Kia ora koutou,
Over the weekend, as part of the Tōtaranui 250 – First Encounters project, the Tōtaranui Trust hosted the Swedish ambassador on a haerenga down to Meretoto (Ship Cove). Pictured here in front of the pouwhenua at Meretoto are from left to right, Raymond Smith, Cressida Bishop, Judith MacDonald, Alice Taylor, Swedish Ambassador Par Ahlberger, Ian Mitchell and Wendy Hynes. Sweden has an early connection to Meretoto as two Swedish botanists Daniel Solander and Herman Spöring were aboard the Endeavour when it sailed here in 1768. They provided the first European descriptions of almost 400 native plants. Many pūrākau and whakapapa were shared during this trip by Judith MacDonald and Raymond Smith. There was also some discussion about how we could work toward our future aspirations and build our connection with Sweden.
Judith MacDonald and Swedish Ambassador Par Ahlberger.
We are gearing up for an exciting year and to make sure we deliver we will be recruiting a Planner, Cultural Advisor and Programme and Funding Manager over the next few weeks. This will allow us to provide services for:
- Pou Taiao – Environmental planning/monitoring/reporting
- Pou Kaiwhakahaere – Development of funding opportunities and implementation of key strategic projects
- Pou Ahurea – Cultural Director role to drive the culture and language strategy
Whilst we will be selecting the best candidates, we are obviously very keen on recruiting from within Rangitāne. Please apply if you are interested, all applications will be treated confidentially. Job descriptions will be posted on our website.
We are working on progressing Woodbourne and we hope to have some great news regarding this shortly.
Mā te wā
Nick