from the realm of Hine Raumati, the Summer Maiden and Tamanuiterā, the Sun and their tamariki, their children Hine-rēhia and Tānerore. The realm of performing arts is known as ‘Ngā Mahi a te Rēhia’ deriving from Hine Rēhia. She is strongly connected to waiata or song while her brotherTānerore is credited with the origins of haka.

Ko ana ngāueuetanga e kitea ana i roto i te wiringa o ngā ringa i roto i te kapahaka. Ko te kīanga, ‘Ngā mahi a te Rēhia’, e haere tahi ana me ngā mahi o te whare tapere. Mō Te Arawa, i ahu mai ngā mahi a rēhia i ngā pūrākau e hoki nei ki Hawaiki, i te wā i mahia ai e Tamatekapua rāua ko Whakatūria he haka taparahi e puta ai rāua i te whare o Toi.
This trembling is represented by the wiriwiri, the of hands in kapahaka. ‘Ngā mahi a te rēhia’ is a phrase often used in conjunction with the notion of performing arts. For Te Arawa, the art of performance has its origins in pūrākau, dating back to the ancestral homeland of Hawaiki where Tamatekapua and Whakatūria employed haka taparahi to help the latter escape from the whare or house of Toi.

I takoto i a rāua he rautaki e whakaparahakotia ai e Whakatūria te hunga nāna ia i mauhere, ka kī ai, arā noa atu tana toa i a rātou ki te haka. Ko ana nekenekehanga ānō ko te hahana tonu o te ahi, te ahi tonu i tōna tikanga kua kai i a ia.
They created a ruse whereby Whakatūria lambasted his captors, saying that his haka was more superior to theirs. Indeed he was a mesmerising sight. His movement mimicked the dancing flames of the fire meant for his demise.

I ākina e ia tōna reo ki te toremi i te hoihoi o te whakaminenga, ki te whakapoapoa hoki i a rātou. Ka noho hoki ko ana whāitaitatanga ki te ātahu i a rātou nō rāua ko Tamatekapua ka pūrere i te whare rā. Koinei te orokotīmatanga mai o ngā mahi kapahaka e noho mai nei hei wāhanga nui i roto i te ao o ngā Te Arawa mai ki tēnei wā.
He used his voice to both overpower and lull his audience. His facial expressions captivated them where upon Whakatūria and Tamatekapua both made their escape. Herein lies the beginnings of the art form of haka which has been integral to the lifestyle of Te Arawa ever since.

Kua noho mai te haka hei waka whakangahau mā Te Arawa i ana tini manuhiri o mua e kimi nei i ngā waiariki whakamīharo o te ao, kei Rotorua. Mai o taua wā rā kua whakawhanaketia e Te Arawa ōna wāhanga kapahaka katoa. I te uranga o te rautau 20th i karore nui a Te Arawa i te ao, e pōhiritia ana hoki rātou e wai, e wai ki te kapahaka ki ngā momo kaupapa huhua huri noa.
Haka became the vehicle used by Te Arawa to entertain early visitors seeking the thermal wonders of Rotorua. From there Te Arawa developed all forms of performing arts. At the dawning of the 20th century Te Arawa became world travellers with invitations to perform kapa haka at events globally.

Nā, i te tau 1972 ka tū te whakataetae kapahaka ā-motu tuatahi ki Rotorua. Mai o taua wā rā kua whānau i a Te Arawa he pā harakeke kaihaka hirahira kua tū ki te ao. Nā tēnei takapau hoki i whai wāhi nui ai a Te Arawa ki ngā tau o ngā ‘showbands’. He whakamaunga kanohi te Howard Morrison Quartet nō aua tau rā, nā, ka poho kererūtia a Rotorua hei pā kāinga mō ngā mahi whakangahau a te Māori i ngā tau 1940’s-1990’s. Whai wāhi nui tonu ai ngā kaiwaiata o Te Arawa ki ngā wāhanga ā-rēhia katoa, ahakoa ā-motu, ā-ao rānei. Ko te Sir Howard Morrison Centre te whakatinanatanga o taua whakarerenga.
Then in 1972 the very first national haka kapa festival was held in Rotorua. Since then Te Arawa has enjoyed a history of inspiring kapa haka performers the world over. It was from this foundation that Te Arawa later entered the era of showbands. The Howard Morrison Quartet was an icon of that era and Rotorua was looked upon as a bastion of Māori entertainment during the 1940s-1990s. Te Arawa artists continue to be actively engaged across all spectrums of performing arts nationally and internationally. The Sir Howard Morrison Centre is the embodiment of that legacy.

Ko Henriata Nicholas tērā i kopoua e Ngāti Whakaue hei ringa toi ki te raranga i ngā whenu ahurea ki te tuakiri o te whare. Mā te matapihi whatitoka e ura atu ai te whare ki te hapori.
Henriata Nicholas was the Ngāti Whakaue artist and designer appointed to weave the cultural blueprint into the design and aesthetics of the build. Her design for the front window glazing will ensure the venue will glow from the inside out.

He mea tiki ake ngā tohu i te āhua pūhoro a Ngāti Whakaue, ngā tohu rā hoki mō te tupuranga, mō te kaha, mō te mārohirohi, me te whaiwhairoroa.
Inspiration came from a particular Ngāti Whakaue puhoro pattern which describes growth, strength, resilience and persistence. Overlayed patterns add texture, and changing gradients will draw the eye upwards to its unique roofline, and references to striving higher and reaching upwards.

Kei ngā kūaha o raro ngā tohu o te mangōpare, he tohu rongonui kei Te Arawa. Katoa katoa he manawa pātukituki, ko tētahi haurua e whakaatu ana i te wheako tangata, ko tērā atu i te wheako wairua.
Along the lower doors a mirrored pattern forms a mangopare, a well known Te Arawa pattern. As a whole design it describes a beating heart with one half highlighting the human experience, and the second half the spiritual experience.