Community turns out to celebrate Matariki together.
Matariki is about remembering not only those of our loved ones passed but also our dreams and aspirations for the coming year plus new beginnings. At this year’s Matariki festival we had all the bases covered. The first event for Featherston Matariki this year was the unveiling of ‘Toro Atu’; a Pou dedicated to a famous Wairarapa Rangatira from the early 1800’s – Nukupewapewa. This was a serendipitous event that had been organised by mana whenua from Papawai Marae and the Five Towns Trails Trust. It is a beautiful sculpture designed by Eddie Riwai. What really excites us, is to have mana whenua represented through such beautiful artworks here in Featherston and visual recognition of mana whenua to sit alongside our military history and Fell train history.
