Keebra Park State High School’s kapa haka group, Te Puna Mataatahi, made history today by performing at the ASB Polyfest, becoming the first ever international school to take the festival’s Māori stage in its 50 year history.

Kaiako and tutor Dean Harawira (Tauranga Moana) says at it’s core, this is a journey of reconnection for whānau Māori living across the ditch.

“A lot of parents here have struggled to connect their kids with their culture.”

This milestone follows the integration of kapa haka and cultural lessons into the school’s music curriculum, a move Harawira says was launched to better engage Māori and Pasifika students.

“About a year into [the programme], I saw that our kids were getting hungrier for a bit more. So I put the suggestion to our management team for us to come and compete at Polyfest.”

The group of 26 was welcomed onto Ngā Kete Wānanga Marae Ōtara this week, having started practices mid-2024 in preparation for Polyfest.

Ākonga Layla Tavita (Ngāti Whātua, Asau) woke up filled with excitement on performance day, having grown up in Aotearoa before moving to Australia six years ago.

“Growing up watching all of this and finally getting to do it myself – it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s really cool,” she shares.

Tavita adds that most, if not all, of the kapa members have never performed on a kapa haka stage before.

“It’s everyone’s first time. You’re not alone, and that’s something I’m really proud to be a part of.”

Engari, ehara i te mea ko ngāi Māori anake e rekareka ana ki ngā mahi a rēhia.

“We’ve got Cook Islanders, Samoans, Tongans. We’ve got somebody from Cyprus,” te kī a Harwira.

Hei tāna, e 120 ngā tauira kua whai wāhi ki tēnei kaupapa, me te pūkahu hoki o ngā tauira e ngana tonu ana ki te whai wāhi.

“We had so many kids wanting to sign up into this class that we couldn’t fit everyone.”

Kua piri hoki a Melodee Tau’a’alo ki te kapa o Te Puna Mataatahi, ahakoa kāre ana whakapapa Māori, he tauhou hoki ki ngā mahi kapa haka.

“I am from Tonga from the village of Vaini,” te kī a Tau’a’alo.

“When we’re representing the culture, no matter what Polynesian culture it is, we’re still representing the ancestors and the stories of the heritage.”

He whai anō i ngā tapuwae a ōna mātua i tū ki te atamira Polyfest i ngā tau o mua.

“My dad lived [in Ōtara] back in his childhood, so every time we come around this area, it always just reminds me [of] him.”

He poipoi i ngā toki hākinakina, kapa haka hoki

Keebra Park State High School is also known for producing some of the NRL’s biggest stars, including Benji Marshall, Reece Walsh and Payne Haas.

Harawira is hopeful that the school will also produce confident kaihaka as well.

“I think that it’s the most important subject that they’re ever gonna do at school,” he says.

“No matter what they do after school or where they go in the world, they’re still gonna be Māori, they’re still gonna be Samoan, they’re still gonna be Tongan. So my word to them is please get into your culture.”

The rōpu will continue their ‘Polyfest Tour’ in Rotorua, Tauranga and Tūranga Nui a Kiwa.

Atu i te Whenua Moemoeā ki te atamira Polyfest

Te Pūmanawa o Ngaru Pou have also travelled from Australia, finishing their month-long tour with their first Polyfest performance.

In a Facebook post, the rōpu said,

“Our rangatahi have been able to see, touch, taste and hear their whenua, connect to whānau.”

The kapa will perform at 5.20pm on Friday 4 April.