Heads up everyone, February 2027 is going to be big for Ngaaruawaahia. Get ready because the Matatini Show is Coming to Town and we have 11 months to prepare. Matatini, the major annual Kapahaka national and international competition, is being hosted for the first time ever by Turangawaewae Marae, Ngaaruawaahia.
Thousands of competitors and their families and supporters will descend on the town for 7 days. TV and radio and on-line coverage will propel the performers and our town into the public eye and we want to be prepared to be world famous in New Zealand.
The opportunities are immense for the town’s small businesses and locals can get involved with helping to manage the influx of visitors by preparing kai and entertainment, to offering billeting accommodation, car parking, uber-style transport, clean up and rubbish disposal, among other things. Volunteering at Turangawaewae will get you up close and personal with the action.
With the blessing of the Marae and the Community Board, a group of locals including business owners, service providers, rate payers, parents and retirees have gathered together with the goal to make Ngaaruawaahia an even greater showpiece of royal town excellence than it already is. The group recognises Matatini as a fantastic opportunity to lift the pride of our community by beautifying Jesmond St and Great South Road CBD as well as the local residential area and spearheading a sense of pride in caring for our environment.
Ngaaruawaahia is a rapidly growing satellite town to Hamilton. The amenities on offer here including the Te Awa cycleways and the Hakarimata steps and trails are attracting more and more visitors. The variety and quality of the homes on offer has skyrocketed thanks to the newly developed subdivisions and the renovation of the older properties by young couples who have been priced out of Hamilton.
Most importantly Ngaaruawaahia is proud to be the seat of our young Kuini, Te Ariki Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō. Te Ariki represents an exciting and youthful era of Kingitanga and Ngaaruawaahia is the nerve centre of this important collective movement.
Do keep an eye on the local Facebook community pages for regular shoutouts during the rest of 2026 year asking for volunteers to be working bees to help clean up our town of graffiti, litter on the side of the roads, weeds, etc. And be on the alert for new murals arising and fresh paintjobs and hanging baskets. It’s going to be great – and not just for Matatini but ongoing into the future.
And before anyone wonders why the Council isn’t doing this – City Care are already doing a fabulous job with maintenance of roadside plantings and mowing of public spaces but they can’t do everything. Rather than look at others, we are urging everyone young and old to be proactive instead. Let’s focus on being part of the solution!
Also, our new taglines will soon be printed on bumper stickers available for free from Harcourts Office on Great South Road from May 2026: ‘Ngaaruawaahia – Live Here, Love Here’ and ‘Aroha ki Ngaarua’.
By Meg Daly
