english | mĀori

Te Pae Tawhiti

In pursuit of wellbeing for our people:

The desired future will be realised when our people, through their own endeavours, are able to enjoy a quality of lifestyle where:

  1. Their mauri or spiritual essence is vibrant and empowering.
  2. Their spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical wellbeing is strong.
  3. They are conversant, secure and pro-active participants in all facets of social, cultural, economic and political life.
  4. The whanau, marae, hapu and iwi, as pillars of cultural, social, political and economic Māori life, have become the basis for their collective cultural, social and economic development.
  5. They are comfortable and competent in both the Māori and the modern world.
  6. They are well educated, able to realise their full potential and to readily cope with the challenges of a rapidly changing modern world.
  7. Their whanaungatanga has been rejuvenated and developed to the extent that the whanau has become a strong and valued support unit for all its members.
  8. They play a positive and active role within their extended whanau, hapu, iwi and the wider community.
  9. They are enterprising and employing resources to contribute to their independence and wellbeing.
  10. The Māori identity, culture and values are widely understood and respected by New Zealanders.
  11. The Treaty of Waitangi is properly honoured as a covenant between Māori and other New Zealanders.
  12. They are able to live with dignity and in harmony with the cultural, social and physical environments that they share with all people.
Te Pae Tawhiti

The essence of Te Pae Tawhiti is that we stand on the horizon line, and only then will the quality of life where one's mauri is both vibrant and empowering be achieved. As we search along te pae tawhiti there is a need for a focal point represented by tamanui te ra (the sun), as this is the energy source from which life originates.


Then comes the intangible threads below the horizon line and the roots of our people - our tipuna, and can also be likened to the roots of a kahikatea tree which gains its stability by entwining with each other forming a strong matted knot. This is unique as most trees root deep into the ground to avoid being blown over by strong winds.


The letter "T" represents the trunk of the tree and translates the importance of te reo Māori, the Māori language. Also, as a trunk of a tree stands strong to the natural elements, so do we as a people, reinforcing our right to stand here.


The woven green (reminiscent of papatuanuku) foliage or strands, represents growth and the human connection of linking whanau, hapu and iwi, also illustrated with the red lines representing the bloodline of Māori.

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