WelCom February/March 2025
Liam Greer, General Manager, Palmerston North Diocese
Of all the extensive damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, Tawhiti a Maru Marae in Wairoa was one of the communities most impacted. During the cyclone, two years ago, the flooded Wairoa River gave up on its usual ‘horseshoe’ path and took the shortest route straight through the Catholic Marae, flooding the Wharekai, Wharepaku, Wharenui and St Theresa’s Church.
Over the past many months, the community and the Palmerston North diocese have been working through the insurance claim and options for the replacement of the flood-damaged buildings.
In parallel, a tripartite group of the Wairoa District Council, Tātau Tātau o te Wairoa Trust and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has been working together to explore possible flood mitigation options. Many options have been considered with widespread community consultation led by Lawrence Yule, appointed as Crown Manager to Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils.
Due to its location, some of these options directly affect the Tawhiti a Maru Marae.
One option is to create a spillway near the Marae to manage increased waterflow and prevent flood surge breaching the riverbanks.
There is a lot of work remaining to remediate Tawhiti a Maru Marae. Several people from within the Catholic community and beyond have invested many hours of their time to ensure the redevelopment of the Marae while working with local and central government to find a long-term solution to flood protection.
The Wairoa community, part of the Diocese of Palmerston North, consists of the Tawhiti a Maru Marae – including St Theresa Church, St Joseph’s School, St Peter’s Church, the Presbytery and Te Rakato Marae located further up the road in Mahia.