Like so many times when I have been invited to official gatherings to celebrate a Māori occasion, I walked into a Matariki celebration last week not knowing quite what to expect.

Actually, that isn’t entirely true as experience had taught me a few things. I knew I would be welcomed, because I always have been with open arms. I knew that I would learn something, because I always do such was my virtually zero contact with the Māori world view until I became Mayor. And I knew there would be great kai and companionship, because there just always is.

So, here I was at 7 am on one of the coldest days we’ve had in Central for a while, in a small circle of people with a large casserole dish boiling away on a portable gas cooker behind us.

The main man talked us through the importance of Matariki to Māori and then he began to reflect on people he knew that had departed in the past year. It was quite moving as he spoke of those close to him, but then a bit of a shock came when he invited everyone in the group to do the same. I had a bit of time to think as others shared their losses and it occurred to me that I hadn’t done a lot of thinking about those who had left in the last year since their funerals. It actually became a bit of a moment for me as I thought of two elderly relatives from my wider whanau who had died in recent times and the effect their passing had had, if not so much on me but certainly on those I love. 

It was a really good experience just taking that moment in the middle of group of people speaking their names and saying a little bit about them. It’s something I have never done before but found real value in.

The main man then talked about the year ahead and what his hopes and plans were and then blow me down, around the circle we go again doing the same thing. This one had me in a bit of a panic as I am a man of many hopes and plans but by this stage, everyone’s feet were starting to freeze to the ground. I shortened what could have been a long answer by saying that I needed to keep working on my health as all the other things will unravel if I didn’t. Again, I found this to be a personally useful thing to do; to just take a moment to reflect on what’s truly important.

I then failed in the looking after my health thing by running away to an 8am Zoom meeting, missing out on the kai, which I am sure would have been great.

I came away from the hour thinking what an absolutely bloody superb thing it was standing around with a bunch of mostly strangers as the sun came up thinking and speaking of those we have lost and what is important moving forward.

I was just one of many New Zealanders who took the chance with Matariki to open ourselves up to something new, to experience a way of doing things and a way of thinking perhaps unfamiliar to us. I have really enjoyed how our country has embraced Matariki and am thrilled that the genuine effort by Māori to make this a truly welcoming national day has been mostly received warmly. Woe behold the first retailer that has a “Matariki Sale”; I haven’t seen that this year and I hope I never do.

I’m really looking forward to next Matariki; I’ll make sure I wear thicker socks though!