Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei welcomes first principal of new charter school with pōwhiri

7:26 pm today

Te Tumuaki hou of Te Kura o Ngāti Whātua ki Tāmaki, Ripeka Murray.

Photo: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei have welcomed the first tumuaki of their new kura with a pōwhiri at Ōrākei Marae this week.

Ripeka Murray (Ngāi te Rangi, Ngāti Raukawa, Muaūpoko) will take the reins of Te Kura o Ngāti Whātua ki Tamaki as its tumuaki, or principal.

Murray was previously tumuaki of Te Moutere o Matakana, a small kura on Matakana Island near Tauranga, and is set to the lead the kura through its foundational years.

In February, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei announced they would open their new charter school in July; a project the iwi had been working on for decades.

The pōwhiri was attended by members of Murray's whānau, a cohort from Tauranga Moana and mana whenua.

Speaking to RNZ, Murray said she felt both humbled and privileged to take on the role, despite not having any whakapapa ties to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

"It's an honour for me to work alongside the people, to create the dream that Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei have been dreaming of for some time now."

"This kura is really driven by the dreams and aspirations of the whānau ... really I'm just here to bring all that together, to use my skills and my abilities to do so and carry the kura into a space that has been dreamed up by Ngāti Whātua o Ōrākei and the wider community." Murray said.

Operating as a charter school meant the kura could be shaped to best suit of the needs of the tamariki who attend it, she said.

"But also utilising the make-up of Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori, Ngā Kura Āiwi, because those of our kura that are really well established have lots of hidden gems that I believe could also contribute to how we want our kura to move forward here in the coming years." Murray said.

Ripeka Murray walking on Ōrākei Marae with her whānau and iwi.

Photo: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust chair Marama Royal told RNZ Murray's appointment marked a "historic" and "exciting" day for her people and their was still some work to do to get the kura up and running.

"We have been waiting for Ripeka to officially come to us, and then she will hit the ground running, just getting the last minute preparations ready."

"We've started the recruitment of our tauira [and] the space that the kura will be operating from is nearly finished. We're nearly there, but we want to make the opening on the 20th of July not only special for our tamariki mokopuna, but for our whānau, and for those that will be working in that space to provide that learning to our mokopuna." she said.

Royal said Murray was a clear "standout" for the role of tumuaki.

"When asked, you know, what is something that you'll bring in, she said she's a dreamer. That was actually like music to our ears, because that's what we want, We want someone who's not afraid to be visionary, not afraid to dream."

"It's not about the kura itself. It's about the success for our mokopuna [and) from what I understand from those that interviewed her, that was the one thing that captured them."

Ripeka Murray sitting with whānau, Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei and a cohort from Tauranga Moana.

Photo: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust

Royal told RNZ it would be difficult opening a brand new kura halfway through the year.

"We know that some of our tauira that come to us will be coming from other kura, because we're doing Year 9 and Year 10 first. We want to get our numbers to ensure that we can have a really good cohort of tauira for those two years. Then we will start to expand next year."

"That's probably going to be maybe a difficult decision for some whānau ... 'do we take them out of their current schooling environment?' We've had lots of questions from whānau who have been considering that, and we've been able to hopefully give them the answers that they're looking for, that will give them the trust and confidence that their tamariki will be OK with us." she said.

Asked what her first course of action would be when she officially begins her role, Ripeka Murray said getting to know the people of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei would be her first priority.

"To be on the ground, to make those relationships with our people, then with our mokopuna."

"From there, everything I feel will start to fall into place." Murray said.

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