Cyclone Gabrielle caused significant damage to Te Tai Rāwhiti’s land, infrastructure, economy, and community.
Many of the effects are still being felt across the district even after the Gisborne District Council adopted the Te Tai Rāwhiti regional recovery plan.
“I reflect back on a year - it’s nice that the sun’s out and the skies are blue - yeah it was rough,” Gisborne District Council deputy mayor Joshua Wharehinga says.
“Still got a long way to go, still a lot of mamae out of there, a lot of broken things and people still in the process with broken homes and trying to find where they are going to live,” Mr Wharehinga says.
“It was our response as a community that made me so proud and I almost tear up just thinking about it because it’s hard to explain how broken everything was,” he says.
‘He hokinga mahara, he whakaaro aroha’ – Selwyn Parata
“Kei roto i te hinengaro ka hoki ngā mahara ki taua pō, ki te rā i muri mai, e taumaha ana ngā whakaaro,” hei tā Selwyn Parata kaumātua o Ngāti Porou.
“Hēoi anō te mahi a Ngāti Porou, i mahia te mahi i a rātou kāore rātou i tatari, mō wai, mō whea te āwhina engari i whakatōpū a Ngāti Porou. Ngāti Porou ki te kāinga, Ngāti Porou ki te whenua, Ngāti Porou ki te ao,” hei tāna.
Nā Mark Kopua, Tohunga Mahi a Atua o Te Tairāwhiti, ngā karakia i taki i te ata nei, i te huihuinga a te hapori whānui ki Tūranganui a Kiwa.
“Kia tāngia ai te kawa o te ora ki runga i a tātou, ki runga i te rohe, ki runga i ngā karangatanga katoa o te rohe, ngā iwi, ngā hapū e kaha nei te pīkau i ngā taumahatanga tonutanga o tērā āwhā,” hei tā Mark Kopua.
“Kia whakanuia tātou i pakari ki te whakakotahi i raro i tērā taumaha, kia ea ngā nawe, kia ea ngā mamae, ērā āhuatanga i pākino ai tātou,” hei tāna anō.