National War Memorial at Pukeahu given National Historic Landmark status
Photo:
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
The National War Memorial at Pukeahu in Wellington has become the second place in the country to receive National Historic Landmark status.
In its announcement today, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage said the title recognised the significance of the memorial and its outstanding national heritage value.
Secretary for culture and heritage Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae said the National War Memorial was central to Pukeahu and the story of Aotearoa New Zealand.
"It speaks to the service and sacrifice made by New Zealanders in efforts to create peace for the future," he said.
A formal dedication at the National War Memorial would me made once seismic strengthening of the Carillon Tower was completed.
The National Historic Landmark status is awarded by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage with support from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
‘Leaks', 'mould' and sewage: The kura in Christchurch still waiting for permanent site
Rangimarie Parata-Takurua and pononga (students) harvesting food in the māra kai (garden for food) at Te Pā o Rākaihautū. Left to right: Kade Te Whata-Kururangi, Deegan McGarr, Hineterā Davis, Rangimarie, Wahawaha Winiata, Celia Williams and Hawaiki Jones-Fiso. Photo: Phil Tumataroa When you step through the gates at Te Pā o Rākaihautū, you can feel the manaakitanga from its people wrap around you like a korowai. Every morning, students and their whānau from the Christchurch-based school are welcomed in with a big 'kia ora' from kaiako. "You'll hear waiata playing in the background. You'll hear genuine laughter and happiness to be there," said kaiurungi and principal Terina Tahau. Inside, along the corridors, sepia-toned portraits of students dressed in feather kākahu (cloaks) and adorned with mataora and moko kauwae (Māori facial tattoos) line the walls - on one side photos show students on their first day of school, the other side displaying graduates - it serves as motivation for whānau Māori, many of whom haven't felt engaged or served by traditional Western systems of education. The school's board chair says, for some whānau, the photos represent the first time their children are seeing themselves as Māori after three or four generations of disconnection from their cultural identity. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon But that wairua, or spirit, you feel in the school is a stark contrast to the actual temperatures inside. The almost 70-year-old repurposed buildings are doing their best to keep the bitter cold out. Still, the students' breaths are visible as they giggle and chatter to each other on their way to class. Signs of water damage are visible in one classroom, with parts of the wall rotting away and the ceiling paint peeling. Te Pā o Rākaihautū is the South Island's first kura-ā-iwi, a state school mandated by local hapū or iwi. It was established as a 'Designated Character' school in 2014, and is a unique 21st-century pā wānanga (learning village). But it never received a permanent site or new school buildings. Instead, it has been operating out of a temporary site, which leaders say is causing health and safety problems. School leadership feels it has been battling against institutional racism and inequity from the Ministry of Education for more than a decade. RNZ examines the school's efforts to secure a permanent site and sufficient resources, despite its success in Māori-medium education. Ministry of Education chief executive for school property Jerome Sheppard has acknowledged the school's concerns and said it was working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. Te Pā o Rākaihautū originated from a group of friends gathering in an Irish pub. Brought together by their shared love of waiata Māori, they established what is now a well-known South Island-based Kapa Haka rōpū, Te Ahikaaroa. But when there was a 'baby boom' in the group, the education options catering specifically to Māori were few and far between. Te Pā founder and now chairperson Rangimarie Parata-Takurua said they started asking each other: "What is the environment we need to create for our kids to not just endure education, but really enjoy it and thrive?" In the process, they thought back to their own experiences of the education system and when they were most engaged in learning. Founder and Board Chair Rangimarie Parata-Takurua. Photo: Phil Tumataroa "Inevitably it wasn't when we were sitting in a classroom or sitting in assembly … It was when we were back at our own marae, when we were surrounded by people that loved us, that fed us, that we did things with them that mattered to us. "That was the beginning of Te Pā," she said. The school's founders first applied to open the pā in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, but it was not until three years later that the government approved the establishment of Te Pā o Rākaihautū as a year 1-13 co-education school in Christchurch, opening in 2015. The approval came without a business case or property budget attached, and Te Pā was assigned a temporary site at Richmond Primary School, a school that had previously closed down due to earthquake damage. Due to rapid roll growth and the site's unsuitability, the school moved to another temporary site the same year it opened, this time to the previously closed-down Linwood Intermediate School. Since 2015, the old repurposed buildings in Linwood have had numerous health and safety issues. According to principal Terina Tahau, she and the property manager meet every morning at 7am to walk around the pā, identifying any new leaks, broken pipes, or other issues. Signs of water-damage were visible in one of the classrooms RNZ visited. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon One of the last major incidents involved sewage flooding on a Sunday. "We had to get that cleaned up because we got kids coming on Monday, and the last thing they need to even think is that that's okay, because it's not. "We spend many a weekend here because something's popped up." The buildings are also cold. "We know we have to keep our heat pumps on overnight because these facilities freeze, and if we don't have those heat pumps on 24/7 from Monday to Friday, then we're letting our pononga (students) come into something that's not suitable," Tahau said. Kaiurungi and Principal Terina Tahau. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon An independent workplace health and safety report - commissioned by the school's board in May - outlines what it says are "critical issues" that require "immediate and comprehensive action". The report was done by Health and Safety at Work NZ, a Christchurch-based company that offers certifications, audits, investigations and training. Some of the findings included "rotting window frames and sills" throughout classrooms, "significant ongoing leaks" over the kitchen area where school meals are prepared, and "widespread water damage to internal walls and ceilings, with visible mould growth in certain areas". It also noted that evidence had emerged of health deterioration among staff and students, including "increased asthma symptoms reported among staff. Breathing difficulties and respiratory illness reported in students not previously affected". "The findings from the 2025 inspection confirm that Te Pā o Rākaihautū continues to pose significant health and safety risks to its occupants. Despite partial repairs, the buildings remain cold, damp and in disrepair compromising the wellbeing of staff, students, and visitors." A 2025 draft ERO report says the buildings "need replacing". Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Additionally, successive reports done by the Education Review Office (ERO) in 2017, 2021 and 2025 all highlighted the need for a permanent site and new buildings. According to the most recent draft report by ERO, provided to RNZ by the school, securing a permanent site and building that "reflects the unique kaupapa of Te Pā o Rākaihautū" is "required". "The pā has operated out of a temporary site for 10 years that compromises the health and safety of pononga and hinders realising the strategic goals of whānau." The 2025 ERO report also said that the board, Te Tautarinui o Matariki, spends a "disproportionate amount of time and resources managing the ongoing aged property related issues". "The pā continues to operate from a temporary site after 10 years. Again, ERO supports the need for Te Pā to establish their permanent pā site to realise their aspirations and full potential. "The buildings are well past their use by date and need replacing," the ERO report said. ERO did note that students are emotionally safe and healthy. The school has demonstrated strong academic results. The draft 2025 ERO report stated that students are achieving above national averages across all levels of NCEA. "We can show results that the ministry has been unable to achieve in mainstream schooling since forever," said Parata-Takarua. Part of their success story can be attributed to their kai programme, Parata-Takurua said. The project is called "Puku Māra," which loosely translates to mean "digestive gardening", and focuses on Papatūānuku's (earth mother's) gut health. Photo: Phil Tumataroa Each day at school, all of the students, from year 1 to 13, receive two full meals. "We were able to install commercial kitchens straight away, and we feed our kids breakfast and lunch." Over the years, they have even built gardens and grown food themselves to supply the kitchen, something the students are actively involved with. Half of the back field is now gardens, alongside 30 hectares they are leasing in the red zone, near the school. With the first crop expected in the next season, Parata-Takurua said the initiative helps students reconnect with the whenua and understand composting processes. The school was recognised internationally, winning the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the Global High Schools East Asia and Pacific category. The land leased in the red zone was contaminated from previous housing, with old piping and waste underneath. Now, Te Pā has built up enough compost on the surface to start growing food on one hectare. Photo: Phil Tumataroa In May of 2023, a new site was identified near Te Waipapa, Diamond Harbour, at the base of Te Ahupātiki Eight hectares of ancestral whenua, the same location where the school's namesake, Ngāi Tahu ancestor Rākaihautū, buried his famous kō (digging tool). The new site would allow the school to return home. The land had been owned by the local council since 1913, and in 2024, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke went through the process of buying it, which was unanimously agreed to by the council. If the proposal is approved by the Ministry of Education, the school hopes to run a dual-site model, a city-site, and the Diamond Harbour site. Under the proposal, the hapū would lease the land back to the Ministry for Education. Members of Te Pae Whakatere, the Te Pā working group, and officials from the Ministry of Education visit the proposed site for the kura at Te Waipapa, Diamond Harbour on Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū. Photo: Phil Tumataroa But the school's leadership is not holding out hope, as out of the 10 options presented by the Ministry, Parata-Takurua said nine focused solely on fixing up the current buildings. "The current buildings being a temporary site that we never ever envisaged that would be the permanent home for our pā wananga. It completely ignored all the work we'd done on the site in Diamond Harbour." In a statement, Jerome Sheppard from the Ministry of Education acknowledged the concerns raised by Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We have been working with them to ensure that all students and staff have access to safe, warm and dry facilities. That is why we continue to work with Te Pā o Rākaihautū to finalise a scope that will allow for investment in the redevelopment of the existing site, which will include a mixture of new and existing buildings to support up to 350 students." Sheppard said that many schools throughout New Zealand operate from ageing building stock. "These buildings can and are being successfully maintained and upgraded to support learning, and we are confident we can achieve the same with the property for Te Pā o Rākaihautū. "We continue to work closely with Te Pā, within the current fiscal environment, to make sure their provision reflects the importance of Kaupapa Māori Education," Sheppard said. Parata-Takurua said treatment of Te Pā feels like racism to her. "I've yet to be persuaded that it's something else." She said she feels there are "elements of ignorance and arrogance" from the ministry, leading to the dismissal of Māori-medium education's proven success. The Ministry of Education did not wish to respond to the school's comments regarding perceived racism, ignorance, or arrogance within the ministry when contacted by RNZ. "I'd like to invite people to come and spend a couple of days in our shoes and see what that 'privilege' looks like. That privilege looks like this. We're still in old broken buildings, and now we're being pushed down a path of 'accept this or it could be nothing." According to the Ministry of Education, Budget 25 allocated $544 million for growth (including roll growth, new schools, and learning support roll growth), of which $50m is earmarked for Māori Medium Education/Kaupapa Māori Education. Kura make up approximately 6 percent of schools nationwide. Parata-Takurua said it means only one or two kura might get lucky with new builds each year, while others must "scrape it out of wherever they can find some loose change". The property challenges Te Pā is facing are felt by the tamariki and their whānau too. Kay-Lee Jones is a māmā of three children who attend or have attended Te Pā. She feels the whole situation is "inequitable". "All around Ōtautahi, especially post-earthquakes, we had all these very fancy schools being established here, there, and everywhere, and our kids see this, and it's disheartening." She said she worries about the well-being of the staff and students. "Our kids, they don't deserve this." The property challenges Te Pā is facing are felt by the tamariki and their whānau too. Photo: Phil Tumataroa Jones shares the example of her son Wi, who was around nine years old when discussions about the need for new school buildings first started. Now at 17 and about to graduate, he will never see any improved facilities. She worries the same might happen with her nine-year-old child as well. In 2013, the government announced the Christchurch School Rebuild (CSR) programme, with the aim to replace or repair 115 earthquake damaged schools in Christchurch over the following 10 years. As of March this year, 100 schools have been completed, 11 schools are under construction, and three schools are in the planning and design stages. As Te Pā o Rākaihautū was not established until 2014, its redevelopment or rebuild is not within the scope of the CSR programme, according to the Ministry of Education. Tahau said the health and safety challenges have been more than frustrating. "We already know what works. We're acknowledged for it, so get out of the way. "Get on the waka or get out of the way. Because, pono katoa mātou ki tō mātou kaupapa (We are all true to our cause)." Late last week, Parata-Takarua said the school had received another letter from the ministry, which reconfirmed the funding for the "redevelopment" of their current site in Linwood, instead of a custom build at a new site. Parata-Takurua said it was now left with a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum and had engaged its lawyers. "For more than a decade, our children have been left in unsafe, cold, damp buildings while 100 other Christchurch schools were rebuilt around us. The ministry's legal responsibilities extend well beyond 'warm, safe and dry'." A spokesperson for Education Minister Erica Standford said she would not be commenting as it was an operational matter for the ministry. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
'It's really nasty': Toxic plants destroyed in high school competition
Aroha Chase tackles a roadside infestation in Pakaraka, in the Far North. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf A competition dreamed up by high school students and a dedicated teacher has stopped as many as 10 million seeds of a toxic pest plant spreading into the Northland environment. Kerikeri High School's Northland Moth Plant Competition , which wrapped up last month, encouraged people around the region to collect seed pods from the invasive vine , as well as pulling the plants up by the roots. Each seed pod can release up to 1000 seeds, which travel as far as 25km on the wind. Year 13 student Richard Norton, of the school's Save All Viable Environments (SAVE) group, said the fast-growing vine was a threat to native forest, but also infested shelterbelts, gardens and verges. "The vines grow up trees and smother them, which causes the plants to die, so they endanger our native species." It was hard to say which weed was Northland's worst, but moth plant was certainly a contender for the title. "It's definitely one of the worst because they grow quite quickly, and each pod has 1000 seeds in it. So they reproduce very rapidly, and can take over entire forests and cause a lot of damage," Norton said. A moth plant showing the vine's distinctive seed pods. Photo: Supplied / Hayley Bloch-Jorgensen The climbing vine, which was native to South America but introduced to New Zealand as an ornamental plant, produced small white or pink flowers, and large numbers of choko-like pods. The seeds were carried on the wind by fine, silk-like filaments, much like dandelion seeds. It was also known as kapok vine or, in Australia, as jumbo weed. It favoured frost-free parts of the country. Kerikeri High teacher Kate Crawford, who ran this year's competition, said another distinctive feature was the white sap it produced from even minor contact. "It's really nasty. The sap is quite toxic. It can be a skin irritant and if it gets in your eyes, it can actually cause blindness," she said. "And it grows really fast. I've watched some on the roadside that within one year had completely covered a tree. We had a lady contact us at the start of the competition, she'd removed 500 pods from one tree, and just didn't know what to do with them." The kids of Oromahoe School, in the Far North, with their haul of moth plant pods. Photo: Supplied / Oromahoe School Crawford said the contest had previously targeted schools, but this year it was opened up to the public. Contestants had to provide photographic evidence of the pods and vines, complete with roots, they had collected over a four-month period. They were provided with pre-paid rubbish bags because composting was not enough to kill the seeds. Norton said by the time the competition closed on July 18, the top three teams alone had collected just under 12,500 pods and vines. "It was cool. A lot of people joined and the amount of pods everyone collected was insane. Definitely a lot more than I thought." With more than 10,000 pods collected, each containing up to 1000 seeds, that was a huge dent in the plant's future spread. "That's about 10 million seeds that won't be going out there and growing into other plants anymore. So it's a lot more future moth plants that we don't have to deal with." Norton said the contest had also raised awareness of the problem plant, and he hoped it had encouraged people to continue removing the pods before they ripened. Moth Plant Competition winners Piripi King and Aroha Chase, with daughter Kalliope, 3, adopted the team name Chasing Kings. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The winning team was Chasing Kings of Pakaraka, on State Highway 1 south of Kerikeri. Members Aroha Chase and Piripi King - and daughter Kalliope, 3 - collected a staggering 5776 pods and vines, earning them $500 cash plus native seedlings for their property. The real prize, however, was the greatly reduced number of pest vines in their area. Chase said she had spent hours every weekend battling moth plant on verges and in hedges around their neighbourhood. "I really dislike this plant, mostly because it's very invasive. It's a clever plant. If you don't fully remove it, it has the ability to regrow from really old roots. It's got a lot of pods per vine and each pod seems to have hundreds and hundreds of seeds." Chase was "very surprised" to win. "It was rather competitive but for us it was more that we were pleased with our efforts, and we were curious to know how others got on, because, after all, it's a good environmental win. We also hoped it might provide Northland Regional Council with data to support other weed control initiatives." Every moth plant pod contains up to 1000 seeds. Photo: Supplied / Hayley Bloch-Jorgensen Crawford said the competition had been sponsored by Kerikeri Rotary and the regional council, while Ngāti Rēhia's Takou Kauri Sanctuary had provided prizes and a local business had upgraded the contest website. She was convinced the contest had made a difference. "I was talking to one of the council's biosecurity officers, and he said he was gathering up pest plants to take to a school, but he was actually having trouble finding moth plants to show kids what it looked like because we'd done such a good job around Kerikeri." Crawford hoped to persuade the regional council to take over the competition next year, but vowed to keep it going if no one else would. Kerikeri also has a STAMP group - short for Society Totally Against Moth Plant - which maps and removes infestations. The group also organises occasional weeding trips to hard-to-reach but severely overgrown locations such as the islands in Kerikeri Inlet. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Twenty years of 'Bird of the Year' in one book
The Australasian Crested Grebe won Bird of the Century in 2023. Photo: Dave Thomas E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū - The tūī chatters, the kākā cackles and the kererū coos. That is a whakataukī (proverb) mentioning just three of the 80 birds - and one bat - included in the new Bird of the Year book. Writer Ellen Rykers, the former campaign lead, told Saturday Morning that New Zealand's largest book publisher, Penguin Random House, had asked Forest & Bird to turn the competition into a book subject. "At the time, I was part of the team organising Bird of the Year and, with my background in science writing, it just sort of seemed like a natural fit for me to take on this project," she said. Rykers said the book was a "feast for the eyes", with more than a dozen illustrators, who were selected, "not only because they draw beautiful birds, but because they also are dedicated to supporting conservation through their work". "Even if you don't dive into the words, it's just beautiful to look at." Photo: Supplied / Penguin Books New Zealand To decide which native birds - and bat - were included, Rykers went back through the last 20 years of the Bird of the Year competition and chose ones that had interesting stories - whether they be related to the competition - from television host John Oliver and rumours of Russian interference to controversial mammalian infiltration or their histories. "I mean, it's all fun and humorous, but there is that kind of serious undertone," she said. "More than 80 percent of our native birds are at risk or threatened with extinction, but at the end of the day, I hope that people read it and fall in love, and feel hopeful, because a lot of the stories are about people who are out there on the ground, making a difference." Ellen Rykers Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Rykers added the three main things threatening our manu were predators, habitat loss and climate change. However, she said the Bird of the Year competition had become a fundraiser for Forest & Bird, particularly in 2023, when the pūteketeke, also known as the Australasian crested grebe, was named the Bird of the Century , after a campaign by Oliver. The competition raised more than $1.2 million . "Forest & Bird didn't really have any idea, ahead of time, exactly the scale of the campaign. We knew that it would be beyond anything that we'd ever seen before and we knew that there would be sort of international aspects, but we didn't realise that he'd be paying for billboards on the busiest intersection in Tokyo and on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. "That really propelled quite an unknown bird - an under the radar bird or an 'underbird' - into the spotlight." A shot from US comedian John Oliver's segment on New Zealand's Bird of the Year on 5 November 2023. Photo: Screengrab Rykers said it did not start out that way. "It didn't raise any money back in 2005, when it started, but it has become a way for people to express that love for birds, by supporting them financially, as well as with their vote." The competition had also grown considerably since then. "I think partly it's because we're a nation of birdlovers and we have named ourselves after one of our national birds, so it's really part of our identity as New Zealanders, but we also don't like to take ourselves too seriously, so there's that cheeky quality, I think, that really appeals. "Those two kind of things, I think, have really propelled Bird of the Year to become a fixture on our annual calendar." There had been scandals in the competition - even to the origin of Bird of the Year , which was when RNZ's Morning Report had suggested getting rid of the daily bird call. "This provoked such an outrage," Rykers said. "Michael Szabo, who was the communications manager at Forest & Bird at the time, took notice of this and he listened to all these people sending in messages about all the birds that they loved. "He had come across this concept of a Bird of the Year competition working in Europe... and he thought, 'Okay, this is a great opportunity to give this a go here in New Zealand'." Including the pekapeka-tou-roa - or the long-tailed bat - was another one. "There was a Forest & Bird staff member, Debs Martin, who had been campaigning quietly for its inclusion for a long time. "At the same time, a high school teacher, Peter Wills, he had the exact same idea. 'Why don't we put the pekapeka-tou-roa in Bird of the Year ?', and so he and his students, and a bat expert took on that campaign. "We only have a couple of native bat species, so there's never going to be a Bat of the Year , but they face many of the same threats that our native birds do." There had been voting scandals - in 2015, two teenage girls tried to rig the results in favour of the kōkako. In 2018, one person voted for the shag more than 3000 times, while in 2017, fake email accounts were created to bolster support for the white-faced heron. In 2020, about 1500 fraudulent votes were cast for the kiwi pukupuku, but Rykers said the first scandal actually happened in 2010. "Somehow, it infiltrated an online community of people really passionate about the kākāriki. "At the time, the Bird of the Year website was admittedly quite flimsy... and they just saw this huge explosion in votes that was someone manipulating the numbers. "They were quite nervous about admitting that and so they didn't actually say anything until the year after." Voting for the 2025 Bird of the Year competition will open on 15 September. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
