Taking aim

But providing wider education choices is not the answer. It is merely a possible consequence of getting it right.

What we need to create on the Chatham Islands, is the perception that it is an awesome place to live, work, raise kids and retire too. That it is the next land of milk and honey. Which it actually is… well sort of.

We need to make it a desirable destination to visit and work, because they both go hand in hand. More visitors, more workers, more workers: more capacity for visitors, or something like that.

How can we turn this around then?

By creating, overnight, such a demand for workers, that wages exceed anything elsewhere in NZ and providing employment and housing for them.

No, I havent lost the plot.

It really is simple.

Every scrap of quota that is caught in the EEZ economic exclusion zone should be processed on the Chatham Islands.!

It is irrelevent whether it is caught by NZ vessels or JVs, it must be processed here on Rekohu.

This would solve, pretty damned quickly, the employment problems, the energy problems and the shipping problems.

Processors would need to upgrade facilities and import staff and provide housing (up to a standard).

Factories would need to be extended. Freezer capacity would need to be increased. Shipping of frozen product would need to be improved and increased significantly.

Put it this way. Would the big fishing companies that currently plunder the Chathams area, turn their backs on the millions of dollars that they are making in profits at the moment? No

They would work smarter.

They would get rid of their 180 metre factory vessels that stay at sea for 6weeks at a time and run smaller trawlers, perhaps out of here, which catch and land every week or so, based on Rekohu. They would supply land based fuel. They would process here and they would ship from here. It would probably work out more cost effective for them anyway.

All it takes is for a concerted approach, by all groups, the Trust, the Iwi groups, Council, MAF, Farmers etc, and the highly influential (in some people’s view) Taylor Baines Review team to recommend it to the Government and it could happen. It would also be beneficial to the Islands to have a Minister made specifically responsible for the Chatham Islands, such as what occurs with Norfolk Island and the Aussie government.

Thats my answer anyway. I havent done the figures but I did sit down and try and work out exactly how much value in $terms there was in all of the quota for this area, and all I got was a headache. So I gave up.

Just like everyone else is giving up.

The $20 million patch up isnt necessarily the answer either.

I agree that the redevelopment of wharfing facilities at Port Hutt may be a good idea, but if you really think that the only reason that the current shipping service costs so much is due to weather delays, then you really dont have a very good grasp on the situation at all. In fact there is really only one thing that you do have a grasp on, and its not shipping.

I am also not convinced that relying on windpower is the answer either….. Yes we all know that it can blow down here…. but it doesnt do it all of the time……… and generating the power from wind is easy…….. its storing the excess for later use that is the expensive part of the game….. Any way, more from me later.

I would love to hear your views.

Tune in for the next posting, we will discuss the impact of the global credit crunch,  local Iwi politics, local business movements and ways in which the Govt could help improve our lot.

If you have a view on any of these issues, or any issues at all, send us an email. We’d love to hear from you?

Rekohu

Where have they all gone?

The population of Rekohu is shrinking dramatically and at the current rate, will reach a crisis point, sooner, rather than later, unless something can be done to arrest the trend.

People have always come and gone from these islands. Some to return at a later date. Some never.

But all are always welcome and they are always whanau. If you have been there once, or if your family was once there, still there, thinking of going there, then you are whanau too.

But now, today, something more insidious is afoot. The crippling cost of living on Rekohu is driving people away. Fewer people are returning and more are going.

For my 28 years of involvement with Rekohu, the population havs always been a steady 750 folks and a good 40-50 on Rangiauria (Pitt Island). At the last census, the population was recorded as a total (Pitt and Rekohu) of 606 hardy souls, with a mixture of ethnicities,  backgrounds and incomes.

This goes against the national and global trends for population increase.

They are actually leaving and no-one is filling the gaps.

For the first time in a long long time (probably for ever) there are more houses for sale than there are buyers.

There isnt a single issue that is causing this problem. There are many and it seems like in the past 2-3 years, that they have all come to a head. This will be a conversation piece for a fair while I suspect. I look forward to getting a few comments and views on this.

One of the biggest issues though has to be the cost of living.

Electricity prices are about 5 times that of living in the mainland.

Every single item of foodstuffs that you import has a freight component. Everything that you buy here has that freight cost built in, with mark-ups from 0% to 200% on some in-store items.

Fuel prices seem to rise disproportionately to that of our mainland suppliers, perhaps reflecting the inadvisability of permitting monopolistic situations, in both the shipping, the agents and the retail sectors.

NO monopoly is good for anything.

The inextricable, complex and undoubtedly financially rewarding relationship between the shipping agent, the ships owners and the retail outlets is definitely a recipe for community disaster.

Little doubt that the locals sense a rat in the mix. Especially when one considers that the price of fuel at the pumps is a lot higher than the commercaial “bulk rates” that suppliers can provide.

No wonder that the Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust seems hell-bent on becoming involved in providing fuel, or at least an alternative outlet for us peasants. Lets hope that their commercial imperative remains firmly tainted by the social obligations and conscience that they are mandated to have, because they dont appear to have done diddly squat for the islanders over the past few years…? Correct me if I am wrong. I would relish the opportunity for the discussion….?

Conversely, though, and just before some of you stab frantically at the keyboard in response, risking cuticle damage and apoplexy, I don’t think that the anonymous mailout late last year was an answer either. It read like a Winston Peters election pledge: Long winded, conveniently omitting all of the pertinent information, unprovoked personal attacks, absolutely off the mark and pointless, and all delivered from the anonymous safety of an old womans knickers. What a rabid crock of ……….

Anyway,….. I digress……

Getting back to the conversation at hand: Population demise.

Another contributing factor is the perception that it isnt a nice place to live in, and certainly not that best place to raise your children. Bollocks. Its great. But if it doesnt suit you… then… you’re right. Leave.

If, however it does suit you, stay. Simple. Next issue please.

No seriously, it isnt for everyone. Which is great, becasue we dont want everyone living here, because than it wouldnt be our Chatham Islands would it.

A lot of modern parents are choosing to move out to the mainland while their children attend secondary school and you have to admit, thats a positive thing to do, both for the parents and the kids involved. There is nothing more important than family.

Is there another option. Could the kids recieve secondary schooling on Rekohu? No. A big fat N.O. Well, actually, they can. The correspondence school provide services here and even pay for a registered teacher to take a class several hours per week, based at Te One School.

For some Parents, this is ok, whilst other would prefer that their children recieved socialisation as well as education by attending a mainland high school. Fair enough we say.

Could we start a high school on the Chathams then?

Well actually you could, and it could be quite a well resourced little school. You would have to mnake iut an area school, with new entrants through to Form 7, much the same as Cheviot area school, in North Canterbury, Hurunui, Karamea, Taipa area school, Murchison, in fact, there are heaps of them and they all cope. Some have as few as 70 students. We could have over 100 if everybody was into it.

The difficulty would be is that the kids are still only mixing with the same kids, but that is the same difficulty as other area schools face.

Financially, a local school would be a winner as well, and should be a very well resopurced unit, providing education for all ages as well as community education.

Anyway that the end of todays wee speech. I’ll be back. Dont forget to throw in your comments though?

Me rongo (in peace)

Have you ever considered that the Chatham Islands might be the best “out of the way” spot for a holiday this summer? The beaches of Rekohu are spectacular and the scenery is delightful. If you dont believe me, have a look at this site then. While you are there check out the ‘culture’ page as well and see what the Chatham Island culture is all about. Moriori European and Maori influences all combine together to form the culture of the islands.

The Moriori people are infamous for their peaceful history and Nunuku’s ‘covenant of peace’ which was a law brought forth by the chief Nunuku hundreds of years ago.

Moriori hokopapa or genealogy goes back hundreds of years and through many generations. During this period Moriori transformed from  fierce and capable warriors, to a non-combatant people living in harmony with each other and the environment on Rekohu. This existence was uninterrupted until  1791 when Europeans ‘re-discovered’ the islands, beginning a series of events that would result in the destruction of many of the resources that Moriori had carefully marshalled for generation after generation. Ultimately, in only 142 years, it was to lead to the believed extinction of a whole ‘race’ of people. In 1933 the last known full-blooded Moriori, Tame Horomona Rehe, more commonly known as Tommy Solomon, passed away.

The covenant of peace, or Nunuku’s Law is forming the core of a Moriori renaissance on Rekohu as descendents of Tommy Solomon and other Moriori are rekindling the candle of peace. The construction of Kopinga Marae (meeting house) has been a huge step on the path to revitalising the Morori people and taking their rightful place in Chatham Island and New Zealand history, society and culture.

Visitors to the islands are always amazed by the opportunities to see and study Moriori history and culture, presumably because they think that Moriori are extinct.

Moriori are Moriori and they are a living people.

Pitt island also has some pretty awesome scenery. Check out these two pages ( Pitt1, Pitt2) for some fantastic photgraphs of Pitt Island and then contact education-resources.co.nz for details on how and where to stay on the Chathams and Pitt Island.

For the best in visitor experiences to Rekohu, try the Rekohu Experience. Contact Chatham Lodge for a quote on your next package holiday deal. You might be pleasantly surprised.

“Experience Rekohu with the Rekohu Experience.”

Chatham Lodge is the number one tourist destination on Rekohu and is the venue that best suits the discerning traveller.

Moriori today

Despite the events of the previous century, Moriori resumed positions of prominence on Rēkohu (Chatham Island) in the 20th century, through to today.. Tame Horomona Rehe (Tommy Solomon) was a successful businessman and farmer in the 1920s and early 1930s. Other descendants of Moriori, notably the Davis and Preece families, were influential in local government and community affairs from the 1940s. More recently descendants have been involved in claims to the Waitangi Tribunal and in the development of Moriori organisations, such as the Tchakat Henu Association and the current Hokotehi Moriori Trust.

Hokotehi are the legally mandated body that represent Moriori in their dealings with the crown and among their many responsibilities, are responsible for ensuring that the cultural renaissance of Moriori continues. 

Moriori are engaged in a vigorous cultural revival which began with a New Zealand television documentary in 1980. In dispelling some long-held myths, it raised the consciousness of many Moriori descendants. Among the fallacies laid to rest were;

·         that the Moriori were a separate race, distinct from Polynesians,

·         and that they had died out completely.

It triggered a wave of activity that began in 1985 with the raising of a statue on Rēkohu of Tommy Solomon, the last full-blooded Moriori.

In 2005 the Kopinga Marae was opened by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, giving offical recognition to Moriori as a people and as the original inhabitants of the islands. 

 Hokotehi have worked to increase  the asset base for Moriori and have completed purchases of Kaingaroa farm, Henga Farm, Chatham Lodge and have a joint venture intitiative going with Ngai Tahu at Whangaroa Seafoods.

One of the exciting prospects for Moriori is the development of the “Rekohu Experience”, incorporating a range of unit plans and activities for educators to teach, and school camps opportunities, using Kopinga marae as the base for school groups from around the world.

Chatham Lodge also offers the opportunity for unique cultural tours building on the close relationship between hosting at the Lodge and at the Marae.

Click on the following links to check out the website of Education Resources, which has been built by Kopi Holdings Ltd to highlight these opportunities.