He Paku Korero mo te Whakataetae Haupoi Maori a Motu: A Brief History of the National Maori Hockey Tournament
I te timatanga o enei momo whakataetae Haupoi ki waenga I te iwi Maori, ko te nuinga he kitenga a whanau, a karapu ranei. I tera rau tau, me ki I nga tau 40, 50 me 60, he nui nga whakataetae Haupoi Maori puta noa, Engari ko te nuinga, ko era I te Tairawhiti, I te rohe o te Waiariki, katahi ko te rohe o Waikato-Maniapoto hoki.
In former times, many Maori hockey tournaments were held, but most of these tended to be either family or club orientated. In the twentieth century, particularly in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, more and more Maori hockey tournaments were held throughout the country, mainly on the East Coast of the North Island, throughout the Bay of Plenty and in the Waikato-Maniapoto district.
Katahi ka ngarongaro haere nga whakataetae Haupoi Maori, ka mimiti hoki te nui o ta te Maori aro ki tenei momo hakinakina. Ahua toru tekau ma rima tau i noho ngoikore, i noho itiiti noa iho ta te Maori aro ki te Haupoi, katahi ka whakaaroake ta tatou whaea, a Margaret Hiha, ki te whakatu te tahi whakataetae Haupoi Maori mo nga rohe puta noa I te motu.
As the number of Maori tournaments began to dwindle, so too did Maori involvement in the game. This was the case for almost 30 years until the former national women’s hockey representative and coach and ‘mother’ of Maori hockey Margaret Hiha (Ngati Rangitihi, Te Arawa) decided to push the revitalization of Maori involvement in hockey by establishing a National Maori Hockey Tournament.
No reira, I whakatutu te whakataetae tuatahi I te rohe o Takitimu waka, I Ahuriri, I te tau 1992. Mai I taua wa, kua huri haere te whakataetae ki nga rohe katoa, haunga I te Waka o Maui. Anei te rarangi ingoa o nga rohe:
Taitokerau
Tamaki Makaurau
Waikato-Maniapoto
Tairawhiti
Waiariki
Takitimu
Aotea
Te Waipounamu
The result was the inaugural National Maori Hockey Tournament in Napier in 1992, hosted by the people of the Takitimu waka (canoe) region. From that time, tournaments have been held annually and have been hosted by each of the Maori hockey districts, except in the South Island. The districts are based on Maori Land Court boundaries. These districts include:
Northland
Auckland, North Harbour
Waikato-King Country
East Coast, Wairoa
Wider Bay of Plenty
Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington
Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu, Horowhenua
South Island
Kua tu nga whakataetae ki: Tournaments
1992 Takitimu Napier
1993 Waiariki Rotorua
1994 Tairawhiti Gisborne
1995 Aotea Palmerston North
1996 Taitokerau Whangarei
1997 Tamaki Makaurau Auckland
1998 Waikato/Maniapoto Hamilton
1999 Takitimu Wellington
2000 Waiariki Rotorua
2001 Aotea Stratford
2002 Taitokerau Whangarei
2003 Tamaki Makaurau Auckland (North Harbour)
2004 Waikato/Maniapoto Hamilton
2005 Takitimu Napier
2006 Waiariki Rotorua
2007 Aotea Palmerston North
2008 Taitokerau Whangarei
2009 Tamaki Makaurau Auckland (Pakuranga)
The tournament attracts up to 300 players and officials annually and invariably twice as many supporters. Tournaments are held each Labour weekend and are an ‘official’ listing on the NZ Hockey Federation calendar of events.
Encouragingly, the number of young Maori becoming involved in hockey and staying in the game longer is increasing nationally, according to anecdotal evidence from each and every rohe (district). This is evidenced also in the growing number of Maori players being selected for national representation in both the men’s and women’s teams. This peaked in 2001, with 11 Maori women named in the national training squad that year and 4 men. Significant numbers of Maori players were also being selected at national age-group levels from primary school grades upwards.
Other spin-offs from the initiation of the national Maori tournament include national and international fixtures for the Maori men’s and women’s teams which are selected annually, the formation of Te Kaunihera Haupoi Maori o Aotearoa (National Maori Hockey Council), implementation of annual training camps for emerging junior players (Under-21s), increased numbers of Maori taking up coaching and umpiring and implementation of a Maori stream for coach development – all at the initiation of Te Kaunihera Haupoi Maori.
There is room yet for greater assistance from the New Zealand Hockey Federation to better promote and develop Maori hockey, but the support to date has certainly helped. Nor can it be said that the full potential of Maori involvement in hockey (at all levels and endeavours) has been realized, but therein lies the challenge, the drive for continued Maori involvement in this great game!
No reira, tena koutou katoa.
Rawiri Wright on behalf of
Te Kaunihera Haupoi Maori o Aotearoa
The National Maori Hockey Council