O-Tāwhao Marae in Te Awamutu. Photo: Supplied / Te Wānanga o Aōtearoa
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is celebrating 40 years since the opening of O-Tāwhao Marae, the birthplace of the Wānanga, in Te Awamutu.
The marae on the grounds of Te Awamutu College was founded in 1985 by Dr Rongo Wetere and Boy Mangu as a response to many young Māori being expelled or being failed out of school.
By offering those rangatahi an opportunity to learn whakairo (carving) and raranga (weaving), they helped build O-Tāwhao Marae itself.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa celebrates 40 years of O-Tāwhao Marae. Photo: Supplied / Te Wānanga o Aōtearoa
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa chief executive Evie O'Brien said the original 18 students who were enrolled in a program at O-Tāwhao in the 1980s have since been joined by almost a million other tauira (students) who have come through the Wānanga.
"The opening is a huge milestone because it is the genesis really of what we now know as Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, and I think that O-Tāwhao and then following on from O-Tāwhao the Aotearoa Institute, then it became Te Wānanga o Aotearoa was born out of struggle," she said.
O'Brien said the wānanga - which started from humble beginnings in a double garage - began thanks to the hard work of many people in the Māori community in Te Awamutu who were supported by many Pākehā in the town as well.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa celebrates 40 years of O-Tāwhao Marae. Photo: Supplied / Te Wānanga o Aōtearoa
"Some of the early founders of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, when there wasn't support coming from the government of the time, remortgaged their homes that was how deep their commitment was to this cause."
The wānanga was formally recognised as a tertiary institution in 1993. And now has more than 80 sites throughout the motu, teaching thousands of tauira each year through programmes in education, social work, te reo Māori, business, trades, and vocational careers.
Also marking the 40th anniversary is the release of Tihei Wānanga III, a commemorative publication that captures key moments and voices from recent years. A documentary film is currently in production and will be released later in 2025.
"Wānanga were born from a vision and a desire to see things change and to make that happen in places in spaces where that wouldn't normally happen. So the story of the Wānanga also has it's origins in making something out of nothing," O'Brien said.
O-Tāwhao Marae in Te Awamutu Photo: Supplied / Te Wānanga o Aōtearoa
The three whare wānanga have achieved so much over the past 40 years, she said, calling them a 'quiet educational revolution' in New Zealand.
"I've just returned from living and working in Oxford in England and te Wānanga o Aotearoa, alongside the other two wānanga was more known overseas and given credit that perhaps in our own lands. There's that saying 'globally hot and locally not'."
At the heart of this journey is the enduring mission of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa: Kia angitu te tauira - Tauira success, she said.
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