Te Kanawa Wilson of Ngā Taiātea Wharekura during his winning speech in the Pei Te Hurinui Jones / Senior Māori category at Ngā Manu Kōrero 2024. Photo: Ngā Manu Kōrero ā-Motu 2024
Waikato student Te Kanawa Wilson has won the national secondary schools' speech competition for Māori students, with a stirring kōrero about covenants and signings between Māori and Pakeha.
The Year 12 student from Ngā Taiātea Wharekura in Kirikiriroa/ Hamilton won best male speaker and first overall in the senior Māori contest at Ngā Manu Kōrero 2024 on Wednesday at the Spark Arena in Tāmaki Makaurau.
He told Midday Report host Charlotte Cook he was "feeling very good".
"Just got back to school. First day back ... yeah, just still on a high."
His prepared speech topic was Toitū te Tiriti (honour or uphold the Treaty), and covered the history and covenants of the document, as well as mana motuhake now and in the future.
"The judges scored me quite well, thankfully," he said
Wilson had "quite a few cousins" competing at this year's event.
His nephew, Pou Ariki Hemara-Daniels, won the junior English / Sir Turi Carroll contest.
Te Kanawa's father, Che Wilson, is a renowned expert on te reo, tikanga and Māori history, and had a central role in Kiingi Tuheitia's tangihanga in early September.
"It was quite hard for him last week, so it's good just to get this and acknowledge him, knowing that he's always wanted me to do this."
Te Kanawa Wilson was at Tuurangawaewae Marae for the entire week - missing a basketball tournament in Tauranga that was on at the same time.
"I just had to be there for him [his father]. There were a lot of learnings that I got from the tangi, that I used at Manu Kōrero.
"There were just many different aspects of the Kiingitanga that I didn't know about. 'Cause one of the things in the Kiingitanga: Hei pupuri I te toto, hei pupuri i te whenua, hei pupuri i te mana Māori motuhake' and there's another part which talks about how the Māori king and the Queen of England should be on the same level. So that was one thing that I learnt."
Wilson said "standing on marae" was the most important skill to take from competing at the event.
"This is just leading us up to standing at different kaupapa, different places... Manu Kōrero is a good way to lead up to that: build rangatahi Maori to be strong in their Māoridom, and then just everything about Māoridom, that's what I love to do - all day, every day - just being Māori."
Te Kohanga Reo National Trust spokesperson Tahuri Tumoana said this year's competition was more significant due to the recent passing of Kiingi Tuheitia.
Wilson's kura, Ngā Taiātea Wharekura in Hamilton, was one of the schools that supported the Kiingitanga, "so for all these tamariki to continue and do so well is amazing", he said.
Yet another of Te Kanawa's cousins, Tiaria Potaka, was a finalist in the Korimako / senior English division.
"Talent runs in the family," Tumoana said.
Te Kanawa Wilson during his winning speech in the Senior Māori category at Ngā Manu Kōrero 2024 in Tāmaki Makaurau. Photo: Ngā Manu Kōrero ā-Motu 2024
Chris Selwyn - tumuaki (principal) at Ngā Puna O Waiōrea, a Te Reo Māori immersion kura in Western Springs, central Tāmaki Makaurau, and co-host of the event - told Midday Report the speakers were "the very best of our kaikōrero" from throughout Aotearoa.
All the rangatahi had been through their school competitions, and then on to their regional competitions, to qualify for the national event in Auckland, he said.
Past winners include Tawhirimatea Williams, Turanga Merito, Julian Wilcox, and Tamati Waaka.
Speeches in the Te Rāwhiti Ihaka / junior English and Sir Turi Carroll / junior Māori contests were pre-prepared.
In the senior section for te reo and English, contestants delivered a pre-written speech then were given five minutes to prepare, then perform, a three-minute impromptu speech as well.
Selwyn tautoko'd the rangatahi who had taken on the challenge of public speaking.
"As we all know, like any public speaking is always the greatest fear and the greatest challenge in all of the surveys... public speaking ... has the greatest fear for a lot of people.
"So for our senior [competitors], you put on top of that the challenge of having a five-minute prep time and three-minute speaking time, I'm sure you can imagine how much of a challenge that is."
Ngā Manu Kōrero-ā-motu 2024 winners
Sir Turi Carroll / Junior English
Pou Ariki Hemara-Daniels, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rangi Āniwaniwa, Kaitaia, Northland
Rāwhiti ihaka / Junior Māori
Kahurere Whauwhau, Te Wharekura o Ruatoki, Eastern Bay of Plenty
Korimako / Senior English
Tuhingaia Manihera, Whangārei Girls High School, Northland
Pei Te Hurinui Jones / Senior Māori
Te Kanawa Wilson, Ngā Taiātea Wharekura, Hamilton, Waikato
